Catholic Funeral Information

The Catholic funeral rite is divided into several sections, each having a unique purpose. It is the recommendation of the USCCB that all sections be used – to offer a complete liturgical celebration.
 

1. Vigil Service – the Wake
   The Vigil Service can be quite formal with prayers of the Office of the Dead from the Liturgy of the Hours or other Service of the Word, or a recitation of the Rosary for the intention of the deceased. However, it can also be more informal, with just the visitation and the viewing. It generally takes place at the funeral home in the presence of the body and is a time to remember the life of the deceased and commend them to God. It is at this time the Church encourages eulogies and recalling the life of the deceased.
2. Funeral Liturgy
   A funeral liturgy is primarily an act of worship giving thanks to God for Jesus Christ’s victory over sin and death. It is encouraged to be celebrated within the context of a Mass, but may also be celebrated on its own. As with the Vigil Service, it is recommended that the body of the deceased be present as the prayers for the commendation of the deceased into God’s tender mercy and compassion are prayed.
3. Rite of Committal – the Burial or Interment
   Normally celebrated at the place of committal (either at the graveside in cases of burial or next to the place of interment), this is the conclusion of the funeral rite – a “final farewell” of sorts to the earthly body. Through the prayers of committal, the community expresses hope in the resurrection of the body of the deceased in particular and all believers in general.

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/bereavement-and-funerals/overview-of-catholic-funeral-rites.cfm

Because of our belief not only in the immortality of the soul, but also in the resurrection of the body, the Church professes hope in the face of death, and acts with charity in the funeral rites. The Church provides a number of prayers for the faithful to offer both to accompany the dying of a loved one and to strengthen our faith upon their death. Through private prayer and public funeral rites, we strengthen our faith and hope, comfort those who mourn, and bury the bodily remains of the deceased with care befitting what was the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/bereavement-and-funerals/

Christian Funerals
1680 All the sacraments, and principally those of Christian initiation, have as their goal the last Passover of the child of God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what he confessed in faith and hope will be fulfilled: "I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

The Christian's Last Passover
1681 The Christian meaning of death is revealed in the light of the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ in whom resides our only hope. the Christian who dies in Christ Jesus is "away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Cor 5:8)

1682 For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive "conformity" to "the image of the Son" conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist - even if final purifications are still necessary for him in order to be clothed with the nuptial garment.

1683 The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's end, in order to surrender him "into the Father's hands." She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory. (1 Cor 15:42-44) This offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice; the blessings before and after Mass are sacramentals.

The Celebration of Funerals
1684 The Christian funeral confers on the deceased neither a sacrament nor a sacramental since he has "passed" beyond the sacramental economy. It is nonetheless a liturgical celebration of the Church. The ministry of the Church aims at expressing efficacious communion with the deceased, at the participation in that communion of the community gathered for the funeral, and at the proclamation of eternal life to the community.

1685 The different funeral rites express the Paschal character of Christian death and are in keeping with the situations and traditions of each region, even as to the color of the liturgical vestments worn.

1686 The Order of Christian Funerals (Ordo exsequiarum) of the Roman liturgy gives three types of funeral celebrations, corresponding to the three places in which they are conducted (the home, the church, and the cemetery), and according to the importance attached to them by the family, local customs, the culture, and popular piety. This order of celebration is common to all the liturgical traditions and comprises four principal elements:

1687 The greeting of the community. A greeting of faith begins the celebration. Relatives and friends of the deceased are welcomed with a word of "consolation" (in the New Testament sense of the Holy Spirit's power in hope). (1 Thess 4:18) The community assembling in prayer also awaits the "words of eternal life." the death of a member of the community (or the anniversary of a death, or the seventh or fortieth day after death) is an event that should lead beyond the perspectives of "this world" and should draw the faithful into the true perspective of faith in the risen Christ.

1688 The liturgy of the Word during funerals demands very careful preparation because the assembly present for the funeral may include some faithful who rarely attend the liturgy, and friends of the deceased who are not Christians. the homily, in particular, must "avoid the literary genre of funeral eulogy" and illumine the mystery of Christian death in the light of the risen Christ.

1689 The Eucharistic Sacrifice. When the celebration takes place in church the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death. In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious communion with the departed: offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his sins and their consequences and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom. It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who "has fallen asleep in the Lord," by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him.

1690 A farewell to the deceased is his final "commendation to God" by the Church. It is "the last farewell by which the Christian community greets one of its members before his body is brought to its tomb.” The Byzantine tradition expresses this by the kiss of farewell to the deceased: By this final greeting "we sing for his departure from this life and separation from us, but also because there is a communion and a reunion. Even dead, we are not at all separated from one another, because we all run the same course and we will find one another again in the same place. We shall never be separated, for we live for Christ, and now we are united with Christ as we go toward him . . . we shall all be together in Christ.”

The Catholic Church’s attitude toward cremation has changed over time. For centuries, religious authorities believed that cremation prevented the resurrection of the body and forbade Catholic families from cremating their loved ones. Over time, the Church has amended its stance on cremation, lifting its ban and issuing guidelines for handling ashes with care.

Today, cremation is not only allowed but is growing in popularity in Catholic communities across the United States. Nearly one-third of American Catholic families opt for cremation today, and the number continues to grow each year.

Catholic views on the body

Historically, Catholic views about cremation have stemmed from Catholic teachings about the body. Roman Catholics consider the body a temple of the Holy Spirit and a member of the Body of Jesus Christ. This belief creates a great reverence for the human body.

How the physical body is treated after death is important because of the Catholic belief that followers of Christ will one day be raised up with Christ to new life. For centuries, many believed that cremation prevented the possibility of the body being resurrected.

