Traditions for Catholic Burial

[ConservativeOne]

I’ve recently attended a wake for someone who was not traditional - but very devoted to the Catholic Faith, the Rosary and Our Lady. It was not an open casket, and I was told things were done all according to what the deceased had pre-requested. I did not ask why - not wanting to overstep my bounds at a very sensitive time. But knowing this deceased person’s devotion, I wondered if perhaps they might have known something I don’t. Maybe it was due to illness or could it be they weren’t embalmed were questions that came to my mind - and if the latter, is there any - Catholic Faith or Bible-based reasons? I know we’re told not to spend money on the dead - but is there more? Any thoughts, anyone?

 

[MarkThompson]

I’ve recently attended a wake for someone who was not traditional - but very devoted to the Catholic Faith, the Rosary and Our Lady. It was not an open casket, and I was told things were done all according to what the deceased had pre-requested. I did not ask why - not wanting to overstep my bounds at a very sensitive time. But knowing this deceased person’s devotion, I wondered if perhaps they might have known something I don’t. Maybe it was due to illness or could it be they weren’t embalmed were questions that came to my mind - and if the latter, is there any - Catholic Faith or Bible-based reasons? I know we’re told not to spend money on the dead - but is there more? Any thoughts, anyone?

The most common reasons are (1) the person did not want to have his friends’ and family’s last memory of seeing him be as a dead body, or (2) the fatal injuries or illness left the person’s body unsuitable for public display. Or sometimes, if for instance there will be a lot of children in attendance, the family members in charge of the arrangements will not want to traumatize them with the sight of a dead body (not that I agree with that view; I think it’s healthy). That sort of thing.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I don’t think there’s anything in Catholic tradition that says the body must be viewable. I for one never liked looking at dead bodies. For me I like my memories to be filled with happy moments of the person’s life, not a lifeless body in a casket. Thats just me.

 

[The_Old_Medic]

In the not too distant past, a person would be “laid out” in their home before burial. Friends and family members would come by, sit in the room with the body, and often have a “wake” (called b7y many different names in different cultures).

Then, the body would be put into a coffin, taken to the Church, a funeral Mass would be held, and straight to the burial (usually in the Church yard or the churches cemetery) in smaller towns, or to a central cemetery in cities.

There is no theological reason why a corpse can not be viewed. I plan on being buried in my military uniform, preferably in a Veterans Cemetery (and YES, I can still fit into it, 40 plus years after i was discharged). I will leave the decision as to whether anyone sees me or not up to survivors. I really doubt if I will care one way or the other.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I think the way the body is viewed is also cultural, and may vary in different parts of the world. There are certain things the Church ask of us, like blessing the body, the grave. But whether to view or not to view is not one of them, it would fall either on cultural practices, or even on the desire of the person who passed away, if he/she was able to leave instructions, or the immediate family.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

My mother-in-law was adamant that she didn’t want people staring at her when she could not stare back.

 

[puzzleannie]

I’ve recently attended a wake for someone who was not traditional - but very devoted to the Catholic Faith, the Rosary and Our Lady. It was not an open casket, and I was told things were done all according to what the deceased had pre-requested. I did not ask why -

there is no Catholic belief about it, preference of the family

 

[Corki]

The most common reasons are (1) the person did not want to have his friends’ and family’s last memory of seeing him be as a dead body,

That would be me. When the time comes, I want a closed casket and a nice airbrushed portrait nearby.

Seriously, when my uncle died, his kids spent a good amount of time at the viewing going around assuring people that he hadn’t looked that bad - even in the hospital during his last days. I for one have never cared for the mortuary’s interpretation of what someone should look like.

 

[meltzerboy]

I’ve recently attended a wake for someone who was not traditional - but very devoted to the Catholic Faith, the Rosary and Our Lady. It was not an open casket, and I was told things were done all according to what the deceased had pre-requested. I did not ask why - not wanting to overstep my bounds at a very sensitive time. But knowing this deceased person’s devotion, I wondered if perhaps they might have known something I don’t. Maybe it was due to illness or could it be they weren’t embalmed were questions that came to my mind - and if the latter, is there any - Catholic Faith or Bible-based reasons? I know we’re told not to spend money on the dead - but is there more? Any thoughts, anyone?

It sounds like they were following Jewish burial tradition, probably unknowingly, which does not permit an open casket or embalming.

 

[Phemie]

My mother-in-law was adamant that she didn’t want people staring at her when she could not stare back.

My Mom, likewise, had made it clear long before she became ill that she didn’t want to be gawked at in her coffin. There was a short viewing for the family, when the funeral director kept saying “If you just put on her wig, you could leave the coffin open.” I made it clear that that was not what she wanted. We had a beautiful photo of her by the casket because that’s how she wanted folks to remember her.

Ironically, when my brother, who has a very warped sense of humour, first saw that particular photo, after Mom and Dad had been to the photographer’s about 5 years earlier, he said with a smirk, “Wouldn’t that make a beautiful ‘memorial photo’?” He was reminded of that comment when we were standing in the reception line.

 

[meltzerboy]

I’ve recently attended a wake for someone who was not traditional - but very devoted to the Catholic Faith, the Rosary and Our Lady. It was not an open casket, and I was told things were done all according to what the deceased had pre-requested. I did not ask why - not wanting to overstep my bounds at a very sensitive time. But knowing this deceased person’s devotion, I wondered if perhaps they might have known something I don’t. Maybe it was due to illness or could it be they weren’t embalmed were questions that came to my mind - and if the latter, is there any - Catholic Faith or Bible-based reasons? I know we’re told not to spend money on the dead - but is there more? Any thoughts, anyone?

It sounds like they may have been following Jewish burial tradition (though I don’t know why), which does not permit an open casket or embalming.

 

[ConservativeOne]

By reading some replies, I’m thinking I may not have worded my question correctly. It seems that replies are addressing personal preference for open casket. I understand there are various reasons to not use traditional viewing. But my question was -* is there any Biblical reference or religious reason *why someone might be guided to choose other than what we nowadays consider standard? I don’t mean to be micabre - just wondering if there might be some religious reason that I’m unaware of.
May they rest in peace.

 

[Corki]

By reading some replies, I’m thinking I may not have worded my question correctly. It seems that replies are addressing personal preference for open casket. I understand there are various reasons to not use traditional viewing. But my question was -* is there any Biblical reference or religious reason *why someone might be guided to choose other than what we nowadays consider standard? I don’t mean to be micabre - just wondering if there might be some religious reason that I’m unaware of.
May they rest in peace.

No. It’s just a personal preference either expressed pre-death by the deceased or of the family.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

My mother-in-law was adamant that she didn’t want people staring at her when she could not stare back.

On the other hand my wife, and her sisters, have had a feeling of unfinished business. Since they never saw her dead, it left her death a bit unreal.

 

[Chatter163]

By reading some replies, I’m thinking I may not have worded my question correctly. It seems that replies are addressing personal preference for open casket. I understand there are various reasons to not use traditional viewing. But my question was -* is there any Biblical reference or religious reason *why someone might be guided to choose other than what we nowadays consider standard? I don’t mean to be micabre - just wondering if there might be some religious reason that I’m unaware of.
May they rest in peace.

What exactly is it that you consider “standard” and who is “we”?

 

[gspmcc1]

If it is not acceptable for a dead body to be viewed, why are the Popes laid out for all to view? The body is a vessel for the spirit. It was also created in the image of God.