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• 1 2025-06-26T11:13:21-04:00 Maronite Prayer of Incense for the Departed, contributed by Alex Merheb (2025) 1 plain 2025-06-26T11:13:21-04:00
  
  I have chosen the Maronite Prayer of Incense for the Departed, a Hymn that is sung in Syriac at the end of a 40-day Mass for the deceased in my faith, the Maronite Catholic Church, a section of Christians in Lebanon and Syria.  Here is a link to a YouTube video, and here is an English translation:

  As we offer incense prayers with the scent of sweet perfume. 
  O Lord, we remember all the faithful who died. With true faith in you, O Lord, they received your body and your blood. Now they long for you and sleep in your hope. 
  
  Truly now, they sleep in faith resurrection is their hope; awaiting the Lord to come and give them their crown. That which eyes have never seen, ears have heard, nor heart has known, the glory prepared for them in heaven above. 
  
  Listen to the Son of God, telling of the fate of souls. When God calls them from the dead, they’ll rise incorrupt. Those who chose to love the Lord, will receive eternal life, but those who refused him go to judgment and death. 
  
  It was unknown in the past, that there was eternal life, more sharp, then, the pain when Isaac mourned Abraham. But to Moses God appeared, speaking with him to reveal the just and the righteous live for ever with God. 
  
  May the prayers of Blessed Mary be with us, with your blessing. 
  See the ship upon the sea, bearing treasure on the waves, resisting the storms of life, she keeps to her course. Mary is that treasure ship, Christ the treasure which she bears, restoring salvation to a world without hope. 
  
  When the saints at trial stood, giving witness to the Lord, they made Satan run for fear, they conquered deceit. Like gold tested in the fire, trials only strengthened you; triumphant your memory in heaven and earth. 
  
  May the departed rest in peace. Praise the Lord, with your blessing. 
  We commemorate the saints, who proclaimed the truth on earth, and martyrs who won the prize, receiving the crown. We commemorate the Church, and your Mother, Mary blest, and all of your faithful ones who sleep in your hope. 
  
  Give rest to your servant (servants), O Lord, in the kingdom of Heaven with all of your saints, and for ever. 
  
  O Son at the sound of your voice, the departed will rise, hear our prayer for the soul who has left us. 
  
  O Christ you once prayed to be spared, from the anguish of death. Spare us now from it Lord. Have compassion. 
  O Lord we exalt all the saints, and your Mother and ask them to pray for us all, and our loved ones.

  40 is a very significant number in the Bible. It signifies testing, preparation, or a period of transition and transformation. It’s frequently used to indicate periods of hardship, trial, or even judgment. Also, the resurrected Jesus spent 40 days on Earth before ascending to Heaven.
  
  At these Masses, after everything concludes, the final part is this communal prayer called the Maronite Prayer of Incense for the Departed. In the Maronite Catholic Church, this is said in Syriac, a subsect of Aramaic, which is the language that Jesus spoke. Having it sung in this language greatly helps with the intimacy of the Hymn. Most people don’t understand the language outside of the Mass, but it is really
  powerful nonetheless when you are in Mass.
  
  I tend to not show a ton of emotion on the outside, but when this prayer was chanted at
  the end of the 40-day Mass for my late grandfather and late great-grandmother, God rest their souls, it was really powerful. Everyone sings it together, and immediately afterwards the Priest comes over to deliver his condolences, followed by the entire parish. It is a powerful show of community
  
  As for the words themselves, even if you are not religious, I’d really encourage you to check it out. It is very solemn, but I wouldn’t say it is dark. There is a lot of discussion of hope for the deceased, now that their struggles on Earth are over and they can rest with Christ. I can find a lot of comfort in this, knowing that my deceased loved ones really are in a better place now. 
  
  There is also a lot of praying for strength for those of us who mourn, which I thought was especially relevant to this course. There is a lot of comfort in this: everyone together, singing the same words, acknowledging how difficult this process is and asking for divine intercession as we navigate it.