A reader writes about that to which I, of course, agreed:
PLEASE! Emergency Chaplet [of the Immaculate Conception]! For the husband of a pro-life warrior…..was not expected to live past Monday. Too weak for further treatment. So grateful that you told us about this powerful offering.
UPDATE: Liz writes: Prayers for the grace of a happy death for my mother as well, please! She is nonresponsive and not breathing on her own. Also prayers please for the family and our differing opinions, that we all seek God’s will instead of our own. Thank you and prayers for the above mentioned person.
On occasion, we might want to offer that chaplet for all who are to die this day. Our Lady, of course, knows more about death and dying than all of us put together. Saint Joseph surely died in her arms, and she held… Jesus…
I remember a priest forbidding the Ave Maria to be sung during/after Holy Communion at a funeral for the stated reason that Mary has nothing to do with the Mass, particularly a funeral Mass. I appealed to him again when I heard he had said this to a family, saying that we Catholics ask our Lady umpteen gazillion times during our lives to “…pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen!” He wasn’t in the least impressed, citing “liturgists.” I’ve always made sure to include the Ave Maria in any funeral I’ve done. Yikes!
Having said that, Saint Joseph has always been hailed as the patron saint of a happy death, that is, a well provided for death, in which one is in the state of grace and ready to meet one’s Maker. The reason for the happiness in his case is that surely he had Jesus and Mary right there while he was dying. In praying to him, we are asking for the grace of final perseverence for ourselves and those who are in their last agony. I’ve edited the following prayer just a bit to make it easier to say for someone who is dying right now:
ETERNAL Father, by the love Thou bearest toward St. Joseph,
who was chosen by Thee from among all men to exercise Thy
divine fatherhood over the Thy Son made Man, have mercy on
N. and upon all poor souls who are in their agony.Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .
ETERNAL Son of God, by the love Thou bearest toward
St. Joseph, who was Thy most faithful guardian upon earth,
have mercy on N. and upon all poor souls who are in their agony.Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .
ETERNAL Spirit of God, by the love Thou bearest toward
St. Joseph, who guarded with such tender care most holy Mary,
Thy beloved spouse, have mercy on N. and upon all poor souls who are in their agony.Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
Good start to the day. Thank you, Father.
There was a local priest here who forbade the Ave Maria at Mass for the same reason: that Mary has nothing to do with the Mass (and, for reasons passing understanding, also cited Mary’s last recorded words in the Gospels: “Do whatever He tells you”). To which the obvious answer is: the Mass is the Sacrifice of the Cross, and Mary stood at the foot of it.
Prayed.
Since the advent of the bidding prayers in England in the Novus Ordo they always ended with the ‘Hail Mary’ in honour of England being ‘Our Lady’s Dowry.’ Our Bishop has now banned this saying it is non liturgical – I don’t know about other dioceses. There is of course nothing to stop us praying it before or after Mass.
And, of course, the first thing that is said after Mass in many places is the Hail Mary, times three, followed by the Salve Regina, a prayer for the Church, the Saint Michael Prayer we know so well, and then, three times:
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us!
I’m sure you remember these!
These prayers are still allowed (as are any prayers after Mass) both in the Ordinary and Extradinary Forms of the Mass. In fact, both JPII and BXVI encouraged this also for the Novus Ordo.
Prayers for the grace of a happy death for my mother as well, please! She is nonresponsive and not breathing on her own. Also prayers please for the family and our differing opinions, that we all seek God’s will instead of our own. Thank you and prayers for the above mentioned person.
I will remember ,Liz.F’s mother in my prayers.
Thanks, Fr. George, Mr. Fullerton and all! It’s been rough, but we can see many graces. Prayers are so powerful!