This Guide to Funerals is intended to help those preparing for a funeral at St. Peter’s Church in Rosendale. It introduces the different services of the Church’s Funeral Rites and makes suggestions regarding their celebration. It also addresses preliminary questions people may have about some of the basics of Catholic funeral practice.
The Funeral Rites of the Catholic Church consist of an evening Vigil Service (also called a Wake), the Funeral Liturgy (usually a Funeral Mass the following morning, though it may be a Liturgy of the Word without a Mass), and a Committal Service at the Cemetery.
Depending on the wishes of the family, a Catholic funeral may be structured without a Vigil Service the previous evening. While the Church is sensitive to the desires of the family of the deceased for ways that a funeral might be “personalized” in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion families must remember that the funeral liturgy is the Church’s liturgy and therefore cannot be changed to suit just any request.
The Catholic Church makes its Funeral Rites available to all Catholics who died in good standing in the Church whether they practiced their faith or not.
The Church also provides for the possibility of a Catholic Funeral (a Liturgy of the Word Service without a Mass) for non-Catholic relatives of practicing Catholics. The Church allows a Catholic Funeral to be offered for the repose of the soul of someone who committed suicide, given what we now know about clinical depression and the despair it engenders.
Infants
Both Baptized infants and those whom their parents intended to Baptize but died before the Sacrament could be administered may receive a Catholic Funeral—either a Funeral Mass or (sometimes more appropriately) a Liturgy of the Word service with committal at the cemetery.
Who can be buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery?
Parish cemeteries are usually reserved for parishioners (or former parishioners) and their families. Non-Catholic family members of parishioners may also be buried in a Catholic cemetery.
Does the Church allow Cremation?
The Catholic Church allows for cremation but it prefers that the body itself be present for the Vigil Service and Funeral Mass and that the cremation take place after the Mass.
Music
While music is a standard part of the Church’s Funeral Rites — especially at a Funeral Mass — it is not a requirement. Family members should decide among themselves if they want music or not. If they want music, they may choose to have an organist alone or an organist and singer. If the family wants an organist and singer, they may choose songs from the list that follows in Appendix B and should alert the funeral director to their choices. He will in turn notify the musicians.
The selections listed in Appendix B do not exhaust the possibilities but are the working repertoire of St. Peter’s musicians and usually satisfy families of the deceased. Music outside this repertoire may be proposed but must be approved by the pastor and the musicians. Only sacred music appropriate to a funeral liturgy is allowed.
Bagpipers are welcome to pipe a casket from the hearse to the front door and then from the front door back to the hearse. They are most welcome at the graveside.
The Vigil Service (Wake)
The Vigil Service takes place at the funeral home during calling hours. It is led by a priest or a deacon and consists of opening prayers, a reading from Scripture sometimes followed by a reflection, concluding prayers, and a final blessing. The Sacrament of Confession is also available when a priest conducts the service. The purpose of the Vigil is to give family and friends an opportunity to be consoled by the mercy of God in the face of the darkness of death.
The Vigil Service is the ideal place for a friend or member of the family to speak in remembrance of the deceased. A eulogy spoken at the Vigil can be more expansive than one delivered at a Funeral Mass. The Vigil is also the most appropriate place for poems or passages from literary works that were favorites of the deceased to be read since these kinds of readings cannot be read at a Funeral Mass.
The Funeral Mass
The Funeral Mass is the service above all others that the Catholic Church offers for the eternal repose of the deceased’s soul. By offering Mass specifically for the deceased, the Church brings the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection directly to bear on his or her salvation. There is no other “funeral service” on earth that is more effective in calling down God’s mercy than a Funeral Mass. By extension, then, the fact that a Mass is offered for the deceased indicates that the Church presumes that even if he or she died in the state of grace, and thus is ultimately destined for heaven, he or she does not go “straight to heaven” (in which case a Mass would not be necessary), but rather “spends some time in Purgatory.”
Purgatory, in historic Christian theology, is the state after death wherein souls destined eventually for eternal life “spend time” being purified of whatever it was on earth that prevented them from loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Once that purification is completed by God’s grace, the soul is then fit to be in his presence forever.
On the drive to the Church, family members or friends who are not accustomed to being in church should be gently reminded that hats should be removed, gum discarded, etc. During Mass, Father will instruct people on when to sit, stand, or kneel, so there should be no advanced worry that someone unfamiliar with the Catholic Mass will look foolish. Also, pew cards with the new Mass responses can be found in the pews for those who’d like to participate more fully.
The reception at the back of the Church
As the congregation enters the church, it gathers at the casket for the sprinkling of holy water and the placing of the funeral pall on the casket. The sprinkling represents the water with which the deceased was Baptized and thus brought into membership with Christ in his Body, the Church. With Baptism came the first hope of salvation. The funeral pall—the decorated cloth draped over the casket—represents the garment the deceased wore at Baptism when he or she “put on Christ.” The beauty of the pall symbolizes the holiness the Christian life is supposed to exhibit. An outward beauty symbolizing the inward beauty of a heart given over to love of God and neighbor.
The procession then follows as the casket is brought to the front of the church where the Easter Candle—a symbol of Christ, the Light of the World—is situated. The family usually sits in the pews on the right. Upon entering the pews, everyone should remain standing for the Opening Prayer. They may sit when the celebrant invites them to “Please be seated for the first reading.”
Readings
Readings at a Funeral Mass may be chosen only from Scripture. Inspirational readings—for example, favorite poems of the deceased or literary passages—may neither replace the Scriptural readings nor be included in addition to them. They may appropriately, however, be read at the Vigil Service or even at graveside. As for the Mass itself, the family may defer to the priest in choosing the readings or may choose them themselves (except the Gospel, which is always the choice of the priest).
