Bereavement Novena Prayer

Day 1

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters,
He restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil, for You are with me,
Your rod and Your staff – they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,
You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my hole life long.

Psalm 23
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 2

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and to release the prisoners.
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn.
Isaiah 61:1-2

The eyes of all in the Synagogue were fixed on Him.
Then (Jesus) began to say to them:
” Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing “

Luke 4:20-21
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 3

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

As He approached the gate of the town, a man who died was
being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was
a widow, and with her was a large crowd from the town.
When the Lord saw her, He had compassion for her and said
to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came forward and touched the
bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man,
I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to His Mother.
Luke 7:12-15
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 4

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

When Jesus saw (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who came
with her also weeping, He was greatly disturbed in Spirit and
deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said
to Him, “Lord come and see.” Jesus began to weep… and Jesus
looked upward and said, “Father, I thank You for having heard
Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I have said this for the
sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that
You sent Me.” When He had said this He cried with a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and
feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.

John 11:33-35,41-44
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

Day 5

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

It was now about noon, and the darkness came over the whole
land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed, and
the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying
with a loud voice, said, “Father into Your hands I commend My
Spirit”. Having said this He breathed His last.When the centurion
saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly
this man was innocent.” And when all the crowds who had
gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place,
they returned home, beating their breasts. But all His
acquaintances, including the women who had followed Him from
Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Luke 23:44-49
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 6

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me,
even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and
believes in Me will never die.”
John 11:25-26

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also
in Me. In My Fathers House there are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a
place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am,
there you may be also.
John 14:1-3
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 7

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be
raised imperishable and we’ll be changed. When this perishable
body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on
immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death is your victory? where, O death is your sting?”
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 54-55, 57
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 8

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,
about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others
do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those
who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the
Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the
Lord Himself with a cry of command, with the Archangel’s call and
with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from Heaven, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet
the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
To recall through out the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

……………….

Day 9

(Begin with the opening prayer)For meditation:

Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth; for the first Heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
Heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying:
“See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with
them as their God; they will be His peoples, and God Himself
will be with them; He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no
more, for the first things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4
To recall throughout the day:

” Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted “

Matthew 5:4
(End with the closing prayer)

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from

^{The New Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic Edition.}