The Church, through its Funeral rites, commends the faithful departed to God’s merciful love and pleads for the forgiveness of their sins.  At the funeral rites, especially at the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice, the Church affirms and expresses the union of the Church on earth with the Church in heaven in the one great Communion of Saints.  Though separated from the living, the dead are still at one with the community of believers on earth and benefit from their prayers and intercession.  At the rite of Final Commendation and Farewell, the Church acknowledges the reality of separation and commends the deceased to God.  In this way, it recognizes the spiritual bond that still exists between the living and the dead and proclaims its belief that all the faithful will be raised up and reunited in the new heavens and a new earth, where death will be no more.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let the Perpetual Light shine upon them. 
May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

St. Mary’s & St. Martin’s