Requiem

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For other uses, see Requiem (disambiguation).

The Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as the Missa pro defunctis (Latin, "Mass for the deceased") or Missa defunctorum ("Mass of the deceased"), is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated by the priest presider for the repose of the soul of a particular deceased person or persons. It is frequently, but by no means always, celebrated in the context of a funeral.

Outside the Catholic Church, the ceremony is used in the Anglo-Catholic branch of Anglicanism and in certain Lutheran churches. A comparable service, with a wholly different ritual form and texts, exists in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

The term "Requiem" is the accusative form of the Latin noun requies (rest, repose). The introit of the liturgy begins with the words "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine" - "Grant them eternal rest, O Lord".

The Requiem Mass is notable for the large number of musical compositions that it has inspired, including the requiems of Mozart, Verdi and Fauré. Originally, such compositions were meant to be performed in liturgical service, with monophonic chant. Eventually the dramatic character of the text began to appeal to composers to an extent that they made the requiem a genre of its own, and the requiems of composers such as Verdi are essentially concert pieces rather than liturgical works.

The Roman Rite liturgy

This use of the word requiem comes from the opening words of the Introit: Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. (Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.) The requiem form of the Tridentine Mass differs from the ordinary Mass in omitting certain joyful passages, such as the Alleluia, in never having the Gloria or the Credo, in adding the sequence Dies Iræ, in altering the Agnus Dei, in replacing Ite missa est with Requiescant in pace, and in omitting the final blessing. The Requiem Mass is still used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, which was never abrogated by the Second Vatican Council, but has been increasingly celebrated around the world after support from Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

The regular texts of the musical portions to be found in the Roman Catholic liturgy are the following:

[edit] Introit

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn becomes you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall a vow be repaid in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to you shall all flesh come. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

[edit] Kyrie eleison

This is as the Kyrie the Ordinary of the Mass:

Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison

Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy.

This is Greek (Κύριε ἐλέησον, Χριστὲ ἐλέησον, Κύριε ἐλέησον) Traditionally, each utterance is sung three times.

[edit] Gradual

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; In memoria æterna erit justus, ab auditione mala non timebit.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. He shall be justified in everlasting memory, and shall not fear evil reports.

[edit] Tract

Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum et gratia tua illis succurente mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis, et lucis æterne beatitudine perfrui.

Forgive, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from all the chains of their sins and may they deserve to avoid the judgment of revenge by your fostering grace, and enjoy the everlasting blessedness of light.

[edit] Sequence

Dies iræ, dies illa Solvet sæclum in favilla, teste David cum Sibylla...

Day of wrath! Day of mourning!, a day that the world will dissolve in ashes, as foretold by David and the Sibyl

(See Dies Iræ for full text)

[edit] Offertory

Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de pœnis inferni et de profundo lacu. Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum; sed signifer sanctus Michæl repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free the souls of all the faithful departed from infernal punishment and the deep pit. Free them from the mouth of the lion; do not let Tartarus swallow them, nor let them fall into darkness; but may the sign-bearer, Saint Michael, lead them into the holy light which you promised to Abraham and his seed.

Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus; tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.

O Lord, we offer you sacrifices and prayers in praise; accept them on behalf of the souls whom we remember today. Let them, O Lord, pass over from death to life, as you promised to Abraham and his seed.

[edit] Sanctus

This is as the Sanctus prayer in the Ordinary of the Mass:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth; pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis. (reprise)

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[edit] Agnus Dei

This is as the Agnus Dei in the Ordinary of the Mass, but with the petitions miserere nobis changed to dona eis requiem, and dona nobis pacem to dona eis requiem sempiternam:

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest, eternal.

[edit] Communion

Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis ; cum Sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with your saints forever, for you are merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them. with your saints forever, for you are merciful.

As with the regular Sunday or ferial Mass in penitential seasons, the Gloria (from the Ordinary) is always omitted in a Requiem Mass. In the Tridentine form of the Roman Rite and Alleluia (from the Proper) is also omitted, as being overly joyful, and is replaced by the Tract. Likewise, the Credo (which, like the Gloria, is used in the ordinary Mass only on more solemn feasts) is never used in the Requiem Mass. The Dies iræ was rendered optional in 1967 and was omitted altogether from the revised Mass in 1969; at the same time, the Tract was abolished and the Alleluia added to the Requiem Mass, except in Lent, when it is replaced also at ordinary Masses by a less joyful acclamation.

The Requiem Mass is often followed by Absolution of the dead, which in turn will proceed to the burial of the body in the case of an actual funeral service.

[edit] Added movements

Some settings contain additional texts, such as the devotional motet Pie Jesu (in the settings of Dvořák, Fauré, and Duruflé—Fauré set it as a soprano solo in the center). Libera me (from the Absolution) and In paradisum (from the burial service, which in the case of a funeral follows after the Mass) conclude some compositions. Other added movements have been composed as well, such as the Psalms Out of the Deep (130) and The Lord is My Shepherd (23) included in John Rutter's setting.

[edit] Libera Me

Main article: Libera Me

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda: Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal on that fearful day, when the heavens and the earth shall be moved, when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. I am made to tremble, and I fear, till the judgment be upon us, and the coming wrath, when the heavens and the earth shall be moved. That day, day of wrath, calamity, and misery, day of great and exceeding bitterness, when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.

[edit] In paradisum

Main article: In paradisum

In paradisum deducant te Angeli: in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.

May angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

[edit] Pie Jesu

Main article: Pie Jesu

The Pie Jesu combines and paraphrases of the final verse of the Dies irae and the Agnus Dei.

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Dona eis requiem sempiternam.

O sweet Lord Jesus, grant them rest; grant them everlasting rest.

Mother Sigrid Agocsi OHR
Mother Superior
Order of the Holy Rose

http://www.abbeyoftheholyrose.webs.com