St. Joseph of the Lakes

In a December 4^th article in Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse,  Father Jeffery Kirby, STD, who is a Papal Missionary of Mercy and the Pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Indian Land, South Carolina writes:

The season of Advent is the season of hope, which is a trust in God above all things.  Traditionally during the Advent season the Church reviews the Four Last Things, namely, death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Such a focus shouldn’t startle us, or depress us. The Church’s focus on eternity should remind us of our eternal home, of our destiny as the children of God, and the reason why – when Christmas does arrive – the long-awaited anointed savior came to us.

In this Advent light, we can circle around and look at one very important part of our spiritual tradition. We can stress the importance of the Catholic Funeral Mass.

Such an emphasis is needed today since the Catholic Funeral Mass has suffered widescale negligence or misunderstanding by many believers in recent times. Many families pass on even having a Funeral Mass offered, or they want to change its purpose and refashion it as a “celebration of life.”

The Funeral Mass, however, is meant as a supplication and offering for a deceased person’s soul. It lies at the very heart of all our beliefs on the afterlife, from judgment, heaven, hell, purgatory, and our union with others beyond death. The Funeral Mass is celebrated in the hope that is given to us by the Paschal Mystery, namely, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Funeral Mass shows our union with the Risen Christ and our ardent hope for eternal life in him.

Some time ago, a funeral director was frustrated with me because I would not adjust the liturgy to his wishes, and he said to me, “Well, Father, the funeral is for the living.” I waited, and then responded, “No, the Catholic Funeral Mass is principally for the dead.”

The Funeral Mass is for the consolation of the dead. It has been given to us in order to offer supplication and intercession for our loved ones.

For the believer, the Funeral Mass is not an option. It must be offered. To fail to have a Funeral Mass offered is to deprive our loved ones of the graces of the Eucharistic Sacrifice at a time when their soul is most in need of those very graces. 

The Funeral is not a mere celebration of life. It is worship. It is directing our minds and hearts to God. The Funeral Mass is a solemn, sacred duty of families offered on behalf of their departed loves ones for the peace and repose of their souls.

The Funeral Mass should be taken seriously. It is an act of religion, a sacred duty, and as a privilege of Christians to have the Eucharistic Sacrifice offered for their beloved dead.

His article reflects perfectly my experience here at Saint Joe’s, that there has been an erosion to an understanding of why we do a funeral Mass. It is not a celebration of life, but instead as he says: The Funeral Mass shows our union with the Risen Christ and our ardent hope for eternal life in him.