Funerals — Part 2 of 2

Mar 22

You’re Going to Die, so Please Read This

March 23, 2025

Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~

Last week I ran the first part of this two-part series on Catholic funerals. If you haven’t already read the first part, please do so by visiting Holy Redeemer’s website and clicking on the resource tab, then on pastor’s columns. It takes you here https://holyredeemervan.org/pastor-columns/funeralspartone.

1. Eulogies are permitted at funeral vigils, receptions, the committal (graveside), in homes, etc., but as per the Order of Christian Funerals and Archdiocesan policy: we do not do eulogies at funerals. The focus at a Catholic funeral remains God and His power to save.

2. The family may request another priest to come in, and that is fine as long as:

A. The priest works through our office for all of the necessary protocols.

B. The priest observes the Church’s and Columbia River Catholic’s funeral policies and procedures.

3. We stay faithful to the liturgy of the Church, so we don’t add to the liturgy or subtract from it, not even for visiting priests.

4. Normally, Columbia River Catholic sends out notices for funerals with the hope that you will attend whenever possible. You don’t need to know the deceased to attend a funeral. Attending funerals is an act of charity for the deceased and their loved ones.

5. The Church has a wonderful tradition of having Masses offered for the souls of the deceased. Just as we pray for one another while here on earth, so too can we continue to assist our loved ones who have died with our prayers (it is, in fact, one of the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy commended by the Church). I wrote a pastor’s column on this called “Mass Intentions.” You can find it on Holy Redeemer’s website under the “Pastor’s Columns” tab – 08/21/16.

6. Remember the Church in your will. Bequests to the Church are timeless gifts and much needed. Go here to learn more: https://archseattle.mylegacygift.org/.

7. One of the best parting gifts you can give your loved ones is to plan your funeral for them. Make an appointment by calling the parish office. We can help you to plan your funeral liturgy before you die. Planning a funeral Mass is a true act of love, alleviating a lot of stress and work for your family members, and it will go a long way towards ensuring you have one. It also sets a great example for others in your family.

8. Regarding full-body burial or cremation: Cremation was forbidden by the Church until the past few decades. The Church has always preferred full-body burial out of a greater respect for the importance of the body. Of the roughly 10,000 canonized saints, none of them were willingly cremated. That says a ton. What’s more, if our Christian ancestors could afford full-body burial, with far less means than we have today, then our excuses seem to melt away. At any rate, if there is cremation, the remains must be permanently interred at a cemetery either by burial or placement in a crypt or columbarium. We will not do a funeral if we know that the remains will be treated in a manner other than what was just stated. Here are a few pertinent lines from a Church document entitled: Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation.

A. (#3) By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body, and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity… Furthermore, burial in a cemetery or another sacred place adequately corresponds to the piety and respect owed to the bodies of the faithful departed who through Baptism have become temples of the Holy Spirit and in which “as instruments and vessels the Spirit has carried out so many good works.”

Tobias, the just, was praised for the merits he acquired in the sight of God for having buried the dead, and the Church considers the burial of the dead one of the corporal works of mercy.

Finally, the burial of the faithful departed in cemeteries or other sacred places, encourages family members and the whole Christian community, to pray for and remember the dead, while at the same time fostering the veneration of martyrs and saints.

Through the practice of burying the dead in cemeteries, in churches or their environs, Christian tradition has upheld the relationship between the living and the dead and has opposed any tendency to minimize, or relegate to the purely private sphere, the event of death and the meaning it has for Christians.

B. (#4) The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows a greater esteem towards the deceased. Nevertheless, cremation is not prohibited, “unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.”

C. (#5) When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery, or in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority. From the earliest times, Christians have desired that the faithful departed become the objects of the Christian community’s prayers and remembrance. Their tombs have become places of prayer, remembrance, and reflection. The faithful departed remain part of the Church who believes “in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church.”

The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community. It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which is possible, especially once the immediately subsequent generation has passed away. Also, it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices.

D. (#6) For the reasons given above, the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence is not permitted . . . the ashes may not be divided among various family members.

E. (#7) In order that every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism be avoided, it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewelry or other objects. These courses of action cannot be legitimized by an appeal to the sanitary, social, or economic motives that may have occasioned the choice of cremation.

F. (#8) When the deceased notoriously has requested cremation and the scattering of their ashes for reasons contrary to the Christian faith, a Christian funeral must be denied to that person according to the norms of the law.

May Almighty God Bless You and Your Deceased Loved Ones,