I always get a little uptight at the thought of attending a non-Catholic funeral.

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Jimmy_B said:
I always get a little uptight at the thought of attending a non-Catholic funeral.
Am I the only Catholic here who feels this way?
Do any non-Catholics here, feel the same about attending a Catholic funeral?
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Your Thoughts?
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I’m sorry but this sounds like some who is totally against non-Catholics. Really it sounds pretty sick to me to say I always get a little uptight at the “thought” of attending a non-Catholic funeral.I just can’t get over the “at the thought” part. It seems like it makes you sick to the stomic. It sounds sort of heartless. I have attended Catholic and Non-Catholic funerals and I would never say that just because its a Catholic funeral that I would be uptight at the thought of attending one. To me this is a slap in the face because I have had to give funerals for the departed.
 
rev_kevin said:
I’m sorry but this sounds like some who is totally against non-Catholics. Really it sounds pretty sick to me to say I always get a little uptight at the “thought” of attending a non-Catholic funeral.I just can’t get over the “at the thought” part. It seems like it makes you sick to the stomic. It sounds sort of heartless. I have attended Catholic and Non-Catholic funerals and I would never say that just because its a Catholic funeral that I would be uptight at the thought of attending one. To me this is a slap in the face because I have had to give funerals for the departed.
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i also get uptight going to a contemporary mass with a praise band… does that help reverend? peace:)
 
I don’t have a problem attending a non-Catholic funeral (other than the fact that it feels empty without the Mass), but it concerns me that nobody may be offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the deceased person’s soul. I would attend the funeral but then go to my own parish office and request that a Mass be said for the deceased.
 
rev_kevin said:
NO it don’t. You point being?
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hi reverend, i dont think jimmy is anti protestant. i guess what im trying to say is that some things are out of our comfort zone. it doesnt mean that a person is anti anything just because they feel a little uncomfortable going somewhere. does that clarify things a little bit for you. Peace:)
 
benidict said:
hi reverend, i dont think jimmy is anti protestant. i guess what im trying to say is that some things are out of our comfort zone. it doesnt mean that a person is anti anything just because they feel a little uncomfortable going somewhere. does that clarify things a little bit for you. Peace:)
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Look I’m not going to discuss this and make a big deal out of it. If the OP wants to clarity it then the OP will.
 
rev_kevin said:
I’m sorry but this sounds like some who is totally against non-Catholics. Really it sounds pretty sick to me to say I always get a little uptight at the “thought” of attending a non-Catholic funeral.I just can’t get over the “at the thought” part. It seems like it makes you sick to the stomic. It sounds sort of heartless. I have attended Catholic and Non-Catholic funerals and I would never say that just because its a Catholic funeral that I would be uptight at the thought of attending one. To me this is a slap in the face because I have had to give funerals for the departed.
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No, it’s honestly weird for some of us. Have you been to a mass? Have you been to a Catholic wedding? If you weren’t uptight, or a tad off your game, so to speak, then you are a better man than I. Things that are different to any human, are normally met with some uptightness, or strange feelings of not belonging, etc.
 
Teneas said:
No, it’s honestly weird for some of us. Have you been to a mass? Have you been to a Catholic wedding? If you weren’t uptight, or a tad off your game, so to speak, then you are a better man than I. Things that are different to any human, are normally met with some uptightness, or strange feelings of not belonging, etc.
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As a matter of fact, yes I have been to many, many Catholic weddings, and many, many a Catholic mass, and many, many Catholic funerals. See I was raised Catholic. All my family is Catholic so no I would not be uptight or a tad off my game at any service of any Christian denomination. So I guess that I would be a better man then you in that aspect.
 
rev_kevin said:
As a matter of fact, yes I have been to many, many Catholic weddings, and many, many a Catholic mass, and many, many Catholic funerals. See I was raised Catholic. All my family is Catholic so no I would not be uptight or a tad off my game at any service of any Christian denomination. So I guess that I would be a better man then you in that aspect.
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definitly a better man than i reverend. will keep you in my prayers. God bless you and yours.🙂
 
There is no reason to be uptight about attending a funeral of another faith.

