Resting In Peace

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So I know two families.

One, my friend’s father passed away last year. And they have his remains at his mom’s apartment. Now, for the time after his father’s funeral the excuse was, “no money”. But it’s been a year. They still haven’t given him a proper burial and he remains in his mother’s living room.

Two, my best friend was shot and killed on Easter Vigil night at a party. What was planned was he was going to go to Atlanta, Georgia to have proper burial but his recent girlfriend decided she wanted to keep him “forever”. She keeps his remains on a fountain in her backyard.

Are they resting in peace?

I need to know this so as to let them know the seriousness of them having a proper burial.
 
The Church requires that remains be treated with the respect due to the human body. Normally this means burial or placement in an appropriate location (mausoleum, etc.) But this is not about whether or not the deceased rests in peace. Concerns that those whose bodies are not buried (burned in fires, lost at sea, etc.) are not founded in Catholic theology.
 
I agree with NHInsider in that the disposition of the physical remains has no affect on the disposition of the soul after death. Whether they are “resting in peace” is based on the state of their soul at the time of death (and not within the purview of this forum :D).

I would note to both your friends that the reason the Catholic church encourages burial is to allow ALL the friends and relatives to have a place they can go to to celebrate/remember that person. By keeping ashes in the closet or on the fountain they are denying others access.
 
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Chruch. # 2300 - 2301:

**The bodies of the of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy; it honors the chruch of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.

…The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.
**

I would ask if each situation is a true example of respect and dignity of the people in each case you presented. We must always remember that the person must be given the respect and dignity that is afforded to them by God from conception to death and that the respect be given to the body of the deceased with the anticipation of the Resurrection. Hence, why we bless the ground with holy water during the final prayers in the funeral rite of the Church, at the burial location.

God Bless
👍
 
Just a thought on this: I have a very dear friend whose family were very torn about what to do with her mother’s ashes when she died. (The lady had donated her body to medical research, & the family got the ashes back some months later).
I actually had the container in my home for about a year, while they sorted out their differences, & buried her with her husband. (I guess I qualified as a “neutral yet trustworthy place” for temporary storage.
I would not have done this if I thought that they were being disrespectful. On the contrary, they were simply not agreed as to what would be the most respectful solution.
Everybody grieves in their own way, & the grief-stricken are not always entirely rational in their thinking. I suspect (at least, I surely hope) that these families eventually choose a more proper disposition of their loved ones remains. But, IMO, we need to show some charity towards those who are unable to move on in the grieving process.

As always my 2 cents is :oworth about two pennies…
 
Wow thank you everyone for your responses. It does make sense to have someone buried for those reasons.

How can a situation demonstrate denial of faith in the resurrection of the body? lol :confused:

Hopefully the second family understands this because I am going to let them know about this!

Because this is the situation: My friend left behind two daughters from two different women.

His second family is the one with the remains in her backyard. His first family wishes to see him but cannot because his first baby’s mother does not get along with the second. (hopefully I’m making sense lol) He was supposed to be sent to Atlanta with his mother but the second family did not want that. The first family did (including his only family left which was of only cousins) The godmother of the first child paid for everything, including burial services. But the second family I guess took them for granted and kept his remains with them. phew. lol
 
Th0t said:
So I know two families.

One, my friend’s father passed away last year. And they have his remains at his mom’s apartment. Now, for the time after his father’s funeral the excuse was, “no money”. But it’s been a year. They still haven’t given him a proper burial and he remains in his mother’s living room.

Two, my best friend was shot and killed on Easter Vigil night at a party. What was planned was he was going to go to Atlanta, Georgia to have proper burial but his recent girlfriend decided she wanted to keep him “forever”. She keeps his remains on a fountain in her backyard.

Are they resting in peace?

I need to know this so as to let them know the seriousness of them having a proper burial.
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You didn’t say if they are Catholic or not.
If they are Catholic they should know better and have the remains properly and respectfully entombed (not at home).
If they are not Catholic they probably won’t care what anyone says to them.
 
They’re Catholics but I don’t know if they’re really active or not. The second family I mean.

Because the first family is a good friend of mine. I’m the reason they got together lol but they are.
 
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