E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

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THE MEMENTO FOR THE DEAD.
expected from this Heavenly Banquet and Sacrifice
through the same Christ our Lord.
The profound inclination of the priest in reciting
this prayer signifies the humility and earnestness of the
petition.
THE MEMENTO FOR THE DEAD.
Memento etiam, Domine,
famulorum, famularumque,
tuarum N. et N. qui nos praecesserunt
cum signo Fidei, et
dormiunt in somno pacis.
Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy
servants, men and women, N.
and N., who are gone before
us with the sign of Faith, and
sleep in the sleep of peace.
He prays for such of the Dead as he intends to pray for :
Ipsis, Domine, et omnibus in To these, O Lord, and to all
Christo quiescentibus, locum that rest in Christ, grant, we
refrigerii, lucis et pacis, ut beseech Thee, a place of reindulgeas,
deprecamur. Per freshment, light, and peace,
eumdem Christum Dominum Through the same Christ our
nostrum. Amen. Lord. Amen.
The practice of praying for the dead at Mass dates
from Apostolic times. The actual Memento in a low
voice now in use was probably introduced in the
eleventh or twelfth century, when the names (where
N. and N. are now placed) of the dead were read at
Mass from the Diptychs.
The Memento for the Living is placed before the Con
secration. The living can join in offering the Sacrifice
with the priest ; the dead cannot offer the Sacrifice; they
can only benefit by its fruits, especially by the satis
factory power of the Mass. The Memento for the Dead
comes after the Consecration, when the Lamb is mysti
cally slain, reduced to the state of a victim.