Memorial Card Verses Donegal
Religious
The Memorare (V100)
Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone that fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help,
or sought Thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of Virgins my Mother;
to Thee I come; before Thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in Thy clemency hear and answer me.
We Hold You Close (V101)
We hold you close within our hearts, And there you shall remain, To walk with us throughout our lives Until we meet again. So rest in peace dear loved one And thanks for all you’ve done, We pray that God has given you, The crown you’ve truly won.
Prayer for Holy Rest (V102)
O Lord, support us all day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world lies hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last.
A Precious One (V103)
A precious one from us has gone
A voice we loved is stilled
A place is vacant in our home
Which never can be filled.
God in His wisdom has recalled
The boon his love had given
And though the body slumbers here
The soul is safe in Heaven.
A Light is Gone (V104)
A light is from our household gone,
A voice we loved is stilled,
A place is vacant in our home,
That never can be filled.
Lonely is the home without you,
Life to us is not the same;
All the world would be like heaven,
If we could have you back again.
May the God of love and mercy,
Care for our loved one who is gone,
And bless with consolation,
Those left to carry on.
Hail Holy Queen (V105)
Hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then most gracious Advocate thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may
be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
A Sudden Parting (V106)
Too bitter to forget,
Those who loved you dearly,
Are the ones who can’t forget.
We often sit and think of you,
And think of how you died;
To think you could not say goodbye,
Before you closed your eyes.
Your life was one of kindly deeds,
A helping hand for others’ needs,
Sincere and true in heart and mind
Beautiful memories left behind.
We did not know that morning,
What sorrow the day would bring,
When a heart of gold stopped beating,
And we couldn’t do a thing.
Two tired eyes are sleeping,
Two willing hands are still,
The one who worked so hard for us,
Is resting at God’s will.
We never fail to think of you,
We never cease to care,
We only wish we could go home,
And find you waiting there.
I Thought Of You With Love Today (V107)
but that is nothing new
I thought about you yesterday
and days before that too,
I think of you in silence,
I often speak your name,
all I have are memories
and your picture in a frame.
Your memory is my keepsake
with which I’ll never part
God has you in His keeping,
I have you in my heart.
Home in Heaven (V108)
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this Everlasting Light.
All the pain and grief are over,
Every restless yearning past;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in Heaven at last.
Dear one, do not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still;
Try to look beyond earth’s shadows,
Pray to trust our Father’s will.
When your work is completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh! the rapture of that meeting!
Oh, the joy to see you come.
When I Come to the End of the Road (V109)
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little but not for long
And not with your head bowed low
Remember the love we once shared
Miss me – but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take
And each must go alone
It’s all part of the Master’s plan
A step on the road to home.
A silent tear (V110)
Each night we shed a silent tear,
As we speak to you in prayer,
To let you know we love you,
And just how much we care.
We take a million tear-drops,
And wrap them up in love,
Then ask the wind to carry them
To you in Heaven above.
God called your name (V111)
God called your name so softly,
That only you could hear;
And no one heard the footsteps,
Of angels drawing near.
The golden gates stood open,
God saw you needed rest;
God’s garden must be beautiful,
He only takes the best.
Gone from our home (V112)
As we sat beside your bedside
Our hearts were crushed and sore;
We did our duty to the end
’Till we could do no more.
For many years the family chain
Was closely linked together;
But, oh that chain is broken now,
The main link gone forever.
Gone from our home that smiling face,
The cheerful happy ways
The heart that won so many friends
In bygone happy days.
The sunshine of our happy home
Must always clouded be;
But thou, O Lord have sent this cross,
We bear it all for thee.
Our lips cannot speak how we loved you,
Our hearts cannot tell our dismay;
And only God knows how we miss you
In our home that is lonely today.
Lonely is the home (V113)
Lonely is the home without you,
Life to us is not the same.
All the world would be like heaven
If we could have you back again.
May the God of love and mercy
Care for our loved one who is gone
And bless with consolation
Those left to carry on.
