It is Advent and time, again, to pray for the dead in this penitential season. Please visit our
page to leave the names of all the deceased you would like us to pray for and, if time permitting, you can join us in praying for. Since first posting this Office of the Dead several years ago the natural shifts in the kalendar with the years has made some of the instructions in the front section outmoded. With Christmas falling on a Monday this year we also only get three instances to pray this Office, which is typically said on the first ferial or simple day of the week. Therefore, we propose the following schedule:
- December 4th, Monday
- December 12th, Tuesday
- December 18th, Monday
For those observing a more modern kalendar, such as that in use immediately before Pius XII, you could pray the first Office on December 5th so as to observe St Peter Chrysologus. December 12th would be within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception, which cannot be avoided, but allows the ancient feast of St Damasus to be had.
Be sure to leave those intentions!
I'm praying the Office of the Dead tonight/tomorrow not only because it's the first Feria of Advent, but also the first anniversary of the death of a friend, so I'll be observing it this week in Double rite and using the Anniversary Collect rather than the general one.
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