Now, the Church has changed its stance, saying the resurrection is possible regardless of the method of final disposition. The Vatican says that resurrection isn’t obscured by cremation because God resurrects the spiritual body to enter heaven, not the physical body. Since cremation does not affect one’s soul, the Church says there are no doctrinal objections to cremation.

The Church no longer opposes cremation but offers guidelines on how the ashes should be cared for following cremation. To preserve the sanctity of the body, the Church says ashes cannot be scattered or divided among family members. Read along to learn more about Catholic guidelines for cremation.

Changes in Catholic teachings on cremation

Though the Vatican forbade cremation for centuries, the Church amended its Code of Canon Law in 1963, lifting its ban on cremation.

As long as cremation is not chosen to partake in a pagan ritual, the Church allows it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the organized teachings of the Catholic Church and its primary reference text, only directly references cremation once, saying: “The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body” (no. 2301).

Since 1997, ashes have been formally allowed at Catholic funeral Masses and are given the same respect as the body scheduled to be buried.

In 2016, the Church issued new guidelines for how to lay a loved one to rest after cremation.

Guidelines on cremation

If a body is to be cremated, the family must still hold a funeral Mass with traditional funeral rites. The Church strongly urges that the full body of the deceased be present during the final rites, but ashes are also allowed to be present at the Mass.

If a Catholic family chooses cremation, the Church requires a reverent disposition of the ashes. The Vatican says the ashes must be treated the same way a body would. The Church says the ashes are to be kept in a sacred place, not in one’s home, scattered, or divided among family members. Burial in a Catholic cemetery or other sacred place is “above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body,” the 2016 statement from the Vatican reads. In addition to ground burial in a cemetery plot as the final resting place, ashes can also be interred in a columbarium, which is a shared mausoleum, or buried in an urn garden.

The Church maintains that it does not oppose cremation, and anyone who has been cremated can still receive Catholic funeral rites, including a funeral liturgy. This guidance is true for both traditional cremation and direct cremation.

Canon 1176 from the Code of Canon Law states, "Deceased members of the Christian faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals according to the norm of law." Others who are eligible for an ecclesiastical funeral include:
 

• Catechumens
• Children whom the parents intended to baptize but who died before baptism, and
• "In the prudent judgment of the local ordinary, ecclesiastical funerals can be granted to baptized persons who are enrolled in a non-Catholic Church or ecclesial community unless their intention is evidently to the contrary and provided that their own minister is not available" (canon 1183.3).

Prayer of Commendation
As the time of death approaches, this prayer may be said.

Go forth, Christian soul, from this world
in the name of God the almighty Father,
who created you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
who suffered for you,
in the name of the Holy Spirit,
who was poured out upon you,
go forth, faithful Christian.

May you live in peace this day,
may your home be with God in Zion,
with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God,
with Joseph, and all the Angels and Saints.

May you return to [your Creator]
who formed you from the dust of the earth.
May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints
come to meet you as you go forth from this life. . . .
May you see your Redeemer face to face.

Prayer for the Dead
In your hands, O Lord,
we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters.
In this life you embraced them with your tender love;
deliver them now from every evil
and bid them eternal rest.
The old order has passed away:
welcome them into paradise,
where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain,
but fullness of peace and joy
with your Son and the Holy Spirit
forever and ever.
R/. Amen.

Prayer at the Graveside
Lord Jesus Christ,
by your own three days in the tomb,
you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you
and so made the grave a sign of hope
that promises resurrection
even as it claims our mortal bodies.

Grant that our brother/sister, N., may sleep here in peace
until you awaken him/her to glory,
for you are the resurrection and the life.
Then he/she will see you face to face
and in your light will see light
and know the splendor of God,
for you live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/bereavement-and-funerals/prayers-for-death-and-dying.cfm

Q. I have noticed that the casket of a veteran is no longer draped with an American flag at the funeral Mass. Why not? The service of these men and women helps provide the freedom of worship we all enjoy. Why does the church no longer honor that? 

A. The Order of Christian Funerals says in No. 132 states that “any national flags or the flags or insignia of associations to which the deceased belonged are to be removed from the casket (coffin) at the entrance to the church.”
Furthermore, No.38 states; If it is the custom in the local community, a pall may be placed over the coffin when it is received at the church. A reminder of the baptismal garment of the deceased, the pall is a sign of the Christian dignity of the person. The use of the pall also signifies that all are equal in the eyes of God (see James 2:1-9). Only Christian symbols may rest on or be placed near the coffin during the funeral liturgy. Any other symbols, for example, national flags or flags or insignia of associations, have no place in the funeral liturgy.

The guidelines of most dioceses provide that the flag is then replaced by the pall, a large white cloth draped over the coffin as a symbol of the person’s baptism. Surely no disrespect for the flag or the nation of the deceased is intended; instead, the pall represents the fact that all are equal in the sight of God and that, as St. Paul pointed out in his Letter to the Philippians (3:20), our primary citizenship is in heaven.
At the end of the funeral Mass, the pall is removed, and the flag can be once again placed back on the casket before it is carried from the church.

Often, at the cemetery, military honors are then accorded to the deceased; a bugler might play “Taps.” Sometimes there is a gun salute, and a military honor guard carefully removes the flag from the casket, folds it respectfully, and presents it to the next of kin with comforting words from a grateful nation.

The church, of course, is worldwide and must set policies to cover many contingencies. Besides indicating the primacy of the spiritual and the baptism of the deceased, using the pall rather than a national flag for a funeral Mass avoids the awkwardness of a situation where the church might not agree with the moral stance of a particular nation.