After the committal prayer, the rite moves through intercessions (OCF 220), one of two sets given, or either of the two sets in OCF 407, or some adaptation of these, or some newly composed. The Lord’s Prayer follows (221) and a concluding prayer (222 or 408).
The Prayer over the People (223) has three parts. After an invitation to bow heads, first:
Merciful Lord,
you know the anguish of the sorrowful,
you are attentive to the prayers of the humble.
Hear your people
who cry out to you in their need,
and strengthen their hope in your lasting goodness.We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Brief and appropriate, so as to not overshadow the main prayer of the rite, namely that of the committal.
The “Eternal rest grant …” versicle follows. Depending on the leader’s ordination status, there is one of two possibilities for the final part of this prayer. Each of them is rooted in the texts of the Scriptures. The final rubric instructs that “a song may conclude the rite.” Also, that “some sign or gesture of leave-taking may be made.”
