VIGIL RITE
1. MESSAGE
LEADER: My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all gathered here today to console
the bereaved family of __________ who just passed away. The passing away of a
loved one is God’s given trial and test. We are one with you today to express our
deepest sorrow to a beloved brother/sister whom we know that he/she is in
good hands. He/she is now living in a mansion prepared by God for him/her. We
know that is it very hard to accept that one of our loved ones depart from us so
early but we should not lose our faith because we know that God is always with
us even in the midst of storm in our life. We should keep our head up high on
Him and always trust Him. God says he who searches the heart knows the mind
of the spirit, because the spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s
will. Let us ask God to send the Holy Spirit to us and to our beloved
brother/sister _________ to enlighten us in times of our grief.
Let us now reflect and sing, COME HOLY SPIRIT
Come Holy Spirit we need you
Come holy Spirit we pray
Come with your strength and your power
Come in your own special way
Come like a spring in the desert
Come to the withered of soul
Lord let your sweet healing power
Touch me and make me whole
Come Holy Spirit we need you
Come holy Spirit we pray
Come with your love and your guidance
Come in your own special way
2. LEADER: Brothers and sisters, let us pause for a while and bow down our heads and pray
for our special intentions to _________ for his/her eternal repose.
Lord, may you grant all our prayers and wishes for _________. We hope and pray that
he/she is now happy in your kingdom. AMEN.
3. LEADER: Jesus said to His apostles and followers, where there are two or three gathered
in my name, there I am in the midst of them. God never fails us in whatever we ask from
Him and let us always be reminded that beyond the clouds, the sun is always shining.
Let us sing BEYOND THE SUNSET
Beyond the sunset Oh, blissful morning
When with our Savior Heaven's begun
Earth's toiling ended Oh, glorious dawning
Beyond the sunset when day is done
Beyond the sunset no clouds will gather
No storms will threaten no fears annoy
Oh, day of gladness Oh, day unending
Beyond the sunset eternal joy
Beyond the sunset, a hand will guide me
To God the Father whom I adore
His glorious presence, His words of welcome
Will be my portion on that fair shore
Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion
With our dear loved ones who've gone before
In that fair homeland we'll know no parting
Beyond the sunset forever more...
4. LEADER: The first reading is taken from the book of Job 19:23-27. Job, a man of the old
testament questioned God: “why suffer? Why lose our loved ones?” He lost all his sons and
daughters and he was in deep anguish and in real grief. Let us now listen to the first
reading.
FIRST READING --------------------
5. LEADER: In times of our lowest and saddest moment, we know that God is always with us,
guiding and helping us carry all the problems we have in life. Sometimes we try to
question Him, “Where are you during the time of our suffering?”
6. LEADER: Death involves all people. No one lives for himself only. No one dies for himself
only. We live and die for the Lord, the giver and taker of life. Let us now listen to the
second reading.
SECOND READING --------------------
7. LEADER: Jesus was nailed in the cross and died. This is how He showed His love for us. He
sacrificed His life to save mankind from their sins.
Let us sing RUGGED CROSS
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
REFRAIN: So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
And I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died
To pardon and sanctify me
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
8. LEADER: St. John explains in simple language the reality of the resurrection and eternal life
through the analogy of the grain of wheat which when left to itself produce nothing, but
which when buried to the ground and dies, it produces a rich harvest.
9. LEADER: Lord, we owe our life to you, so far as long as we are living on earth, we try to
spend our lives in the fullest by loving, caring and sharing with our family and what we
have on earth, all came from you.
10. LEADER: Let us now dedicate these songs to the bereaved family:
Memories
Gaano Kita Kamahal
All My Trials Lord
“SINO AKO”
Hiram sa Diyos ang aking buhay
Ikaw at ako'y tanging handog lamang
Di ko ninais na ako'y isilang
Ngunit salamat dahil may buhay
Ligaya ko na ako'y isilang pagkat tao ay mayroong dangal
Sino'ng may pag ibig? Sino'ng nagmamahal?
Kung di ang tao Diyos ang pinagmulan
Kung di ako umibig, kung di ko man bigyang halaga
Ang buhay na handog; Ang buhay ko'ng hiram sa Diyos
Kung di ako nagmamahal, sino ako?
