The Black Vespers
An All Hallows devotional tradition
One Halloween devotional practice that became popular in Brittany and some other regions was praying the Office of the Dead on the afternoon of All Hallows Eve. It was usually prayed in a dimly lit chapel or home, where families would remember their own beloved dead. The name derives from the black vestments, which were not actually worn on the day, nor is this Office designated in official texts. Rather, it was taken up as a pious act by ordinary Catholics who wished to mark the season in a more devout way.
This shouldn’t be confused with the old First Vespers for All Saints, said at the vigil, which is a seperate, quite magnificent text suppressed in 1955. Those using later Roman breviaries, even 1962, don’t have it, and a slimmer First Vespers is indicated for All Saints. (First vespers is the evening prayer saint the night before a Sunday or solemnity. For example, every Saturday night we pray the First Vespers for Sunday and then Second Vespers on Sunday night.)
Ancilla Press publishes a little booklet with these and other devotions so families can pray together.
The “Black Vespers” (Office for the Dead)
℣. O God, ✠ come to my assistance;
℟. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalms
Ant. I will walk before the Lord * in the land of the living.
Psalm 114
114:1 I have loved, because the Lord will hear * the voice of my prayer.
114:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me: * and in my days I will call upon him.
114:3 The sorrows of death have compassed me: * and the perils of hell have found me.
114:3 I met with trouble and sorrow: * and I called upon the name of the Lord.
114:4 O Lord, deliver my soul. * The Lord is merciful and just, and our God sheweth mercy.
114:6 The Lord is the keeper of little ones: * I was humbled, and he delivered me.
114:7 Turn, O my soul, into thy rest: * for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee.
114:8 For he hath delivered my soul from death: * my eyes from tears, my feet from falling.
114:9 I will please the Lord * in the land of the living.(
(Throughout, Psalms and Canticles conclude not with the Glory Be but with Eternal Rest. )
℣. Eternal rest * grant unto them, O Lord.
℟. And let perpetual light * shine upon them.
Ant. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
Ant. Woe is me! O Lord, * that my sojourn is long.
Psalm 119
119:1 In my trouble I cried to the Lord: * and he heard me.
119:2 O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, * and a deceitful tongue.
119:3 What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, * to a deceitful tongue?
119:4 The sharp arrows of the mighty, * with coals that lay waste.
119:5 Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar: * my soul hath been long a sojourner.
119:7 With them that hated peace I was peaceable: * when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.
℣. Eternal rest * grant unto them, O Lord.
℟. And let perpetual light * shine upon them.
Ant. Woe is me! O Lord, that my sojourn is long.
Ant. The Lord shall keep thee from all evil, * the Lord shall keep thy soul.
Psalm 120
120:1 I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, * from whence help shall come to me.
120:2 My help is from the Lord, * who made heaven and earth.
120:3 May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: * neither let him slumber that keepeth thee.
120:4 Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, * that keepeth Israel.
120:5 The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection * upon thy right hand.
120:6 The sun shall not burn thee by day: * nor the moon by night.
120:7 The Lord keepeth thee from all evil: * may the Lord keep thy soul.
120:8 May the Lord keep thy coming in and thy going out; * from henceforth now and for ever.
℣. Eternal rest * grant unto them, O Lord.
℟. And let perpetual light * shine upon them.
Ant. The Lord shall keep thee from all evil, the Lord shall keep thy soul.
Ant. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, * O Lord, who shall stand.
Psalm 129
129:1 Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: * Lord, hear my voice.
129:2 Let thy ears be attentive * to the voice of my supplication.
129:3 If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: * Lord, who shall stand it.
129:4 For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: * and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
129:5 My soul hath relied on his word: * my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
129:6 From the morning watch even until night, * let Israel hope in the Lord.
129:7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: * and with him plentiful redemption.
129:8 And he shall redeem Israel * from all his iniquities.
℣. Eternal rest * grant unto them, O Lord.
℟. And let perpetual light * shine upon them.
Ant. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand.
Ant. O Lord, forsake not * the works of thine own hands.
Psalm 137
137:1 I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: * for thou hast heard the words of my mouth.
137:2 I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the Angels: * I will worship towards thy holy temple, and I will give glory to thy name.
137:3 For thy mercy, and for thy truth: * for thou hast magnified thy holy name
137:4 In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me: * thou shalt multiply strength in my soul.
137:5 May all the kings of the earth give glory to thee: * for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.
137:6 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord: * for great is the glory of the Lord.
137:7 For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low: * and the high he knoweth afar off.
137:8 If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, thou wilt quicken me: * and thou hast stretched forth thy hand against the wrath of my enemies: and thy right hand hath saved me.
137:9 The Lord will repay for me: * thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: O despise not the works of thy hands.
℣. Eternal rest * grant unto them, O Lord.
℟. And let perpetual light * shine upon them.
Ant. O Lord, forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Verse
℣. I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me:
℟. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.
Magnificat
Ant. All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; * and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.
1:46 My soul ✠ * doth magnify the Lord.
1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced * in God my Savior.
1:48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; * for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
1:49 Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; * and holy is his name.
1:50 And his mercy is from generation unto generations, * to them that fear him.
1:51 He hath shewed might in his arm: * he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
1:52 He hath put down the mighty from their seat, * and hath exalted the humble.
1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; * and the rich he hath sent empty away.
1:54 He hath received Israel his servant, * being mindful of his mercy:
1:55 As he spoke to our fathers, * to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
℣. Eternal rest * grant unto them, O Lord.
℟. And let perpetual light * shine upon them.
Ant. All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.
Prayer
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.
℣. From the gates of hell.
℟. Deliver their souls, O Lord!
℣. May they rest in peace.
℟. Amen.
℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.
℟. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
℟. O God, who art thyself at once the Maker and the Redeemer of all thy faithful ones, grant unto the souls of thy servants and handmaids remission of all their sins, making of our entreaties unto our great Father a mean whereby they may have that forgiveness which they have ever hoped for.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.
Conclusion
℣. O Lord, grant them eternal rest.
℟. And let the everlasting light shine upon them.
℣. May they rest in peace.
℟. Amen.
I have a small booklet of this Office in my suit pocket. Some of the text is quite stark, but it is weirdly deeply comforting BECAUSE it is stark. This is especially so in Matins, with multiple unforgettable passages from Job.
I really cannot explain it—but I do recommend trying it. “Comforting” is perhaps the wrong word. The closest I can get to putting it into words is that it gives you permission to say to God things that you did not even know you were thinking.
I have a copy in an old collection of prayers, pre-World War II. I have to dig it out and check to see if it’s the same as the one you posted here. Thank you for posting.