Psalms

Instruction: The family may choose one Psalm to be read during the funeral ceremony.

1. Responsorial Psalm, Ps 15:1-2. 5. 7-11

(R.) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

1. Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize. (R.)

2. I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. (R.)

3. And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay. (R.)

4. You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever. (R.)

2. Responsorial Psalm, Ps 22

R. 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. (R)

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. (R)

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

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. (R)

3. Responsorial Psalm, Ps 26

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

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. (R)

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. (R)

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. (R)

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

4. Responsorial Psalm, Ps 41

R. My soul is thirsting for the living God: when shall I see him face to face?)

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God. (R)

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and see the face of God? (R)

These things will I remember as I pour out my soul: how I would lead the rejoicing crowd into the house of God, amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving, the throng wild with joy. (R)

5. Responsorial Psalm, Ps 102

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults. (R)

As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him; for he knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust. (R)

As for man, his days are like grass; he flowers like the flower of the field; the wind blows and he is gone and his place never sees him again. (R)

But the love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear; his justice reaches out to children’s children when they keep his covenant in truth. (R)

6. Responsorial Psalm, Ps 121

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing, within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R)

Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. (R)

For Israel’s law it is, there to praise the Lord’s name. There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David. (R)

For the peace of Jerusalem pray: ‘Peace be to your homes! May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace!’ (R)

For love of my brethren and friends I say: ‘Peace upon you!’ For love of the house of the Lord I will seek for your good. (R)

 

 

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