God has not promised (V114)
God has not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labour, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
Remember Me When I am Gone Away (V115)
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned;
Only remember me, you understand
It will be too late to counsel then or pray,
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve;
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Immortality (V116)
Do not stand by my grave and weep
I am not dead, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am a diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunset on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the autumn hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight;
I am the soft star that shines at night,
Do not stand by my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.
Earthbound Angel (V117)
Occasionally, we are graced
with the presence of an earth-bound angel.
They are unable to stay with us for long,
but while they do, they bring
unprecedented joy and happiness to all they touch.
Too Beautiful for Earth (V118)
An angel in the book of life
Wrote down our baby’s birth
She whispered as she closed the book
“Too beautiful for earth.”
Angel Child (V119)
God needed one more angel child amidst his shining band
And so he bent with loving smile
and clasped our darling’s hand.
Have Faith and Trust (V120)
It’s so strange that those we need,
And those we love the best,
Are just the ones God called away,
And took them home to rest.
But every time I think of Dad,
I seem to hear God say,
“Have faith and trust in my promise,
You’ll meet again some day”.
What he suffered (V121)
What he suffered he told but few,
He did not deserve what he went through,
Tired and weary he made no fuss,
But tried so hard to stay with us.
Two tired eyes are sleeping,
Two willing hands are still;
The one who worked so hard for us,
Is resting at God’s will.
Our lips cannot speak how we loved him,
Our hearts cannot tell what to say;
But God only knows how we miss him,
In our home that is lonely today.
Mother in Gladness (V122)
Mother in gladness, mother in sorrow,
Mother today, and mother tomorrow,
With arms ever open to fold and caress you
O mother of mine, may God keep you and bless you.
What she suffered (V123)
What she suffered she told but few,
She did not deserve what she went through,
Tired and weary she made no fuss,
But tried so hard to stay with us.
Two tired eyes are sleeping,
Two willing hands are still;
The one who worked so hard for us,
Is resting at God’s will.
Our lips cannot speak how we loved her,
Our hearts cannot tell what to say;
But God only knows how we miss her,
In our home that is lonely today.
Dewdrops (V124)
Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of birds in the sunny weather.
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
General
A ship sails (V201)
Bishop Brent
A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon. Someone at my side says,
‘She is gone’.
Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large now as when I last saw her. Her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone beside me says she is gone, there are others who are watching her coming over their horizon and other voices take up a glad shout, ‘Here she comes!’ And that is dying.
Do Not Weep For Me (V202)
Do not weep for me,
For I have loved and been loved by my family,
By those I loved who loved me back.
For I never knew a stranger, only friends.
Do not weep for me. I am not gone.
Butterfly (V203)
As you danced in the light with joy,
love lifted you.
As you brushed against this world so gently, you lifted us.
My Wish For You (V204)
This is my wish for you:
Comfort on difficult days,
smiles when sadness intrudes,
rainbows to follow the clouds,
laughter to kiss your lips,
sunsets to warm your heart,
hugs when spirits sag,
beauty for your eyes to see,
friendships to brighten your being,
faith so that you can believe,
confidence for when you doubt,
courage to know yourself,
patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.
Forget Me Not (V205)
When I am gone
In hearts and prayers
I will live on.
Be strong, be brave
And dry your tears,
Remember all
Our happy years.
Your Gentle Face (V206)
Your gentle face and patient smile
With sadness we recall
You had a kindly word for each
And died beloved by all.
We will miss you now, our hearts are sore As time goes by we miss you more
Your loving smile, your gentle face
No one can fill your vacant place.
There Is Another Sky (V207)
Emily Dickinson
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests,
Never mind silent fields –
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (V208)
William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The Arrow and the Song (V209)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
The Memorare (V210)
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little but not for long
And not with your head bowed low
Remember the love we once shared
Miss me – but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take
And each must go alone
It’s all part of the Master’s plan
A step on the road to home.