Depending on whether the family wants a first (1st) and second (2nd) reading besides the psalm or just a first reading.
As for readers, the family may leave the reading up to the priest or they may choose readers from among their acquaintances. A single reader may do both of the readings (Old and New Testaments) or each may be read by someone different. The Psalm will be sung by the singer in the choir loft if a singer has been requested.
Readers
After the priest asks the congregation to “please be seated for the first reading,” the first reader remains standing, comes up the center aisle to the sanctuary steps, reverences the altar with a slight bow, and proceeds left to the pulpit.
The reader returns to his seat if someone else is doing the second reading. If he is doing both readings, he should step down from the pulpit and stand in front of the curtain (out of the way) for the psalm to be sung. The psalm will be sung by the singer in the choir loft if one has been requested. (If no singer is requested, the first reader remains in the pulpit and reads the psalm as well. He leaves and returns to his seat if a second reader is reading after him.)
After the psalm is sung, either the first reader steps back into the pulpit and begins the second reading (if he is doing both readings) or the second reader comes up and follows the same procedure as the first, who returns to his pew.
After the readings, the priest goes to the pulpit for the Gospel. He invites the congregation to stand, reads the Gospel, invites them to “Please be seated,” and then delivers the homily.
The Funeral Homily
The homily at a Catholic funeral is not a eulogy. In fact, the Church specifically directs priests not to deliver a eulogy: “A brief homily based on the readings is always given after the gospel reading at the funeral liturgy and may also be given after the readings at the vigil service; but there is never to be a eulogy.”4 Rather, in a Catholic funeral, the words spoken by the priest after the Gospel are intended to stress God’s mercy and forgiveness on repentant sinners and the hope for eternal life that mercy inspires. If the deceased was an exemplary Catholic—going to Mass on Sundays, partaking of the sacraments, being of life-long service to God and neighbor—aspects of his or her life might be brought up in the homily as an example to imitate (just as saints are canonized in large public ceremonies not for their own glory but for the edification of the faithful).
In those funerals, however, where the deceased was not known to the priest either personally or by good reputation, or was known to be a fallen-away Catholic, then, of course, there is no exemplary Christian life to offer as worthy of imitation. In these situations, the words of the homily focus on God’s mercy.
The Offertory Procession
After the homily and the Prayer of the Faithful, the congregation sits down. If the family would like, gifts of bread and wine may be brought up in the Offertory Procession by family members or friends. Even though only two gift-bearers are needed, other family members may walk behind them in solemn support. Since an Offertory Procession is not a required part of the Mass, it may be omitted. The family should tell the funeral director whether or not they would like one.
Incense
In Masses where incense is used, the meaning of the incensation is symbolic: in both Old Testament Temple Worship and New Testament Scripture, smoke rising from burning incense represented the sweet-smelling prayers of the faithful rising to God in heaven.5 At a Funeral Mass where incense is used, the rising smoke is intended as a reminder to the faithful to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased.
Holy Communion
Since New Testament times and the writings of Saint Paul, reception of Holy Communion has been reserved to Catholics in the state of grace. Sacrilege is committed—what St. Paul meant by “eating to your judgment”—if one receives in the state of mortal sin.6 To this end, the priest celebrant makes this announcement right before Holy Communion:
Those with us this morning who are practicing Catholics—that is, Catholics who actually go to Mass on Sundays and are accustomed to receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist—if you would like to receive this morning and are spiritually prepared to do so, could you please form a line down [the left] side of the casket returning down [the right] side. If there are any non-Catholics with us this morning, or non-practicing Catholics (both of whom we welcome), or Catholics who are aware that you are not spiritually prepared—that is, you’re aware of the need for Confession before Holy Communion—if you’d like to receive a blessing from me, I’d happily give it; when you get to the front of the line, simply ask ‘Father, may I have your blessing.’ For those of you who will not be joining us in either of these ways, we invite you, nevertheless, to unite yourself with us spiritually, praying for our departed bother (or sister).
In Catholic churches, going to communion is not supposed to be an orderly row-by-row queuing up starting at the front and working back. Rather it’s supposed to be a haphazard affair—people from anywhere in the church getting into line at any time. The reason for this is that it’s not supposed to be obvious who is not going to communion. In an orderly row-by-row queuing, it is obvious; in a haphazard approach, it isn’t.
The Eulogy
The Catholic Church allows for the possibility of a brief eulogy—“words spoken in remembrance”—at the end of a Funeral Mass.
The Committal Service
At the Cemetery
After the Funeral Mass, the procession heads to the cemetery for a brief committal service. At the committal, the mourners have a few final minutes to pray that the deceased’s soul may have a happy disposition in eternity, and to pray that they themselves may live so as one day to be reunited with the deceased in eternal happiness. If a member of the family wishes to say a few final words of remembrance or read a favorite poem of the deceased, it may be done here.
During most of the year, the actual lowering of the casket into the ground takes place right after the committal service once the family and friends have dispersed
Winter Burials
During winter months, it sometimes happens that the ground is too hard, or the snow too deep, for the grave to be dug. In this case, the casket is placed in a holding vault at the cemetery awaiting a Spring burial. When this happens, the funeral service ends at the church with the conclusion of Mass and the crowd disperses without going to the cemetery. The burial takes place in the Spring according to the funeral home’s schedule in collaboration with the family and the priest or deacon who’ll be present for the committal (if the family so wishes).