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Funeral Readings

The family may choose to participate more fully in the Mass by selecting the readings; one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.
The family may choose to have readers to do the readings.  The celebrant will call each reader forward at the right time.

Below, we have provided a list of readings for you. Please do not choose a Psalm as a reading! 

We have also provided a list of Funeral Music Selections. Please chick here to view the Funeral Music List.


OLD TESTAMENT                                                     [Number1]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF JOB 19:1, 23-27

Job answered and said:
Would that my words were written down!
That with an iron chisel and with lead
they were cut in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my redeemer lives,
And that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;
Whom I myself shall see:
My own eyes, not another’s will behold him,
And from my flesh I shall see God;
My inmost being is consumed with longing.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


OLD TESTAMENT                                                      [Number 2]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF WISDOM 3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
And no torment shall touch them.
They seem, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
And their passing away was thought to be an affliction;
And they're going forth from, utter destruction.
But, they are in peace.
For if before all they be punished,
Yet is their hope filled with immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their king forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
And the faithful shall abide with him in love’
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


OLD TESTAMENT                                                      [Number 2 Short]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF WISDOM 3:1-6, 9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seem, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought to be an affliction;
and their going forth from, utter destruction.
But, they are in peace.
For if before all they be punished,
yet is their hope filled with immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love’
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


 OLD TESTAMENT                                                     [Number3]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF WISDOM 4: 7-15

The just man, though he died early, shall be at rest.
For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time,
nor can it be measured in terms of years.
Rather, understanding is the ancient crown for men,
and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.
He who pleased God was loved;
He who lived among sinners was transported -
Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert hi mind
or deceit beguile his soul;
For the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right
And the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind.
Having become perfect in a short while,
he reached the fullness of a long career;
for his mind was pleasing to the Lord,
therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness.
But the people saw and did not understand,
nor did they take this into account. 

THE WORD OF THE Lord


OLD TESTAMENT                                            [Number4]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF PROPHET ISAIAH 25: 6a, 7-9

On this mountain the Lord of hosts
will provide for all peoples,
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
He will destroy death forever.
The Lord God will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of hid people he will remove
From the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the Lord for whom we looked;
Let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


 OLD TESTAMENT                                                                  [Number 5]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS 3: 17-26

My soul is deprived of peace,
I have forgotten what happiness is;
I tell myself my future is lost,
all that I hoped for from the Lord.
The thought of my homeless poverty
is wormwood and gall;
Remembering it over and over
leaves my soul downcast within me.
But I will call this to mind,
as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,
his mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning
so great is his faithfulness.
My portion is the Lord, says my soul;
therefore will I hope in him.
Good is the Lord to one who waits for him,
to the soul that seeks him;
It is good to hope in silence
for the saving help of the Lord.

THE WORD OF THE Lord


OLD TESTAMENT                                                     [Number 6]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET DANIEL 12: 1-3

I, Daniel, mourned and I heard this word of the Lord.
At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince, 
guardian of your people;
It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began at that time. 
At that time your people shall escape, 
everyone who is found written in the book.
Many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake; 
Some shall live forever, 
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
But the wise shall shine brightly
like the firmament,
And those who lead the many in justice
 shall be like the stars forever.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


OLD TESTAMENT                                                     [Number 7]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF MACCABEES 12: 43-46

Judas took up a collection among all his soldiers,
amounting to two thousand silver drachmas,
which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice.
In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way,
inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;
for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again,
it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits
those who had gone to their rest in godliness,
it was a holy and pious thought,
That he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.

THE WORD OF THE LORD.


OLD TESTAMENT                                                     [Number 8]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES 3:

There is an appointed time for everything
And a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task which God has appointed for us to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into our hearts,
without our ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work that God has done.
I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever;
there is no adding to it, or taking from it.
Thus has God done that he may be revered.

 THE WORD OF THE LORD.


NEW TESTAMENT                                           [Number 1]

 A READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10: 34-43

 Peter proceeded to address the people in these words.
In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him acts uprightly and is acceptable to him.  You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.  He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.  They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised up on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name,

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                           [Number 1] Short

A READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10: 34-36, 42-43

Peter proceeded to address the people in these words.
In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him acts uprightly and is acceptable to him.  You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name,

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                           [Number 2]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS 5: 5-11

 Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one find even find the courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.


THE WORD OF THE LORD

NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 3]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS 5: 17-21

If, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ?
In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be righteous. The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                     [Number 4]

A READING FROM PAUL TO THE ROMANS 6: 3-9

Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.  For if we have grown into union with him through as death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.  For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.  We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has power over him.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 4] Short

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS 6: 3-4, 8-9

Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.   If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.  We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has power over him.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 5]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS 8: 14-23

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. You received a spirit of adoption, through which we came Abba, “Father!”  The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God. For creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in the hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.  We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now.  Not only that, be we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 6] 
A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS 8: 31b-35, 37-39

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?  It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No! in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 7]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS 14: 7-9, 10b-12

None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me. And every tongue shall give praise to God.  So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 8]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15: 20-23, 24b-28

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead also came through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ all shall be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ, the first fruits, and then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father. For we must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for “he subjected everything under his feet.” But when it says that everything has been subjected, it is clear that it excludes the One who subjected everything to him. When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all 

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 8] Short

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15: 20-23

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead also came through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ all shall be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ, the first fruits, and then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 9]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15: 51-57

I tell you a mystery. We shall all fall asleep, but we will be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,  the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. And when that which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and that which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written will come about:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O Death, is your victory? 
Where, O Death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 10]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 4: 14-5: 1

We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace
restored in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is
producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory; but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 11]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 5: 1,6-10

For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                     [Number 12] 

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS 3: 20-21

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord, Jesus Christ.
He will change our mortal body to conform to his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 13]

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS 4: 13-18

We do not want you to be unaware about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so will God, through Jesus bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore console one another with these words.

 THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 14]

A READING FROM THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 2: 8-13

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendent of David: such is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.  This saying is trustworthy:

If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
If we persevere, we shall also reign with him. 
But if we deny him, he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful 
For he cannot deny himself. 

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 15]

A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN 3: 1-2

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not recognize us is that it did not know him.
We are God’s children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 16]

A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN 3: 14-16

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you
know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us.  So we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 17] 

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION 14: 13

I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” said the Spirit, “let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them.” 

THE WORD OF THE LORD


 NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 18]

 A READING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION 20: 11 21: 1

 I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them. I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and the scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls. The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades gave up their dead. All were judged according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire. Anyone whose name was not written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire. I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

THE WORD OF THE LORD


NEW TESTAMENT                                                    [Number 19]

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION 21: 1-5a, 6b-7

I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.”
The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. The victor will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son.” 
THE WORD OF THE LORD


The family may choose to participate more fully in the Mass by selecting the readings; one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.
The family may choose to have readers to do the readings.  The celebrant will call each reader forward at the right time.

Above, we have provided a list of readings for you. Please do not choose a Psalm as a reading! 

We have also provided a list of Funeral Music Selections. Please chick here to view the Funeral Music List.