by Sacred Heart Guardians and Shelter

Upon receiving the remains of embryonic children, a member of Sacred Heart Guardians offers the following prayer, adapted from “Prayers After Death.” The standard prayer may be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Saints of God, come to their aid!

Come to meet them, Angels of the Lord!

R/. Receive their souls and present them to God the Most High.

May Christ, who called you, take you to himself;

may Angels lead you to Abraham’s side. R/.

Give them eternal rest, O Lord,

and may your light shine on them forever. R/.

Let us pray.

All-powerful and merciful God,

we commend to you these children, your servants.

In your mercy and love,

blot out the stain of original sin, which we all inherited by our first parents’ disobedience in the Garden.

In this world they have died:

let them live with you forever.

Through Christ our Lord.

R/. Amen.

These verses may also be used:

V/. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

R/. And let perpetual light shine upon them.

V/. May they rest in peace.

R/. Amen.

V/. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

R/. Amen.

“The Church prays for the dead, and this prayer says much about the reality of the Church itself. It says that the Church continues to live in the hope of eternal life. Prayer for the dead is almost a battle with the reality of death and destruction that weighs down upon the early existence of many. This is and remains a particular revelation of the Resurrection. In this prayer Christ himself bears witness to the life and immortality to which God calls every human being.”   Crossing the Threshold of Hope. John Paul II