The Lord’s Prayer (V211)
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The Lord is my Shepherd (V212)
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 paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
St. Patrick’s Breastplate (V213)
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Christ’s is the Seed (V214)
Into God’s barn may we be brought.
Christ’s is the sea, Christ’s is the fish
In the nets of God may we be caught.
From Birth to age and from age to death,
May your two arms, O Christ, be around us.
From Death to the end, not the end but a rebirth,
In the Paradise of Graces may we be.
Short Verses
All I Ask (V500)
Eternal Rest (V501)
God’s Garden (V502)
Love each other (V503)
Don’t be sad, but courage take,
and love each other for my sake.
Everlasting peace (V504)
We’ll find an everlasting peace,
Together with the Lord.
Forever in our hearts (V505)
Always in our thoughts,
forever in our hearts.
Always there (V506)
In the hearts of those who loved you
you will always be there.
Never forgotten (V507)
We have loved him in life,
let us not forget him in death.
Very Near (V508)
Although he’s gone, he is very near,
still loved, still missed and very dear.
A daily thought (V509)
A daily thought, a silent tear,
A constant wish that you were here.
Our dearest love (V510)
He is not lost our dearest love,
nor has he travelled far,
Just stepped inside
home’s loveliest room
and left the door ajar.
Your Life (V511)
Your life was love and labour,
Your love for your family true;
You did your best for all of us,
We will always remember you.
Death Leaves a Heartache (V512)
Death leaves a heartache
no one can heal.
Love leaves a memory that no one can steal.
The Good Fight (V513)
(Timothy 4:7-8)
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of Righteousness.
Memories (V514)
with memories that will always last.
Sadly Missed (V515)
Sadly missed along life’s way,
Quietly remembered every day,
No longer in our life to share,
But in our hearts you’re always there.
I Ask of You But This (V516)
that you do not forget me in your prayers.
However Long the Night (V517)
God is our Refuge (V518)
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
Irish Verses
An Memorare (V910)
Ár nAthair (V911)
Ár nAthair atá ar neamh,
go naofar d’ainm.
Go dtaga do ríocht.
Go ndéantar do thoil ar an talamh
mar a dhéantar ar neamh.
Ár n-arán laethúil tabhair dúinn inniu,
agus maith dúinn ár bhfiacha
mar a mhaithimidne
dár bhféichiúnaithe féin.
Agus ná lig sinn i gcathú,
ach saor sinn ó olc. Áméin.
’Sé an Tiarna mAoire (V912)
’Sé an Tiarna mAoire: ní bheidh aon ní
de dhíth orm. Cuireann Sé féin i mo luí mé i mó inéar féir ghlais. Seolann Sé ar imeall an uisce mé mar a bhfaighim suaimhneas.
Seolann Sé ar shlí na fíréantachta mé mar gheall ar A ainm. Fiú dá siúlfainn i ngleann an dorchadais, níor bhaol liom an t-olcagus Tú faram le Do shlat is Do bhachall chun sólás a thabhairt dom.
Lúireach Phádraig (V913)
Críost liom, Críost romham, Críost i mo dhiaidh, Críost istigh ionam, Críost fúm, Críost os mo chionn, Críost ar mo lámh dheas, Críost ar mo lámh chlé, Críost i mo lúi dom, Críost i mo sheasamh dom, Críost i gcrói gach duine atá ag cuimhneamh orm, Críost i mbéal gach duine a labhráionn lom, Críost i ngach súil a fhéachann orm, Críost i ngach cluas a éisteann liom.
Ag Críost an Síol (V914)
Ag Críost an síol, ag Críost an fómhar:
In iothlann Dé go dtugtar sinn.
Ag Críost an mhuir, Ag Críost an t-iasc:
I líontaibh Dé Go gcastar sinn.
Ó fhás go haois is ó aois go bás,
Do dhá lámh’, a Chríost,
Anall tharainn. Ó bhás go críoc nach críoc ach athfhás,
I bParthas na ngrás go rabhaimid.