by Mary Cullen and Mathew Bomki

Burying the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy.  We care for one another when we give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, alms to the poor, shelter to the homeless and visit the sick and those in prison.

The funeral rites which accompany burial are also a celebration of the paschal mystery.  They speak of hope in the resurrection.  The Order of Christian Funerals (OCF), which contains the funeral rites of the Catholic Church for use in Scotland, tells us that Christians celebrate funeral rites to offer worship, praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of a life which has now been returned to God (OCF5).  The dead are commended to God’s love and forgiveness; the union of the church on earth with the church in heaven is affirmed in the communion of saints; and the reality of separation and the needs of the bereaved are acknowledged (OCF6).

Priests are exhorted to

‘keep in mind the life of the deceased and the circumstances of death.  They should also take into consideration the spiritual and psychological needs of the family and friends of the deceased to express grief and their sense of loss, to accept the reality of death, and to comfort one another’ (OCF 16).

Family and friends are encouraged to shape funeral liturgies by selecting prayers and scripture readings, and the whole community is invited to give witness with them to its faith in the resurrection.

Mary Cullen is editor of Open House

Mathew Bomki SJ is studying at the University of Edinburgh.

Photo by Sean P on Unsplash