Rahan Cemetery Devotions

Thurs 15th August: Mass at 7.00pm: 

The Parish cemeteries are special places for bereaved families and for Christians as  they are held as sacred grounds and they hold the earthly remains of our brothers and sisters in Christ, awaiting the call to resurrection. We welcome all who visit our parish next Thursday as we pray for those interred in Rahan cemetery. Thank you all who prepared the cemeteries, those who maintain them on an ongoing basis, and families who maintain the resting place of their loved ones, making the cemeteries a place of solace and comfort for families.

Blessing Prayer for Graves Prayer Let us pray – God of Abraham and God of Moses,  Lord of the living, who visited Jesus within his grave And filled him with the fullness of eternal life, Hear our prayers this day as we come to Rahan Cemetery, this holy place of burial. With reverence, we visit here where the sacred bodies of our loved ones have been placed in the womb of the earth to await the final day of glory. We pause in silence to be united with our loved one. (Pause) Lord, we have come on this pilgrimage of prayer in order to keep the flame of love alive in our hearts. As we bless these graves with our prayers and with holy water and incense, we give thanks that the names of these loved ones buried here have been written for all ages in the palm of your hand. May the breath of creation that surrounds these holy graves – the trees, the grass, the birds, the wind, and the sun – join us today in prayer. May this pilgrimage remind us of what our faith teaches us – that our souls do not die, but rather are transformed into new life through Christ. Holy are these resting places. Holy is this earth that has held in gentle embrace the bodies of all who are buried in this cemetery. Lord, with reverence, we leave our prayers and our love at these graves, and we remember in faith the reality of that earthen Easter morning when all the holy dead shall rise in the splendour of your glory. Until that day, eternal rest be to those whose graves we visit today, and to all the holy dead. We place this prayer before you through Christ our Lord. Amen