Funerals

Catholic liturgical celebrations commend the deceased to God, present our faith in resurrection, and provide hope and support to the grieving. The funeral rites have three main times of prayer for the family and the Church community: the Vigil, the Funeral Liturgy and the Rite of Committal.

The Vigil

The Vigil usually follows the pattern of Scripture readings, intercessions, the Lord's Prayer, concluding prayers and blessings. It can be celebrated in the Church, in the home of the deceased or in a funeral home, and the format can be adapted to suit the particular place.

The Vigil is usually preceded by a visitation, where friends and relatives gather to offer condolences and share memories of the person who has died. This recounting of life events is important to the grieving process. The visitation includes time for communal prayer, to support the bereaved and to pray on behalf of the person who has died.

The Funeral Liturgy

The Funeral Liturgy is the main celebration when family, friends and the Church community take solace in Scripture, give thanks for Christ's victory over sin and death and receive the Holy Communion.

The symbolic elements:

Welcoming the body into the Church - in remembrance of Baptism, the first welcoming into the Church.

The sprinkling of holy water - reminding of Baptism's redemptive waters.

Easter candle - Christ's conquering of sin and death.

Funeral pall - The white cloth draped over the casket represents the white garment received at Baptism. Christian symbols can be placed on top of the pall, most often the cross and Bible.

Christian community - give witness to our hope in the resurrection.

Word of God - brings to our consciousness the presence of our loving God.

Eucharistic sacrifice - the thanking for, the offering of and the sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ is a foretaste of Heaven's everlasting banquet.

Words of Remembrance - different from a eulogy, this is an optional time for loved ones to give witness to the Christian life lived by the deceased.

Final commendation - the farewell affirms that, though separated for now, we share the same destiny of resurrection on the last day.

Blessing with incense - a symbol of respect. The rising smoke is a sign of the community's prayers for the deceased rising to God.

Rite of Committal

This prayer brings the earthly remains to a final resting place. The Rite of Committal consists of Scripture, a prayer over the place of committal, intercessions, the Our Father, concluding prayer and a prayer over the mourners. This rite may be celebrated at graveside, crematorium or burial at sea. Concluding the rite is a final time of prayer, accompanied by a parting sign such as the sprinkling of holy water.

Catholic Position on Cremation

Christian tradition has been to bury or entomb the remains of the deceased. Until 1963, the Church forbade cremation for Catholics, based in part on the belief that the practice was paganish, and in part on the belief of the resurrection of the body. In 1963, the Church lifted the ban and since has allowed cremation as long as it is not chosen for anti-Christian reasons. The Church now recognizes that cremation might best meet the a family's needs when hygiene, expenses, or transportation across borders are of concern.

Church Preference

The Church prefers burial. If cremation is still the choice, the Church strongly prefers the presence of the beloved's body for the funeral rites, with cremation happening after the funeralMass. However, Catholic funeral liturgy does include prayers for circumstances when cremated remains are present.

If Cremation Has Preceded the Funeral Mass

The ashes are to be in an urn or other "worthy vessel" carried by a loved one in the entrance procession, or placed next to the Easter candle before the funeral liturgy begins. The white funeral pall is not used as no body is present, and prayers refer to "earthly remains."

Care of the Remains

The Church requires the reverent disposition of the earthly remains. The vessel is to be transported with care and brought to a final resting place marked by a plaque or gravestone, that loved ones can visit where they can pray. Keeping the ashes in one's home or sprinkling them over land, sea, or in a memory garden, are not considered respectful of the dead.

Providing for Prayer at the Final Resting Place

The Rite of Committal is an important part of funeral rites. If there is a delay between the Funeral Liturgy and the bringing of the remains to the cemetery, mausoleum, or a columbarium, the Rite of Committal is still prescribed. Either a priest or a lay minister may lead the Rite of Committal and all are encouraged to make the necessary arrangements with the Church.

Consolation

As members of the body of Christ, when one suffers, we all suffer. Therefore, we are all called on as a community to care for the dying, to console those who mourn, and to participate actively in each segment of the funeral rites. Those who suffer need our prayers, our presence, our acts of kindness and our willingness to listen.

Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli has written a valuable article explaining Catholic Funeral Rites. Although it was written for the people of the Diocese of Wilmington, the message is for all Catholics. It includes references to other resources. The article is reprinted below, with permission.

