How we pray as a Church shapes what we believe as a Church. During the reforms of the funeral rites after Vatican II, many changes were made. The most striking was the removal of the sequence Dies Irae.
Some argue that the language of the Dies Irae was too harsh, not hopeful enough, and should have been excised. But take a moment to read it—it is striking and powerful:
Day of wrath, that day
Will dissolve the world in ashes,
As David and the Sibyl testify.How great will be the terror,
When the Judge is to come,
Who will strictly examine all things!The trumpet, spreading a wondrous sound
Through the tombs of every land,
Will summon all before the throne.Death and nature will be astounded,
When creation rises again,
To answer to the Judge.A written book will be brought forth,
In which all is contained,
From which the world will be judged.Therefore when the Judge takes His seat,
Whatever is hidden will appear:
Nothing will remain unpunished.What am I, wretched, to say then?
Whom to ask as advocate,
When even the just may hardly be sure?King of tremendous majesty,
Who freely saves those to be saved,
Save me, O font of mercy.Remember, merciful Jesus,
That I am the cause of Your journey:
Do not lose me on that day.Seeking me, You sat down weary:
You redeemed me by suffering the Cross:
Let so much toil not be in vain.Just Judge of vengeance,
Grant the gift of forgiveness
Before the day of reckoning.I groan as one guilty:
My face reddens with guilt:
Spare the supplicant, O God.You who absolved Mary,
And heard the thief,
You have also given me hope.My prayers are not worthy:
But You, good one, deal kindly,
Lest I burn in everlasting fire.Grant me a place among the sheep,
And separate me from the goats,
Placing me at Your right hand.When the accursed have been confounded,
And given over to the fierce flames,
Call me with the blessed.I pray, bowed and kneeling,
My heart contrite like ashes:
Take care of my end.That day is one of weeping,
When from the ashes shall rise
The guilty man to be judged:
Therefore, spare him, O God.Merciful Lord Jesus,
Grant them rest. Amen.
The Dies Irae makes it clear: we will face judgment, and we must implore God’s mercy. God is merciful, but He is also a judge. We must not presume on His mercy without humility and repentance.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church still teaches that we must pray for the dead:
“From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.” (CCC 1032)
Yet when this truth is stripped from our rites, over time it is stripped from our understanding. We forget that we all need prayers after death.
Even those who should know better can forget. Today, at Pope Francis’s funeral, Cardinal Re said:
“Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica.”
This was not a public call for prayers for the repose of his soul. The message was clear: Pope Francis is in heaven, interceding for us.
Maybe he is in heaven.
Maybe he is in purgatory and needs our prayers.
We don’t know. That is why we pray.
I hope and pray that when I die, the priest at my funeral will not canonize me from the pulpit. I hope he will ask for prayers for me.
We all need help getting to heaven — in this life, and in the next.
Now is the time to open your breviary and pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis.
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