Commendation for the Dying adapted from the Roman Ritual

This prayer is used just after someone has died by a priest who is present. It is a beautiful summary of all our trust in God’s mercy and our hopes for our loved one. Reading it helps us to understand that our purification (Purgatory) is the last stage of our “returning home safely,” our preparation to see God and enjoy His presence for all Eternity. It can be very consoling for anyone who has lost a loved one. This version of the prayer has been slightly adapted by a priest who used it for many years in his hospital ministry. He also uses it at funeral Masses to encourage family members and friends to look forward to the joys of heaven.

My dear sister/brother, I commend you now to Almighty God and I entrust you to Him who created you; so that now, by your dying, having paid the debt to which every man and woman is subject, you may return home safely to your Creator, to Him who formed you so wondrously, so marvelously, from the dust of the earth and the breath of His mouth.

And now, as your soul goes forth from your body, may the radiant company of angels come to greet you; may the assembly of the Apostles, our judges, welcome you; may the victorious army of white-robed martyrs meet you on your way; may the glittering choir of confessors gather around you; may the choirs of holy women receive you; may the patriarchs of old enfold you in an embrace of blessed peace.

May St. Joseph, the beloved patron of all the dying, raise you up to your highest hopes and dreams; and may the Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, lovingly turn her eyes toward you. And then, gentle and joyful and strong, may Christ Jesus appear before you to assign you a place forever in the company of His elect. May Christ who suffered for you free you from all your sufferings and all your pains; may Christ who was crucified for you, free you from all fear and from all anxiety, from the death that never ends. May Christ the Son of the Living God set you now in the ever-green loveliness of His paradise and may He, the True Shepherd recognize you as one of His own. May He set you free from all your sins and assign you a place forever in the ranks of the blessed. May you see your Redeemer face-to-face and, standing before Him always, may you gaze with delighted eyes on goodness and truth and beauty revealed in all their fullness. So having found your place in the ranks of the blessed, may you enjoy the happiness of Heaven forever and ever.