By request, no funeral service

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Ocean_of_Mercy

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It seems that in recent years, there are more obituaries stating that at the request of the now-deceased (usually not Catholic), there will be no funeral service. What is the Church’s teaching on the necessity (or not) of funerals for Catholics?
 
🍿 while I wait for the answers.

Speaking for myself, I would prefer not to have a wake and a funeral when I die. However, I won’t be the one in charge of the proceedings. At least I won’t be the one being bored by them 😛
 
According to canon law, Catholics must be given funerals.
Can. 1176 §1. Deceased members of the Christian faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals according to the norm of law.
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I don’t know why anyone would not want one for him/herself. The funeral contains so many prayers for the soul of the deceased. We need all the prayers we can get. The traditions of regular prayer for the dead are not always taught well or practiced. For some people, the funeral might be the only time they offer any prayer for the deceased.
 
To bury the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy, but, I don’t know that the Church mandates a funeral be performed.

Peoples views on the whole funeral thing has changed over the years, plus costs have skyrocketed.

For me personally, I don’t believe in embalming, so a public viewing wouldn’t be allowed due to civil laws. Also, I don’t have much family left, so why go through all of the expense of a visitation, funeral, and a procession?

My plans, at this point, are to be cremated as soon as possible, then, private burial with a priest officiating, and then whatever family I have left can do what they want.
 
When I die I will be given a Requiem High Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I will NOT be cremated. Does anyone know the last few lines of the Nicene Creed recited at most Masses? How can be we resurrected if we’re cremated? 🤷 The Church lifted the ban on cremation but certainly doesn’t endorse it. I hope to be buried somewhere where there’ll be no worries that I’ll be dug up and cremated or moved after 100 years which seems to be common nowadays too.
 
ServusHumilis said:
When I die I will be given a Requiem High Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I will NOT be cremated. Does anyone know the last few lines of the Nicene Creed recited at most Masses? How can be we resurrected if we’re cremated? 🤷 The Church lifted the ban on cremation but certainly doesn’t endorse it. I hope to be buried somewhere where there’ll be no worries that I’ll be dug up and cremated or moved after 100 years which seems to be common nowadays too.
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I’m no fan of cremation either, but what about people dead for hundreds of years who have crumbled into dust? Or lost at sea, and whose bodies have dissolved? Surely there is no limit to what God can do at the resurrection.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
I’m no fan of cremation either, but what about people dead for hundreds of years who have crumbled into dust? Or lost at sea, and whose bodies have dissolved? Surely there is no limit to what God can do at the resurrection.
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True but it’s just not for me. I suppose I’d also hate to be resurrected and struck 6 feet underground inside both a wood and cement box. :eek:
 
DaveBj said:
🍿 while I wait for the answers.

Speaking for myself, I would prefer not to have a wake and a funeral when I die. However, I won’t be the one in charge of the proceedings. At least I won’t be the one being bored by them 😛
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You hope not anyways…:eek::eek::eek:
 
In many urban areas, cemeteries are filling up, and there is little to no room for them to expand.

You can get alot more cremated remains in a smaller space than you can full size burials, so alot of people are choosing that option. Not to mention the cost.

I am going to be buried in a National Cemetery since I am a veteran, and many of those are filling up fast with all of the WW II vets passing away. Being cremated gives me a better chance of being inurned in the cemetery of my choice.
 
ServusHumilis said:
True but it’s just not for me. I suppose I’d also hate to be resurrected and struck 6 feet underground inside both a wood and cement box. :eek:
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Such would be no limitation upon your pneumatikon soma :):)🙂

After all, it is no more of a barrier than the miles of water atop all those human body resurrections taking place under the oceans, yet “the sea will give up its dead.”

ICXC NIKA
 
Personally, I have requested a Requiem Mass. I want someone to pray for my soul. I want to be buried on consecrated ground (we have our funeral plots in a Catholic cemetery). I would hope that the wake and rosary will be done at my house with me in the coffin.

My relatives are all protestants or heathens. Most all of them were cremated and hardly a funeral. I will be buried with all Catholic Rites available to a layman.
 
ServusHumilis said:
How can be we resurrected if we’re cremated? 🤷 .
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I don’t go to TLM, but what comes to mind is: O, vos modicæ fidei

Where is the logic in even thinking we might not be able to be resurrected if we are cremated?

If a person in a state of grace dies a horrible death by fire, and has their body essentially cremated, do you really think they will not be resurrected?