The Need to Promote the Consistent Use of Catholic Funeral

By Most Reverend Michael A. Saltarelli, Bishop of Wilmington

October 28, 1999

The Catholic Church has a long history and experience of helping people to prepare spiritually for death and assisting families to deal with the sickness, death, burial and bereavement of a loved one.

Gathering the wisdom of the Church's long experience, I offer these words to our pastors and priests, funeral directors, grieving Catholic families, those involved in Catholic bereavement ministry and all Catholics in the Diocese of Wilmington.

There is a trend among some of our Catholic people to omit the traditional Catholic funeral rites when they experience the death of their loved ones in favor of a small prayer service at funeral home or private graveside service.

While our dedicated priests will minister to people in their time of need regardless of a family's decisions, I want to encourage Catholic priests, funeral directors, grieving Catholic families and those involved in Catholic bereavement ministry to promote together the use of the Catholic funeral ritual. ¹

Three separate and sequential rites are proposed as the most fitting way to celebrate this pilgrimage of the deceased Christian: The Vigil for the Deceased (often referred to as the Wake), the Funeral Liturgy (or mass of Christian Burial), and the Rite of Committal. The physical movement or procession from one place to another for the celebration of these rites can add to the sense of journey or pilgrimage and contribute to the experience of separation through which mourners must pass before they are able to re-center their lives after the death of a family member or friend. ²

No economic consideration, no time management concern should prevent us from working together to give our Catholic faithful the necessary spiritual and emotional support derived from a full and active participation in Catholic funeral ritual.

I appeal to Catholic family members making decisions about funeral arrangements for their relatives. Please consider the deepest hopes and desires of your loved ones in their best days and make the right choice to celebrate our Catholic funeral liturgies. The Eucharist helps to heal the sorrow that comes from the loss of a loved one. This may very well be a special moment of grace for you and your family.

The Church celebrates the funeral rites:

To offer worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God for the gift of a life which has now been returned to God (Order of Christian Funerals, #5) ³

To affirm the Church's belief in the sacredness of the human body and the resurrection of the dead (RBCCF)

To commend the dead to God's merciful love and to plead for the forgiveness of their sins (OCF, #6)

To bring hope and consolation to the living (OCF, #7)

To renew our awareness of God's mercy and judgment and to meet the human need to turn always to God in times of crisis (OCF, #7)

To support the Church's emphasis on the indispensable role of the wider community in the dying and death of a Christian (RBCCF)

To affirm and express the union of the Church on earth with the church in heaven in the one great communion of saints (OCF, #6). The celebration of the Catholic funeral rites promotes a healthy grieving process that can lead to deep levels of personal conversion and spiritual growth. In contrast, the avoidance of these funeral rites may short-circuit grief and healing.

Our Catholic tradition urges the Church today to face death with honest rituals that preserve its Christian and human values. Since, in rising to new life, Christ won victory over death for His followers, faith impels the Church to celebrate that victory in its funeral liturgies. ⁴

I also commend to you the use of our Catholic cemeteries which are a visible sign of our Catholic beliefs about death, eternal life and the communion of saints.

I thank you all in advance for your cooperation and zeal in promoting the consistent use of our Catholic funeral rites.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Michael A. Saltarelli

Bishop of Wilmington

1 Canon 1176 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law reads:

1. Christ's faithful who have died are to be given a Church funeral according to the norms of law.

2. Church funerals are to be celebrated according to the norms of the liturgical books. In these funeral rites the Church prays for the spiritual support of the dead, it honors their bodies, and at the same time it brings to the living the comfort of hope.

2 Cf. Reflections on the body, Cremation, and Catholic Funeral Rites by the Committee on the Liturgy, National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Washington, DC: Unites States Catholic Conference, 1997), 13. Subsequent references to this document are abbreviated as RBCCF.

3 Order of Christian funerals (New York, Catholic Book Publishing co., 1989). Subsequent references to this work are abbreviated as OCF.

4 RBCCF

See the original article at: http://www.cdow.org/funeralrites.html

As part of preparation for death, individuals may want to consider living wills to guide loved ones in health care decisions, and charitable giving as part of their estate plan. Here are sites that may help:

Living wills:
Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, Living Will

Charitable giving:
The Catholic Foundation, Diocese of Providence