I've been asked to provide music for a funeral for a stillborn child. I cannot find any information on music for propers (preferably in English) for such a Mass; I do recall the usual funeral propers do not apply.
If you know of something, would you mind passing it along to me?
Thank you, and please keep this child and his family in your prayers; the death occurred last week and the family has asked for a funeral, to take place next week.
F. For the Funeral of a Child Who Died before Baptism Should a child whom the parents wished to be baptized, die before Baptism, the Diocesan Bishop, taking into consideration pastoral circumstances, may permit the funeral to be celebrated in the home of the deceased child, or even according to the form of funeral rites otherwise customarily used in the region. In funerals of this kind there should ordinarily be a Liturgy of the Word, as described in the Roman Ritual. Nevertheless, if at times the celebration of Mass is judged opportune, the following texts should be used. In catechesis, however, proper care is to be taken that the doctrine of the necessity of Baptism is not obscured in the minds of the faithful. Entrance Antiphon Rev 21: 4 God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, crying or pain, for former things have passed away. Collect Receive the prayers of your faithful, Lord, and grant that those you allow to be weighed down by their longing for the child taken from them may be raised up by faith to hope in your compassion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Or O God, searcher of hearts and most loving consoler, who know the faith of these parents, grant that, as they mourn their child, now departed from this life, they may be assured that he (she) has been entrusted to your divine compassion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Prayer over the Offerings Graciously accept this offering, O God, as a sign of our devotion, so that, trusting in the designs of your providence, we may be raised up by your gentle and fatherly care. Through Christ our Lord. Preface for the Dead, pp. 622-631. Communion Antiphon Is 25: 8 The Lord God will destroy death for ever. He will wipe away the tears from every cheek. Prayer after Communion Having received the Communion of your Son’s Body and Blood, O Lord, we ask you faithfully to comfort amid the sorrows of this life those whom you have graciously nourished by these sacred mysteries, so as to strengthen their hope of life eternal. Through Christ our Lord
That was what was traditionally used in the preconciliar ritual for *baptized* children that died before attaining the age of reason, but the current Missal already has its own Order of Christian Funerals.
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