I am Catholic, my grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, we have Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, LDS, you name it in our family, and I’ve been to one of each (at least).

When I have to go to a non-Catholic funeral, I don’t think about them not getting a funeral Mass. I pray for them just like I would anyone else who passed away. I simply ask for them to be welcomed into the Heavenly Kingdom, and I pray they receive God’s mercy. Just like I pray that I will receive God’s mercy.

The only way I would feel uncomfortable at a funeral of another faith is if I didn’t know their rituals or procedures. I would only feel uncomfortable that my actions, or lack of action may be inappropriate or offensive. Of course, while maintaining my own Catholic identity.

Keep in mind, that if I have to attend a funeral of another faith that i am not familiar with, I have spoken with the funeral director, or even a member of their clergy,and explained that I am of a different faith. I explain that I am not familiar with their particular rites, and I would not want to offend anyone… People are extremely understanding and gracious in these situations.

It is ok to be nervous in these situations. I mean, lets face it, no one really likes going to them. I just don’t think uptight is the right word to use.

My cousin is a funeral director, and between him and I, the stories we could tell…lol
 
I’ve had to attend precious few funerals, thanks be to God, and I hope it continues that way!!
 
Amen! I want to vomit when I hear a praise band ANYWHERE let alone a funeral!! I get naucious just by seeing these churches on TV that have giant screens with graphics on them and crystaline pulpits and drab modern interiors with a pastor who has a microphone blue-tooth looking thing around his head and a giant band with bass guitars, synethsizers, drum sets, guitars, singers, and the whole nine yards. Unimaginable.
benidict said:
i also get uptight going to a contemporary mass with a praise band… does that help reverend? peace:)
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gurneyhalleck1 said:
Amen! I want to vomit when I hear a praise band ANYWHERE let alone a funeral!! I get naucious just by seeing these churches on TV that have giant screens with graphics on them and crystaline pulpits and drab modern interiors with a pastor who has a microphone blue-tooth looking thing around his head and a giant band with bass guitars, synethsizers, drum sets, guitars, singers, and the whole nine yards. Unimaginable.
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yes! 👍 and believe it or not im not an old fuddy duddy. im a guitarist myself, and play heavy metal. but there is a time and a place for everything. i thank God i can enter the cathedral, hear the pipe organ and the choir sing traditional hymns. my aunt is a protestant and was complaining about not being able to hear the old hymns anymore. so i invited her with me. she found out it was going to be a Catholic service tho and declined. my mother who is also a protestant, went with me last summer tho, we were taking part in the worlds largest organ recital. she loved it. it was beautiful:)
 
Jimmy_B said:
I always get a little uptight at the thought of attending a non-Catholic funeral.
Am I the only Catholic here who feels this way?
Do any non-Catholics here, feel the same about attending a Catholic funeral?

Your Thoughts?
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Jimmy B.

Being a Catholic, I have never attended a non Catholic Funeral, not to say I would never, but I know for sure that non Catholic person who passed away, would be thanking me a Catholic to be present at their funeral, Why…because I would perhaps be the only one among the non catholics, there, praying for his or her soul:thumbsup:

It has been said that a Non Catholic stays longer in purgatory than a Catholic. I believe this tobe true!

As for a Non Catholic attending a funeral Mass, It will be of a Good Blessing for them…Why Because when they see the Most Holy Eucharist, they would see Jesus Christ, for the first time physically present before them in the flesh, wether they believe it or not.

Ufamtobie
 
peary1 said:
Non-catholic funerals are so drab and lame. The best part comes when the local Freemasons are there and recite their mumbo-jumbo over the deceased - there is never a word about God or a personal Savior in Jesus Christ. I don’t even know why protestants have wakes.
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The same reason anybody has wakes, 1) as a tradition to make sure the person is really dead, 2) for the family, 3) for friends of the family who didn’t know the deceased very well to support the family and for those who did know the deceased who, because of their schedules, wont be able to make it to the funeral to pay their last respects.

