Questions about a Requiem Mass

[SianTeresa]

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. I wasn’t raised a Catholic so I don’t know. Please forgive me for sounding insensitive.

My question is that the only Mass I am able to attend in my area tomorrow is a Requiem Mass. I really want to go to Mass, as I go whenever I am able, which is sadly not every day but it is about 4 times a week.

I am concerned that it might be insensitive to attend a Requiem Mass for someone I did not know. Should I stay away and leave the mourners to themselves? Or is it respectful for me to be there anyway and offer my prayers for the deceased, even if my main motivation for being there is receiving Communion?

I will survive if I stay away, and it is a weekday Mass, not a Sunday Mass. I’m just feeling pretty desperate to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord as I was too busy with work to go to today and was very disappointed because it was the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and I had a very un-contemplative day.

Also, in order to get into work on time, it needs to last only 35 minutes, or the length of a standard weekday Mass. How long does a Requiem Mass last, as I won’t be able to go if it is longer? Sorry to have to sound so insensitive.

Something tells me I am working too hard

 

[Phemie]

Mass is a public liturgy so there is no problem with attending a Requiem Mass even if you didn’t know the deceased.

A Requiem Mass has a few things that would not be in the normal daily Mass and so may last a lot longer. If you really need to be out of there in 35 minutes or less this may not be the best option.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

When my mother died I found out that in her parish the only option for a funeral Mass was to have it at the time of the regular daily Mass. (Unless the Mass was on Saturday as hers was.) It seemed odd to me – if I attended daily Mass there I think it would be strange if every now and again there was a funeral. However, obviously non-mourners attend if it’s the regular Mass time. As Phemie pointed out, the Mass lasts longer than a typical daily Mass.

 

[Sarabande]

The others are right. I cantor for funeral masses often. They usually last about an hour - if not more. Often times, there are people who come in for the mass and stay afterwards to pray. They are just parishioners or people stopping in to pray - not mourners. Most will stay towards the back of the church. Trust me, no one will notice that you are there.

 

[Guitar]

What they all said. In my parish, they will sometimes even cancel the regular 9am morning Mass when there’s to be a 10am funeral and ask the morning Mass regulars to come to the funeral. There are a group of them who try to go to as many of the Requiems as possible to pray for the deceased, whether they knew the person or not.

 

[stuart12]

I have attended about 3 Requiem Masses for people that I did not know in my short experience of the Catholic Church. They were on a friday and at the same time as the normal morning Mass. I just sat near the back with the rest of the regulars who did not know the deceased either. They lasted about an hour each so it would not be best to go for you.

 

[SianTeresa]

Thanks for all your replies. I had to wait, and went today instead.

Sian

 

[puzzleannie]

I am concerned that it might be insensitive to attend a Requiem Mass for someone I did not know.

ALL Masses in a Catholic Church are public prayer, there is no such thing as a private Mass. If the funeral is indeed a Mass, feel free to attend. No one will think ill of you. Think about it, in general at funerals, there are going to be plenty of mourners not known to the family so in no way will you stand out. Usually the priest is only allowed to say one Mass on a weekday, so if there is a funeral the regular morning schedule will only be a communion service if it is offered at all, and regular Mass goers, at least those home during the day, are often in the habit of attending these funeral Masses as their daily Mass. In any case it is right and proper for parishioners to be present and joining in at any funeral in the parish. Burying the dead is a work of mercy.