A COMMUNITY ROSARY SERVICE AT THE HOUSE

AT THE TIME OF A DEATH.

Dear friends, we have gathered here together to bid farewell to ______________________. We are
here also to pray that our good Lord may give you, the near and dear ones of ___________________
the strength to bear this temporary separation.
Reflection
We remember that where two or three gather together in Jesus' name, he assures us that he is
present with them. We believe that Jesus is here with us now as we pray for
____________________.
The rosary is like an immense chain of love and prayers with which we are able to encircle persons
and situations, and even to influence the events of our day.
Every time we pray the Hail Mary, we ask Mother Mary to pray for us NOW and at the hour of our
death. We believe that Mary hears our prayer with every ‘Hail Mary’ so that when our time comes to
leave this world and go to the Father, her Son Jesus will greet us by saying to us:
“Come, you blessed of my Father, come and possess the Kingdom which has been prepared for you,
ever since the foundation of the world” (Mt 5:34)Your content goes here...
Opening Hymn

1. The Apostle’s Creed

2. Pray 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be.
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, the things God has prepared for those who love him.” - 1 Cor. 2:9
1. The First Joyful Mystery
The Joy of the Virtuous Soul
Reflection
This first reading from the Book of Wisdom speaks of the joy and the destiny of the virtuous soul. It
assures us that those who have lived their lives as faithful children of God will live with him forever in
his love.
Scripture Reading
Read Wisdom 3:1-9
The Word of the Lord
ALL: Thanks be to God.
Pray: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be.
Leader: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord.
ALL  : And let perpetual light shine upon him/her
Leader: May he/she rest in peace
ALL  : Amen.
(This is said after each decade)
2. The Second Joyful Mystery
The Joy of Life without End.
Reflection
This reading from the First letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians assures us that we are created and
destined for eternal life, that is, life with God forever and ever.
Scripture Reading
Read from 1 Thes. 4:13 - 17
Pray: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be.
Leader: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord.…..
3. The Third Joyful Mystery
The Joy of Knowing that through Believing in Jesus, We will live forever.
Reflection
In this reading from the Gospel of St. John, Jesus himself assures us that all those who believe in him
will live forever.
Scripture Reading
Read from John 11:21 – 27
Pray: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be.
Leader: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord.…..
4. The fourth Joyful Mystery
The Joy of Union with Jesus Forever
Reflection
In this reading from St. John’s Gospel, Jesus assures us that, when we receive holy communion, we
really receive his body and blood. Through holy communion, the risen Christ becomes for us the food
of eternal life. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever”.
Scripture Reading
Read from John 6:51 - 57
Pray: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be.
Leader: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord.…..
5. The Fifth Joyful Mystery
The Joy of Hearing Jesus Calling the Virtuous Soul into Life Everlasting with Him.
Reflection
The reading which follows reminds us that those who believe in Jesus, who accept his Word and who
act upon it will be saved and will live forever with God. A word of Jesus heard and relished with love,
gives new life to the hearer, the very life of God himself.
Scripture Reading
Read from John 5: 24 - 29
Pray: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory Be.
Leader: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord.…..
Litany
O God of love, you love both the living and the dead with an immense, compassionate love. We join
with all the angels and saints in heaven in praising your glory now as we pray with them:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in
the highest. Blessed is he who comes In the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
After every invocation, let us pray: “PRAY FOR _________________________”
Holy Mother of God, refuge of sinners. R/-
Saint Joseph, patron of a happy death. R/-
All you holy apostles and martyrs, who gave your life for Christ. R/-
All you holy women and men known and unknown. R/-
All you holy labourers, who worked hard while on this earth. R/-
All you holy housewives, whose every day work on earth was a service of love and devotion. R/-
All you holy fathers and mothers, who sacrificed so much for your families while you were on
earth. R/-
All you holy priest and holy religious, who served God faithfully on earth. R/-
All you holy people, who loved God greatly while on earth. R/-
All you holy Christians, who faithfully followed Jesus on earth. R/-
All you holy people from our parish, our neighbours and our friends who have gone before us into
heaven. R/-
Prayer of Thanksgiving.
O loving Father in heaven, we thank you that you created us for eternal life. We know that our
beloved ______________ is with you now, enjoying and delighting in your love forever.
We thank you for his/her life on earth and for all the good things he/she did throughout his/her life.
We willingly surrender __________________ into yours hands now and forever, O God, our loving
Father. May he/she rest in your peace forever.
We ask your peace and strength for all those who mourn his/her departure from this life and who will
miss hem/her greatly. Help them who mourn his/her departure to find encouragement in your Word
and to deepen and renew their hope in their own resurrection some day.
We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus who has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us too
with you forever. Amen.
 1st Mystery Wisdom 3:1-9 (short form, 3:1-6, 9)

As sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

 Omit the words in bolded brackets [ ] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,

     and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
     and their passing away was thought an affliction
     and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed they be punished,
     yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
     because God tried them
     and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
     and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
[In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
     and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
     and the LORD shall be their King forever.]
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
     and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
     and his care is with his elect.

The word of the Lord.

2nd Mystery 1 Thes. 4:13 - 17

Hope for the Christian Dead.

13We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not
grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have
fallen asleep.e
15Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the
Lord,* will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.f
16For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. g

The word of the Lord.

3rd Mystery John 11:21 – 27

17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together * with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. i
22[But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”
24Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” j
25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, k
26and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27* l She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who
is coming into the world.”

The word of the Lord.

4th Mystery John 6:51 - 57

51I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread
that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” a
52The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”
53Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you do not have life within you.
54Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will
have life because of me.b

The word of the Lord.

5th Mystery John 5: 24 - 29
24Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and
will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.o
25Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son
of God, and those who hear will live.p
26For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. q
27And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. r
28* Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice s
29and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done
wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.t

The word of the Lord.