And, to the OP, yeah, even when I was Protestant, I wasn’t a fan of the Protestant funerals. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a non-Christian funeral. My great aunt (a devoted Catholic all her life until she got Demensia & Alzheimers), who went to Mass weekly, was good to her neices & nephews, took care of her deaf sister, when she died, and her brother was power of attorney, gave her a memorial service…at the graveyard. No Mass. 😦 …I need to remember to have a Mass said for her.

Of course, I do pray for all the deceased that God will have mercy on that soul and comfort those who mourn for him/her.
 
I get uptight attending funerals in general, something I avoided for years, but seem to do more often as I get older, but I had a change of heart hearing a sermon about the works of mercy, especially bury the dead. coincidentally I had also just read the book of Tobit which begins with the old man breaking the civil law by burying the dead in his town, and how all which befell his family, which turned to be blessing in the end, was reward for his act of mercy. Not that we do this for reward but in acknowledgment of the underlying truth we profess in eternal life beyond the grave.

Today very few funerals at least around here involve a full Mass of Christian Burial as most are conducted by deacons sometimes even lay persons so there is not that much difference that I have noticed. On the other hand, the televised funerals such as for the pope, victims of 9-11 and so forth have done much to evangelize simply because they taught so powerfully through those Masses what we do believe about death and the afterlife.
 
rev_kevin said:
As a matter of fact, yes I have been to many, many Catholic weddings, and many, many a Catholic mass, and many, many Catholic funerals. See I was raised Catholic. All my family is Catholic so no I would not be uptight or a tad off my game at any service of any Christian denomination. So I guess that I would be a better man then you in that aspect.
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Yep, apparently so. 😉
 
Does ANYONE here ever consider that there are other denominations, faiths and religions who actually believe that they are right in their beliefs and you are wrong?

There is nothing to stop you from going to a funeral, thanking God for the life of your friend or relative, and above all else showing some respect for somebody else’s beliefs and points of view.

Think about it this way. They will either know the truth, or know nothing because death is oblivion.

You should get up tight about your own funeral. :eek:
 
Raised Catholic, and now Southern Baptist. And no, it’s not all singing and dancing, clapping and “Amens & Alleluias!”. In fact, the church I attend is probably more conservative than my old parish.

As far as funerals go…I have attended Catholic, Buddhist, Episcopalian, non-denominational Christian, non-specific Asian, and of course Baptist.

All funerals fall into a couple different categories:
  1. Traditional (Ritualistic) - Someone else takes care of the details, performs the rituals, participants observe their “roles” or respond accordingly, everyone is comforted by doing everything they can to make the deceased rest in peace.
  2. Memorial - No rituals, just a celebration of the deceased life whether it be by eulogies, multi-media presentations, or some other commemoration.
  3. Hybrid of the two above - maybe a sermon or entreaty to follow the church/God, and eulogies
  4. Graveside/No memorial - My family used to be in the flower business, and this was referred to as a “direct deposit”. Nothing special here, just the internment or cremation.
I am sure there are a more variations and flavors, but I am trying to be brief here. As far as all the funerals I have attended, I have gotten far more out of Baptist/Christian funerals than any other purely ritualistic service. Why? Because, as Catholic or Baptist or Christian you should celebrate the fact that your loved one is at home AND at peace with THE God that you spend so much time worship and following. You should be jealous! Instead our human selfishness at OUR deep loss wants that person back amongst us.

Don’t worry so much about the ritual folks - our relationship is with God. God knows what we can handle, and when it’s time to come home. Worry more about our unBaptized/unConfirmed family members and friends. Because that’s a funeral I cry at, since it’s truly a good-bye, and the deceased’s eternity is about to suck big time with no “get out of jail free” card.

Use the funeral to celebrate the life that you shared, as well as the life you WILL share again.
 
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