An urn containing cremated remains is seen in a niche in the Holy Rood Cemetery mausoleum in Westbury, N.Y., in 2010. During an Oct. 25 news conference in Rome, Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that while the Catholic Church continues to prefer burial in the ground, it accepts cremation as an option, but forbids the scattering of ashes or keeping cremated remains at home. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
The church’s funeral rites ‘offer worship, praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of a life which has now been returned to God’
By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
“He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying or pain; the first things have passed away.”
This verse from the book of Revelation lines the front cover of the “Understanding our Catholic Funeral Rites” pamphlet produced by the diocesan Office of Worship. The document, available at http://bit.ly/2eQV4w0, explains the beauty and graces of the church’s ceremonies honoring the dead.
Catholics dedicate the month of November, in particular All Souls Day on Nov. 2, to remembering the deceased. A closer look at Catholic funeral rites provides a renewed understanding of the reverence the church has for its faithful departed, the consolation and healing it offers grieving families and the powerful ways these rites connect us to God’s promise of eternal life.
Evolution of funeral rites
Three rites comprise the whole of a Catholic funeral: A vigil service, a funeral Mass, and final commendation and committal.
The “Order of Christian Funerals” explains that these rites “offer worship, praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of a life which has now been returned to God,” and plead for God’s mercy for the forgiveness of the sins of the deceased. Ideally none of these rites should be omitted.
Diocesan judicial vicar and canon lawyer Father Mark Gantley noted that funerals have evolved throughout history.
In the past, the body of the deceased would first be prepared and shrouded in the person’s home. Family, friends and neighbors gathered for a few days of visitation with the dead, Father Gantley said, “for the purpose of joining in the prayer for the deceased person and to give consolation to those who are grieving.”
The body would then be carried to the church trailed by a procession of loved ones on foot. Psalms and antiphons would be sung along the way.
Next, a funeral liturgy would be held in the parish church of the deceased. The faith community would offer the sacrifice of the Mass to support the mourning family and offer prayers for the soul of the dead.
A funeral Mass features several symbols. According to the Order of Christian Funerals, a white pall placed over the coffin signifies “the baptismal garment of the deceased” and the “Christian dignity” of the person. Holy water used to bless the body recalls “the saving waters of baptism.”
The Easter candle, when present at a funeral, “reminds the faithful of Christ’s undying presence among them, of his victory over sin and death.”
Father Gantley explained that after the funeral Mass, the body traditionally would be escorted to the parish graveyard or nearby cemetery by another procession.
The deceased would then be finally commended to God, and loved ones would bid their last farewells as the body was laid to rest.
Such funeral practices are being adapted in the modern day to accommodate issues of cost, convenience and safety.
Many families, for example, now shorten visitation and viewing periods. Funeral processions — by foot or car — have mostly been phased out. The body of the deceased is no longer prepared by his or her family, but at a mortuary. Mourners are usually asked to leave the cemetery before their loved one has been buried.
“While emotionally this may be easier, it is also a means for avoiding the reality of death and moving through the stages of grief in a way that brings eventual healing and peace,” Father Gantley said.
Undermined as well are the opportunities offered by the church for profound solace and reflection on the mysteries of life and death.
“It seems that in our current funeral trends we are losing the sense of the funeral rites having a sense of a procession, symbolizing our movement from this world into the joy of heaven,” Father Gantley noted.
The biggest loss, he said, is when families opt for a short service for the deceased at the funeral home chapel or cemetery without the celebration of the Eucharist.
“Lost is an opportunity not only to pray for the one who died, but also an opportunity for the family to be evangelized,” he said.
Common questions
Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, fields some of the inquiries from local families regarding Catholic funerals.
The most common questions he receives concern eulogies and nuances about the funeral liturgy.
According to the Order of Christian Funerals, eulogies and other tributes should be done at the wake or vigil for the deceased. The vigil, which may be celebrated at the home of the dead or at a cemetery or mortuary chapel, is a brief Liturgy of the Word service with Scripture readings and prayers.
The vigil may be preceded or followed by speeches of remembrance, photo slide shows and performances of secular songs and dances in honor of the dead.
The funeral Mass allows for a few words to be spoken in remembrance of the deceased just before the final commendation. The sacredness and solemnity of the funeral liturgy, however, must be respected otherwise.
Funeral Masses may be celebrated any day of the week, including Sunday. Exceptions are the Sundays of Advent, Lent and Easter, as well as holy days of obligation, Holy Thursday and the Easter Triduum.
“A Sunday funeral Mass, though not typical, is permissible because it celebrates the hoped-for resurrection of the deceased in Christ,” Deacon Cordero noted.
The “Ceremonial of Bishops” cites that at a funeral Mass, the coffin should be placed “in the position that the deceased held in the liturgical assembly.” The body of an ordained minister should lie facing the congregation, while the body of a layperson must face the altar.
Music is encouraged, with appropriate hymns and psalms selected by the family, in a funeral liturgy.
The Order of Christian Funerals states that “any national flags or the flags or insignia of associations to which the deceased belonged are to be removed from the coffin at the entrance of the church. They may be replaced after the coffin has been taken from the church.”
Deacon Cordero said pastoral sensitivity is required when addressing these and other questions from families in mourning. Each case for the deceased must be carefully considered in light of the church’s funeral norms and catechetical teachings.
About cremation
Cremation is a particularly sensitive topic when discussing Catholic funeral rites.
In 1963, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released an instructional document permitting cremation as long as it was not done for anti-Christian motives.
In sum, Father Gantley notes that if cremation is chosen by a family for their deceased loved one, the church offers the preference that a vigil and funeral Mass with the body still take place. Ideally the final commendation should be done at the crematorium, followed by burial of the ashes.
“Yet due to cremation being chosen often primarily due to reasons of cost,” Father Gantley said, “this is more expensive, and usually cremation is done before the Mass.”
The canon lawyer explained that “significant problems occur when there is no plan to bury the cremated remains of the human body.”
“A human person is not complete until his or her body and soul are reunited,” Father Gantley said. “The scattering of ashes on the ground, on the sea or into the air is not the treatment appropriate to be given to the remains of a human person and certainly not to the remains of a Christian who shared in the mystery of Christ.”
Father Gantley said canon law does not object to burial at sea. Ashes, however, must be contained entirely in an urn or other vessel, and not scattered. Regulations for this can be found on the Diocese of Honolulu website, http://catholichawaii.org/media/646734/burial-at-sea-2016.pdf
Families who opt to cremate their loved one should consider creating a memorial or a gravestone for the deceased, Father Gantley said. Doing so would provide “a place of prayer” where the faithful can “leave signs of affection” such as flowers and food.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released the document “Ad resurgendum cum Christo” last month. This is an updated instruction “regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation.” For more information, the document can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/2dFpqCX.
