A reading from the book of Job 19:23-27

Job said: Ah, would that these words of mine were written down, inscribed on some monument with iron chisel and engraving tool, cut into the rock for ever.
This I know: that my Avenger lives, and he, the Last, will take his stand on earth.  After my awaking, he will set me close to him, and from my flesh I shall look on God.  He whom I shall see will take my part: these eyes will gaze on him and find him not aloof.’

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the book of Wisdom 3:1-9

The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, no torment shall ever touch them.  In the eyes of the unwise, they did appear to die, their going looked like a disaster, their leaving us, like annihilation; but they are in peace.  If they experienced punishment as men see it, their hope was rich with immortality; slight was their affliction, great will their blessings be.  God has put them to the test and proved them worthy to be with him; he has tested them like gold in a furnace, and accepted them as a holocaust.
When the time comes for his visitation they will shine out; as sparks run through the stubble, so will they. They shall judge nations, rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king for ever. They who trust in him will understand the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace and mercy await those he has chosen.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the book of Wisdom 4:7-15

The virtuous man, though he die before his time, will find rest.
Length of days is not what makes age honorable, nor number of years the true measure of life; understanding, this is man’s grey hairs, untarnished life, this is ripe old age.
He has sought to please God, so God has loved him; as he was living among sinners, he has been taken up.
He has been carried off so that evil may not warp his understanding or treachery seduce his soul; for the fascination of evil throws good things into the shade and the whirlwind of desire corrupts a simple heart.
Coming to perfection in so short a while, he achieved long life;
his soul being pleasing to the Lord, he has taken him quickly from the wickedness around him.
Yet people look on, uncomprehending; it does not enter their heads
that grace and mercy await the chosen of the Lord, and protection, his holy ones.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the prophet Isaiah

On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food.
On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away the people’s shame, everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we hoped  for salvation; the Lord is the one whom we hoped.  We exult  and we rejoice  that he  has saved us.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the book of Lamentations 3:17-26

My soul is shut out from peace; I have forgotten happiness.
And now I say, ‘My strength is gone, that hope which came from the Lord’.
Brooding on my anguish and affliction is gall and wormwood.
My spirit ponders it continually and sinks within me.
This is what I shall tell my heart, and so recover hope:
the favours of the Lord are not all past, his kindnesses are not exhausted; every morning they are renewed; great is his faithfulness.
‘My portion is the Lord’ says my soul  ‘and so I will hope in him.’
The Lord is good to those who trust him, to the soul that searches for him.
It is good to wait in silence for the Lord to save.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the prophet Daniel 12:1-3

I, Daniel, was doing penance when I received this message from the Lord:
‘At that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who mounts guard over your people.  There is going to be a time of great distress, unparalleled since nations first came into existence.  When that time comes, your own people will be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book.
Of those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth many will awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace.
The learned will shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who have instructed many in virtue, as bright as stars for all eternity.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the second book of Maccabees 12:43-45
Judas, the leader of the Jews, took a collection from the people individually, amounting to nearly two thousand drachmae, and sent it to Jerusalem to have a sacrifice for sin offered, an altogether fine and noble action, in which he took full account of the resurrection.  For if he had not expected the fallen to rise again it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead, whereas if he had in view the splendid recompense reserved for those who make a pious end, the thought was holy and devout.  This was why he had this atonement sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted.
A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building.
A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing.
A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them up; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing.
A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away.
A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking.
A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace.
What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes?  I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at.  All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.

The word of the Lord.

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Response: The Lord is my light and my help

The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;Before whom shall I shrink? (Response)

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple. (Response)

O, Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. (Response)

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord! (Response)

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Ps. 116

Response: I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

How gracious is the Lord and just; our God has compassion.
The Lord protects the simple hearts; I was helpless so he saved me. (Response)

I trusted, even when I said:
‘I am sorely afflicted,’
and when I said in my alarm:
‘No man can be trusted ’.  (Response)

O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; You have loosened my bonds. (Response)

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Ps. 23

Response:
If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear, for you are there with me. 
Or
The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. (Response)

He guides me along the right path, he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff, with these you give me comfort.  (Response)

You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil, my cup is overflowing.  (Response)

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.  (Response)

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Ps.25.

Response: To you, O Lord I lift up my soul.

Remember your mercy, Lord, and the love you have shown from old.
In your love remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord.  (Response)

Relieve the anguish of my heart and set me free from distress.
See my affliction and my toil and take all my sins away.  (Response)

Preserve my life and rescue me.
Do not disappoint me, you are my refuge.
May innocence and uprightness protect me: for my hope is in you, O Lord.  (Response)

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I, John heard a voice from heaven say to me,
‘Write down: Happy are those who die in the Lord!
Happy indeed, the Spirit says; now they can rest for ever after their work,
since their good deeds go with them.’

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the book of Apocalypse 20:11-21:1

I, John, saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace.   I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the book of life was opened, and other books opened which were the record of what they had done in their lives, by which the dead were judged.  The sea gave up all the dead who were in it: Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake.  This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake.  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the book of the Apocalypse 21:1-7

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband.  Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them.  He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’  Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new’ he said.  ‘I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty; it is the rightful inheritance of the one who proves victorious; and I will be his God and he a son to me.’

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans 14:7-12

The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord.  This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.  This is also why you should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall all have to stand before the judgement seat of God; as scripture says: By my life – it is the Lord who speaks – every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from St. Paul to the Philippians  3:20-21

For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body.  He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.

The word of the Lord 

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A reading from St, Paul to the Thessalonians  4:13-18

We want you to be quite certain, friends, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him.  We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died.  At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever.  With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.

The word of the Lord.

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A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians: 4: 14-51

We know that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us.  You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.  That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day.  Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them.  And so we have no eyes for things that are visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a time, and the invisible things are eternal.  For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens.

The word of the Lord

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