The Mystery of Death and Christian Funerals - #13

The Ordo of Christians Funerals states that "the funeral liturgy is the central liturgical celebration of the Christian community for the deceased (#126)." This liturgy is the second significant moment of public prayer for a family-in-mourning. The congregation is usually quite diverse - a mix of practicing and inactive Catholics, members of other Christian churches, as well as those that are of Jewish, Moslem, and Hindu heritage. Some may be present at a Catholic service for the first time. The assembly includes family and relatives, neighbors and co-workers. Some attend to show solidarity and respect. Few moments are as delicate, are as pregnant for doing good and for creating a climate of warm welcome, inclusion, and spiritual comfort.

The Liturgy is either a funeral Mass or a funeral liturgy outside Mass. The Church encourages the former because the Eucharist celebrates the power of the paschal mystery manifested in the life of the deceased and present in the life of those who mourn. The funeral Eucharist is more than a last tribute to the deceased. It is the sacrament of reconciliation offered for the eternal reward of the deceased and is the source of spiritual comfort and consolation for mourners. When celebrated in an unhurried and dignified manner, the funeral can be a source of profound peace and hope. "The community gathers...to give praise and thanks to God for Christ's victory over sin and death, to commend the deceased to God's tender mercy and compassion, and to seek strength in the proclamation of the paschal mystery. Through the Holy spirit the community is joined together in faith as one Body in Christ to reaffirm...that each believer through baptism shares in Christ's death and resurrection and can look to the day when all the elect will be raised up and united in the kingdom of light and peace (#129)."

The funeral Mass has four parts: (1) the reception of the body, (2) the proclamation of the Word of God, (3) the offering of the Eucharist, and (4) the final commendation and farewell.

The liturgy officially begins with the reception of the body at the church. "The church is the place where the Christian life is begotten in baptism, nourished in the Eucharist, and where the community gathers to commend one of its deceased members to the Father. The church is at once a symbol of the community and of the heavenly liturgy that the celebration of the liturgy anticipates. In the act of receiving the body, the members of the community acknowledge the deceased as one of their own, as one who was welcomed in baptism and who held a place in the assembly. Through the use of various baptismal symbols the community shows reverence due to the body, the temple of the Spirit, and...prepares for the funeral liturgy in which it asks for a share in the heavenly banquet promised to the deceased and to all who have been washed in the waters of rebirth and marked with the sign of faith (#131)." The coffin is sprinkled with holy water in remembrance of the deceased person's baptism. A funeral pall, a reminder of the baptismal robe, is placed on the coffin by family, friends, or minister (see#133). The coffin is lovingly positioned next to the paschal candle.