All Souls: Commemoration of the Faithful Departed: Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham

A reading from Saint Thomas More, The Supplication of Souls

Consider you our pains, and pity them in your hearts, and help us with pilgrimages, and other almsdeeds: and of all things in special procure us the suffrages and blessed oblation of the Holy Mass, whereof no man living so well can tell the fruit, as we that here feel it. The comfort that we have here, except our continual hope in Our Lord God, comes at season from Our Lady, with such glorious saints, as either ourselves with our own devotion while we lived or ye with yours for us since our decease and departing have made intercessors for us.

And among other right especially be we beholden to the blessed spirits our own proper good angels, whom, when we behold coming with comfort to us, albeit that we take great pleasure and greatly rejoice therein, yet is it not without much confusion and shamefastness, to consider how little we regarded our good angels, and how seldom we thought upon them while we lived. They carry up our prayers to God and good saints for us, and they bring down from them the comfort and consolation to us with which, when they come and comfort us, only we and God know the joy it is to our hearts and how heartily we pray for you. And therefore, if God accept the prayer after his own favor borne towards him that prays, and the affection that he prays With, our prayer must needs be profitable, for we stand sure of his grace. And our prayer for you is so fervent, that ye can nowhere find any such affection on earth.

And therefore since we lie sore in pains and have in our great necessity so great need of your help, and that ye may so well do it whereby shall also rebound upon yourself an inestimable profit: let never any slothful oblivion raze us out of your remembrance, Of malicious enemy of ours cause you to be careless of us, or any greedy mind upon your good withdraw your gracious alms from us. Think how soon ye shall come hither to us; think what great grief and rebuke would then your unkindness be to you, what comfort on the contrary part when all we shall thank you, what help ye shall have here of your good sent hither.

Remember what kin ye and we be together, what familiar friendship has ere this been between us, what sweet words ye have spoken and what promise ye have made us. Let now your words appear and your fair promise be kept. Now, dear friends, remember how nature and Christendom binds you to remember us. If any point of your old favor, any piece of your old love, any kindness of kindred, any care of acquaintance, any favor of old friendship, any spark of charity, any tender point of pity, any regard of charity, any respect Of Christendom, be left in your breasts: let never the malice of a few fond fellows, a few pestilent persons borne towards priesthood, religion, and your Christian Faith raze out of your heart the care of all your kindred, all force of your old friends, and all remembrance of all Christian souls.

Remember our thirst while ye sit and drink, our hunger while ye be feasting, our restless watch while ye be sleeping, our sore and grievous pain while ye be playing, our hot burning fire while ye be in pleasure and sporting. So must God make your offspring after remember you: so God keep you hence, or not long here, but bring you shortly to that bliss, to which for Our Lord's love help you to bring us, and we shall set hand to help you thither to us.