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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.
“Vigil” implies an extended form of readings and prayers that go on through the night.
The mother of all vigils is the Easter Vigil, even though we no longer pray all night. A similar (much shorter) Vigil can be celebrated by the community the night before a funeral, according to the Order of Christian Funerals (OCF).
As mentioned in the last article, 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 and the word first proclaimed, the Funeral Mass, and the committal.
The vigil
The vigil usually takes place as part of the wake or the viewing, often held in a funeral home chapel or some place in the church where people are free to gather, pray, and socialize.
Sometimes there is a Rosary led by a group like the Knights of Columbus or Catholic Women’s Club.
This can be done right before the vigil or at another time.
It is sometimes beneficial for the vigil to occur at the beginning of the wake or viewing, as a time for close family and friends to gather for prayer prior to visitation by the larger community.
The vigil is the liturgy provided by the Church. The parish priest or deacon may preside and there may be parish readers, musicians, and grief ministers present.
It can take the form of the Liturgy of the Hours or a Liturgy of the Word.
In this scenario, people most often select a Liturgy of the Word.
The vigil is quite short so that no one has to sit and participate in a drawn-out liturgy during this emotionally and physically exhausting time.
The vigil begins in a very similar way as Mass — with a greeting and a song. A little music is key to this liturgy because it brings people joy and joins their hearts and minds while they sing. It could be a hymn that everyone knows, a favorite of the deceased, or even an appropriate song sung by a soloist.
The coffin can remain open throughout the prayer.
This little introduction ends with a collect, a prayer voiced by the priest into which we add our own hearts and prayers.
Optional prayers
One of the great strengths of the OCF is that there are dozens of prayers that may be used to connect the prayer and the person.
For example, there are prayers for elderly people, for those who were married for many years, for one who died from a long illness, and one who died suddenly. You can work with the parish representative if you wish to use these prayers.
The vigil continues with a Liturgy of the Word as at Mass with a reading from Scripture, a responsorial psalm (sung, if possible), a Gospel acclamation and Gospel, and a brief homily if the service is led by a priest or deacon.
Your parish contacts may have a list of Scriptures that they can give you to choose from or you can use a favorite Scripture of the deceased. You can even just ask the parish to select for you if it is too overwhelming for you.
Intercessions, the Lord’s Prayer, and another collect bring the vigil to its conclusion. The intercessions may include prayers for deceased family members or for friends and co-workers of the deceased.
Through the ritual of this liturgy, the Church offers prayers to God which provide hope and comfort for those mourning and salvation for the deceased.
Patrick Gorman is the director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Madison.