11. LEADER: Let us all stand and sing the prayer that the Lord taught us. Let’s all sing the
LORD’S PRAYER.
Note: May I ask everybody to please join hands
12. LEADER: Final prayer
Let us all pray. Bow down our heads and contemplate to God. We thank you this
day that you have sent the Holy Spirit to be with us and to be with _________.
Bless each and every one of us who are here today, especially the bereaved
family of __________. Give them hope, strength and love. With your presence,
sorrow becomes joy, tears become courage and loss becomes life. So that the loss
of their loved one ___________ means a new life to them.
Lord, forgive all our sins and our shortcomings, so that someday somehow we’ll
be with you to enjoy our eternal Glory. We ask this thru Christ our Lord, AMEN.
13. LEADER: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to
everlasting life, AMEN.
FIRST READING:
2 Corinthians 5:6-10
6
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we
are away from the Lord.
7
For we live by faith, not by sight.
8
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the
Lord.
9
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive
what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
READER: This is the word of the Lord
RESPONSE: Thanks be to God
REFLECTION:
So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the
body we are away from the Lord's home. For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight. We are
full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with
the Lord. More than anything else, however, we want to please him, whether in our home
here or there for all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by Him. Each one will
receive what he deserves, according to everything he has done, good or bad, in His bodily life.
SECOND READING:
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans.
No one lives for himself alone.
No one dies for himself alone.
If we live, we live for the Lord.
If we die, it is for the Lord that we die.
Therefore, in life and in death, we belong to the Lord.
That is why Christ lived and died and came to life again, to be the Lord of both the dead and
the living. Every one of us therefore, will have to answer for himself before God.
READER: Brothers and sisters, this is the Good News for us.
RESPONSE: Thanks be to God
REFLECTION:
St. Paul reminds us that our life comes from God. He is the source of our life. He
wants us to share in divine life. So, when we die, we go back to Him. He shares in this eternal
happiness through His Son Jesus Christ, who died for us and for our salvation. Indeed, our
Lord will reward us according to our accomplishment for He is God. We are expected to offer
all our deeds to the Lord. In doing so, we are praising Him, loving Him and we are living
according to His deeds and according to His will.
GOSPEL READING:
The Gospel is taken from St. John 15:1-5
“I am the true vine came and my Father is the vine grower.
He cuts away every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit,
He trims clean so that it will bear more.”
“Live in the union with me as I live in union with you. I am the vine, you are the branches. He
who lives in me, with me in Him, bears much fruits, for cut off from me, you can do nothing.”
READER: This is the Good News of Jesus
RESPONSE: Praise to you oh Lord Jesus Christ
REFLECTION:
St. John tries to explain God’s immense eternal love to a point where Jesus
offered Himself on the cross for all of us. He said … “God loved the world so much that He
gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him may not die but may have eternal
life.
At this moment, we express our sincere sympathy with the family. At this moment, too, we
wish to advise everyone that the death of _____________ is a sharing of Christ’s death on the
cross.
___________ is no longer with us; he/she has left us. But his/her death means more in the
same way that the death of Jesus means even more – resurrection and eternal life for us.
St. Paul, writing to the Philippians has something to add on the meaning of Christian life and
death. He said, “to me, life means Christ so that the death would give ME EVEN MORE.
The life of a Christian, following the way of life of Jesus is one o service. To love is to love, to
live is to serve.
Our departed brother/sister _________ believes in Jesus, while still alive, he/she loves and
serves others. He/she is a Christian, so his/her death is not a loss, it means a union with Jesus,
a taste of eternal happiness in heaven.
The reading stresses unity with Jesus. Every Christian must follow, work with and have Jesus
all the time because Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life”.
When He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches… and cut off from me, you can do
nothing”, He made this bold fact simpler and more concrete and more clear. That we can’t do
nothing without Him because He is the giver of our life.
My friends, the passing away of a loved one from our midst is God’s privilege. He gives life, He
also takes it away. After all, union with God is our destiny.
For us, therefore, to appreciate life better, we must love Jesus and our brothers and sisters,
we must serve Jesus and the less fortunate, we must always work with Jesus in all things we
do and unite with Jesus. ___________ shall be one with the Father in Heaven.