Faith should tell us, “Nothing is impossible with God”.

My God displayed His power to create a man’s body out of dust, so my faith tells me He certainly can reassemble dust and ashes back into a body.

Peace and all good!
 
Catholic funerals are usually closed casket, the same as Jewish funerals. It used to be that many Catholics would get embalmed. Due to space and growing expense, anything goes, seems to be the rule.

I want to go “Au natural.” Put me in a wooden box, made by monks in Louisiana, or a wicker coffin and plant me. I doubt the final state of our bodies will be a problem come the big day. Most Popes are in cement/ wooden boxes. I don’t see anything to worry about.
 
We must remember that the funeral is basically for the survivors.
This is what the church provides so that they can be assured that they “did right” by their loved ones, and that they have offered prayers for the repose of our soul.

I believe that one can plan their funeral in advance, but they should also remember that the survivors are really calling the shots, and it’s good if they respect your wishes. Many folks who want “no funeral” are speaking from a fear of the ridiculous cost of the modern funeral. They don’t want to burden their family at a time of tremendous grief and when decisions are made under duress.

In our area, there is a Monastery that offers “natural” burial. One lets the mortuary and family know that there is to be no embalming because the deceased plans an almost immediate (next day or so burial). People can be wrapped in a favorite quilt, or lowered into the ground in a large basket. The monks mound the soil after the graveside service, and the family is invited to picnic or gather to receive visitors in a nearby shelter. All of this is in the woods, prices determined by whether in a clearing or by a river, etc. A stone, literally a stone is used as a marker, and can be inscribed with a bible verse or a first name, whatever you desire. Simple. Reasonable. No need for perpetual lawn mowing. Just let nature do its thing.

I myself do not want to be cremated. God willing, I won’t be getting extra crispy. Ever. 😃
 
I would respectfully disagree with you, Clare. The funeral is to pray for the soul of the deceased. It is NOT for the living.

God Bless
 
ServusHumilis said:
When I die I will be given a Requiem High Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I will NOT be cremated. Does anyone know the last few lines of the Nicene Creed recited at most Masses? How can be we resurrected if we’re cremated? 🤷 The Church lifted the ban on cremation but certainly doesn’t endorse it. I hope to be buried somewhere where there’ll be no worries that I’ll be dug up and cremated or moved after 100 years which seems to be common nowadays too.
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I think the God that raises a rotted skeleton back to life can bring an urn of ashes back.

Perhaps you hold there is no hope for a martyr blown up by a Bomb, or burned at the stake…

What about the saints whose body parts are scattered here and there ?

I won’t wish to be cremated either, but I think your idea that God can’t resurrect the body if it’s burned is short sighted and mistaken.
 
Jon_S said:
I think the God that raises a rotted skeleton back to life can bring an urn of ashes back.

Perhaps you hold there is no hope for a martyr blown up by a Bomb, or burned at the stake…

What about the saints whose body parts are scattered here and there ?

I won’t wish to be cremated either, but I think your idea that God can’t resurrect the body if it’s burned is short sighted and mistaken.
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I would rather just not be cremated. The Church has not been for cremation for nearly 2000 years, likely for the same reasons, and neither am I.
 
I want a funeral with a full wake with plenty of liquid ‘spirits’. I want people to laugh, cry, pray for me and remember the love we have for each other. I want one last Mass and then buried near my parents in our local Catholic Cemetery. When a member of our family dies we don’t leave the graveyard immediately. We visit all the family graves and retell stories of the folks buried there. This is how we teach the next generation about who they are, where they came from, and what their future will eventually be.
 
I have joked with my bride that when the time comes she should

  • *]Take the insurance money and buy a dishwasher (because she will need one)
    *]Fold me into the box it came in and set me out at the curb on Thursday 😛

    But since someone has posted the canon, I suppose I should not shun a funeral. I really mean she should not spend piles of money on the deal.

    Likewise, I know that the homily at Mass is not supposed to any kind of eulogy, I do not recall if there is a point before the dismissal where a member of the family is permitted to say a few words, or if that is merely a tradition in my area, but it always turns into a eulogy? I have told my daughter:
    “I cannot stop you from saying whatever you want if so invited. But if you do not begin with the words This is the part my father said not to do, I will climb out of my coffin right there and commence haunting you!” :eek: 😛 :rotfl:

    tee
 
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