Celtic Prayer for the Dead (Updated 2024)

Do you want to find an amazing Celtic prayer for the funeral of your dead friend or relative? Don’t worry, we have loads of Irish, Scottish, and other Celtic Funeral prayers for the dead.

Celtic Prayer for the Dead: ‘Thou Goest Home This Night

To thy home of winter, to thy home of autumn, of spring, and of summer.
Thou goest home this night to thy perpetual home,
To thine eternal bed, to thine eternal slumber.

Sleep thou, sleep, and away with thy sorrow,
Sleep thou, sleep, and away with thy sorrow,
Sleep thou, sleep, and away with thy sorrows.

Sleep, thou beloved, in the Rock of the Fold.
Sleep this night in the breast of thy Mother,
Sleep, thou beloved, while she herself soothes thee;
Sleep thou this night on the Virgin’s arm,
Sleep, thou beloved, while she herself kisses thee.

The great sleep of Jesus, the surpassing sleep of Jesus,
The sleep of Jesus’ wound, the sleep of Jesus’ grief.
The young sleep of Jesus, the restoring sleep of Jesus,
The sleep of the kiss of Jesus of peace and of glory.

The sleep of the seven lights be thine, beloved,
The sleep of the seven joys be thine, beloved,
The sleep of the seven slumbers be thine, beloved,
On the arm of the Jesus of blessings, the Christ of grace. Thou goest home this night’

Until We Meet Again: Celtic Prayer for the Dead

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

May the rains fall upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Celtic Funeral Prayer for a Dead Young Child

This is a prayer request asking God to accept a dead Child into His arms. This prayer was extracted from Common Prayer from the Church of Ireland Book. The prayer from the book leaves spaces for the dead child’s name but we will be replacing those spaces with the name ‘Mona‘ (old-fashioned Moniker).

“O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst take little children into thine arms and bless them; open thou our eyes, we beseech thee, that we may perceive that thou hast taken this child Mona into the arms of thy love, and bless Mona with the blessings of thy gracious favor; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.”

Holy Mary, Pray for Sinners at the Hour of Their Death

Hail Mary, 
Full of Grace, 
The Lord is with thee. 
Blessed art thou among women, 
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus. 
Holy Mary, 
Mother of God, 
pray for us sinners now, 
and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Death is Nothing by Henry Scott Holland (Celtic Prayer for the Dead)

Death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away to the next room.

I am I and you are you.

Whatever we were to each other, 

That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.

Speak to me in the easy way

which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed

at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word

that it always was.

Let it be spoken without effect.

Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolute unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind

because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you.

For an interval.

Somewhere. Very near.

Just around the corner. All is well.

Nothing is past; nothing is lost One brief moment and all will be as it was before only better, infinitely happier, and forever we will all be one together with Christ.

Celtic Prayer for the Dead by Ray Simpson

The prayers below were collected from ‘Celtic Blessings for Everyday Life’ by Ray Simpson. In the prayers below there were spaces to insert names but we will be replacing the spaces with the name ‘Mona‘ (old-fashioned Moniker).

Father , I place Mona into your hands;

Acknowledge a sheep of your own fold,

A lamb of your own flock,

A sinner of your own redeeming.

Enfold Mona in the arms of your mercy,

In the blessed rest of everlasting peace,

And in the glorious company of the saints in light.

Go forth upon your journey from this world,

In the Name of God the Father who created you;

In the Name of Jesus Christ who died for you;

In the Name of the Holy Spirit the moving force of God;

In friendship with God’s saints;

Aided by the holy angels.

May you rest this day in 
the peace and love of your eternal home.

May you be as free as the wind
 As soft as sheeps wool
 As straight as an arrow
 That you may journey into the heart of God.

Should in case the dead person is baptised, below is a prayer for the deseased:

May you who were baptised Mona 
now be immersed into the life of God: (sprinkle water over the coffin)

Into the presence of our Creator I immerse you

Into the presence of our Saviour I immerse you

Into the presence of the Spirit I immerse you

May the kind Michael, chief of the holy angels,
Take charge of your beloved soul

And tenderly bring it home

To the Three of limitless love:
 Creator, Saviour, Eternal Life-giver

NOTE: We intend to strictly provide you with Celtic prayers for the dead, that’s why the prayers above were not formulated, they are actual prayers used in the Celtic region to say farewell to the dead.

I know we may not currently be able to cover all the Celtic prayers for the dead that’s why we decided to be open to welcoming any Celtic prayers for the dead from individuals or organizations provided we can verify the prayers to be actual Celtic prayers for the dead.

A Time for Everything

This prayer below was coined from the popular verse of the Bible, Ecclesiastes 3 from verses 1 to 2. The passage of the bible lets us understand that everything under the sun has its time and purpose. This passage of the bible is well-known for being used at wake-keep and funerals in different parts of the world. The Celtic people also adopted the words from the passage but without the reference to God. Below is the prayer.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…

Celtic Blessings and Prayer Quotes for the Dead

The Irish people and other Celtic regions are well-known for their amazing way of sending off deceased individuals back to their eternal homes.

From the traditional wake-keeping down to the eulogy, the Celtic people celebrate and honor the lives of their deceased through prayers, storytelling, and poems which include funny funeral toasts, and Celtic blessings for the dead. Below is a list of Celtic blessings and prayers for the dead.

1. “Death leaves pains that no one can repair but love leaves memories that no one can take.”

2. “Here’s to a long life and a happy one, a quick death and an easy one, a gorgeous girl and an honest one, a cold beer, and another one.”

3). “It is better to buy a small bouquet and present it to your buddy today instead of a bushel of red and white roses to lay on his coffin after his death.”

4). “To beefsteak when you’re hungry, Whiskey when you are thirsty, all the women you will ever want, and heaven when you die,”

5). “When we drink, we become inebriated. We fall asleep when we are inebriated, and we do not sin when we sleep. We go to paradise when we do not sin. So, let us all get drunk and head to heaven!”

6). “May you have clothing and food, as well as a comfortable pillow for your head.” May you spend forty years in heaven before the devil realizes you’re no longer alive.”

Summary

Offering prayers for the dead during funerals can often bring healing, hope, remembrance, and strength. Additionally, the blessings and prayers help to preserve the memory of the deceased while mentally helping everyone present. I hope the prayers and blessings provided above were able to help you properly honor your deceased family member or friend.

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