The Mystery of Death and Christian Funerals - #15

The family turns to the table of the Eucharist for spiritual nourishment. "The community with the priest offers to the Father the sacrifice of the New Covenant and shares in the one bread and the one cup. In partaking of the body of Christ, all are given a foretaste of eternal life in Christ and are united with Christ, with each other, and with all the faithful, living and dead (#143.)" Members of the family or friends of the deceased bring the gifts of bread and wine to the altar. Eucharistic Prayers II and III provide special texts of intercession for the dead. The people should be encouraged to sing the peoples' parts of the eucharistic prayer and the communion rite. The local community also makes sure that there are enough eucharistic ministers so that the baptized may receive the eucharistic bread and cup.

After the communion rite, the funeral liturgy includes the rite of final commendation. The purpose of this rite is explained in #146. "The final commendation is a final farewell by the members of the community, an act of respect for one of their members, whom they entrust to the tender and merciful embrace of God. This act of last farewell also acknowledges the reality of separation and affirms that the community and the deceased, baptized into the one body, share the same destiny, resurrection on the last day. On that day the one Shepherd will call each by name and gather the faithful together in the new and eternal Jerusalem.

The rite is simple. It combines words of invitation and prayer, ritual gesture, and congregational singing (1) It begins with the minister briefly states the purpose of the rite and then invites the assembly to pray. (2) An important period of silent prayer follows. This silence allows the assembly "to relate their own feelings of loss and grief to the mystery of Christian hope in God's abundant mercy and his promise of eternal life"...(3) The body may then be sprinkled with holy water and incensed, or this may be done during or after the song of farewell. The sprinkling is a reminder that through baptism the person was marked for eternal life and incensation signifies respect for the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. (#147)...If the body was sprinkled with holy water during the rite of reception at the beginning of the Mass, the sprinkling is ordinarily omitted in the rite of final commendation (#171).

The incensation, if done with unhurried dignity, tenderness and reverence, and especially when done in silence, is a powerful ritual moment that speaks for itself. (4) The song of farewell is the climax of this ritual unit. Its purpose is to affirm hope and trust in the paschal mystery. It should be simple enough for everyone to sing. It may take the form of a responsory or a hymn. Musicians and cantors need to make sure this does not turn into a solo. If singing is not possible, the assembly may recite invocations. (6) "A prayer of commendation concludes the rite. In this prayer, the community calls upon God's mercy, commends the deceased into God's hands, and affirms its belief that those who have died in Christ will share in Christ's victory over death (#147)." This concludes the funeral Mass.