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| Death: Our Birth into Eternal life
Patrick Gorman |
The following article is the next installment in a series that will appear in the Catholic Herald to offer catechesis and formation concerning end of life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from the Catholic perspective.
My father was a permanent deacon at two parishes in Ohio, and his primary ministry each weekday involved visiting the sick and housebound.
One day he visited an elderly lady whose death was imminent.
They spoke together about her fear of death and even the guilt she felt because she wanted to stay on earth longer.
My dad said to her, “We could have had this same conversation 90 years ago in your mother’s womb. You were in a safe and comfortable place, your mother was feeding you, and you had everything you needed. The last thing you’d want to do is leave this glorious womb. But you did, and you experienced something that was so much greater than the womb ever could be. Soon you’ll be born into eternal life, a place even more glorious than our earthly home.”
Funeral rites
The Funeral rites were revised under the authority of the Second Vatican Council and are called The Order of Christian Funerals (OCF) which includes many options and possibilities. There are a number of different rituals within the OCF that may help the family grieve during this difficult time.
The OCF divides the rites into three “stations,” somewhat like we do for the Easter Triduum.
These stations fall at critical points for the mourners — the vigil (usually the evening prior to the funeral Mass) when the body is first seen, the Funeral Mass (the family and community celebrating the Eucharist for one last time in the physical presence of his/her body), and the committal, “humbly returning to God his child” who was reborn in baptism, sustained by the Holy Spirit, and nourished by the Lord’s own Body and Blood.
The final station takes place at the grave, committing our loved one to the ground.
One caveat: today funerals often become a “celebration of life.”
While celebrations such as this may occur at the restaurant or a park or the home, the funeral Mass is celebrated in the church.
The Mass involves prayers thanking God for the deceased and also praying for the salvation of the deceased’s soul.
We offer that soul up to God in the Eucharist. We also reflect on how the deceased’s life revealed for us, in some small way, Jesus Christ.
God’s judgment
Ultimately, we leave the judgment of the soul to God.
In fact, Scripture warns us not to judge, and, if we do, God will judge us harshly.
You’ll notice that we have many, many saints in the Church where the Church declares that we know that this person is in heaven. There is no such process for Hell.
The Church sees the creation of saints as part of its competence, but we leave damnation to the One Great Judge of souls. It’s a good thing for us to keep in mind.
The Christian spends life on a pilgrimage back to the Triune God in heaven.
There is nothing we can do to earn our way there, for example, by saying certain prayers or doing particular deeds.
It’s assumed that all Christians say prayers and do good things for others.
All God requires from us is our love and devotion and our acceptance of his boundless mercy.
We gather at the funeral to ask God to purify the soul of the deceased (to forgive his/her sins).
For years and years after the funeral, we still pray for the soul of our deceased. We can visit them at the cemetery and have Masses said for them at our parish church.
Patrick Gorman is the director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Madison.