Ask the Undertaker: Catholics and Cremation

St. Joseph of Arithmea, Patron Saint of Undertakers

Dear Pat,

My wife and I are planning on being cremated when we die. We are Catholic, but haven’t really been to church for years. My brother was cremated and buried in a Catholic Cemetery, so it must be OK with the church to be cremated. What are our options?

Harvey Creaster

Davenport, Iowa

Dear Harvey,

The Catholic Church has some rules and guidelines that they encourage funeral directors to share with their Catholic families. I have been mistaken for a priest on a few occasions since I’m Irish and wear a lot of black, but I have not been called or ordained, so I would suggest that you have a discussion with your local parish priest for a fuller understanding of the reasons behind these rules.

Yes, cremation is allowed now for Catholics, as long as the cremation is not done in defiance or contradiction of the beliefs and tenets of the faith. The church would prefer, if cremation is chosen, that it take place after the mass, and that the body of the deceased be present at the service. They will allow the cremated remains at the mass, as long as they are treated with the same ritual and respect as the body would normally be given.

The church would prefer that cremated remains are buried or interred within a Catholic cemetery. Failing that, they prefer that interment take place within a Catholic section of a public cemetery. The Church will accept burial in a non denominational section of a cemetery but the preference is that a person is buried within a ‘community of the faithful’ to await resurrection together. The Church does not allow cremated remains to be kept at home indefinitely. They must be interred.

The church does not allow portioning or scattering. They do allow donation of the body for a legitimate scientific purpose, but funeral rites must precede the donation and burial of the remains must follow it.

I encourage you to explore your options, discuss your choices with family and clergy and plan out your services. In addition, I hope that it is a long, long time before those wishes need to be carried out.

Best Regards,
Pat McNally

You may email your questions for the Undertaker to: dailyundertaker@gmail.com

The Case of the Catholic Casket

Giottino's Pietà of San Remigio. ca. 1365, Tempera on wood, 195 x 134 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Giottino_pieta.jpg

"In the winter of '95, my bedridden father was preparing for his impending death. As the town's longtime independent Baptist minister, he had helped countless families in their grief. In his mind, by taking care of his own funeral arrangements, his family wouldn't have to do a thing. So he worked it all out with his friend, Neil, the longtime mortician from the funeral home across the river. One of my seven siblings lived in town, so Dad sent John over to Neil's place to select the casket, knowing that he's also friends with Neil and his younger partner. A couple of weeks later, I was in town, and Dad asked me, the eldest, to go approve John's choice.The casket was adorned on opposite corners with exquisite wood relief carvings of da Vinci's Last Supper and Michelangelo's Pieta, one pair at each end. I reported back that John had made a wonderful choice, as I described these iconic carvings. Having seen the Pieta in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica, Dad was immensely pleased, and so was I. At Eastertime, still at home, in his last lucid moments, Dad started to tell us a funny story about kicking the bucket. Laughing with him, we asked whether he was finished with the story, but its punch line slipped away with him. Later that evening we called Neil, wanting him to pick Dad up. That he had lost a dear friend was plain for all of us to see.The next afternoon brought fireworks. A longtime member of the church Dad had served rang the doorbell, and before she was through the door, burst out, I don't understand why Carl would have Neil do his funeral. Why is Carl going across the river to the Catholic funeral home? What's wrong with the Protestant one on this side? I just don't understand! We were all startled, as Dad's choice had seemed most natural, given his long friendship with Neil. Her outrage switched on a light bulb in my mind, and only then did I catch a glimpse of the significance of what had been chosen. It was a Catholic casket. Yes, an unadorned cross had replaced the crucifix, but the casket's imagery was unmistakably traditional, very catholic, if you will. At the visitation the next day, Neil pulled me aside, wanting us to know how his friendship with Dad had started. Years ago, he had purchased a very old funeral business that had been run into the ground. That first year, he did only six funerals, but Dad knew of his plight. Neil's words to me were, If it weren't for your dad, I wouldn't have succeeded in this business. Dad had directed business his way, helping him gain the footing he so desperately needed. We children had no idea of this basis of their friendship. Then John told his story about choosing the casket. It had caught his eye immediately, as the most prominently displayed piece there. After wondering what people would think and viewing other caskets, it dawned on him that this casket would not even have been there for anyone else. Neil had specifically ordered this coffin for Dad. Surely it symbolized their beautiful friendship, and we suspect that Dad knew. The next day, with grateful hearts, we proudly followed that Catholic casket up the aisle of the Baptist church. Dad's ministry had bridged many rivers, serving non-Baptists and the unchurched, helping persons who lived on society's margins. In Neil, he had found a soulmate."

Nelson Hart for The Holland, MI Sentinel
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/lifestyle_religion/x1720644776/COLUMN-My-father-s-casket

Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2007/oct/26/southamerica.religion?picture=331087381

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2007/oct/26/southamerica.religion?picture=331087381

Day of the Dead, or El Día de los Muertos, is a Mexican celebration of the deceased. The tradition has been practiced by indigenous people for at least 3,000 years. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they tried to stamp it out, changing the date to coincide with the Catholic holy days – All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 1 and 2). But the Aztec and Meso-American tradition survived, incorporating Catholic theology.
Today, Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and in certain parts of the United States and Central America. People don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives, and place wooden skulls on altars dedicated to the dead. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their relatives are buried to decorate the gravesites, give gifts—toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults—and picnic, eating the favorite food of their loved ones.

-from New America Media, for full text and photos, visit http://blogs.newamericamedia.org/photo-of-the-day/863/day-of-the-dead

http://www.rit.edu/news/?v=45832

Cover Photo from Defibaugh's book

In his 2007 book, The Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos, Denis Defibaugh, photography professor in RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, documents his photographic vision through the people and their rituals as they honor family members who have died.

Defibaugh’s interest in the Day of the Dead began in 1993 when he received a Fulbright/Hayes Fellowship for Mexico and met author/historian Ward Albro. Over the past decade, Defibaugh and Albro, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, have been welcomed into people’s homes and taken part in the public festivals. The Day of the Dead holiday, All Soul’s Day, coincides with the Catholic tradition of All Saint’s Day and resembles the United States’ more commercial Halloween. The hardbound book features street photography and intimate portraits. Along with Defibaugh’s photography, Albro writes an essay about the background of the beliefs and practices of the Dia de los Muertos observance. “The response to the book has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Defibaugh. “I’m very proud of it. Some of the people of Oaxaca were initially hesitant about me photographing them, especially at the festival in the cemetery. On my subsequent visits, I would give each person a copy of their photograph, and it would change the entire situation. People would line up to have me photograph them. The whole idea of giving photos back to people opens up a dialogue because they feel they are part of the whole experience. That’s reflected in the book.” -from RIT University News

- for the full article visit http://www.rit.edu/news/?v=45832 .

-to purchase book through Amazon.com, visit the Library section of this blog

Holy Holy Holy!: Holy cards

Growing up Catholic, I have a special place in my heart for Holy Cards. These cards feature old timey and somewhat surrealistic religious images on one side, and a prayer for the deceased on the other. They are saved, collected, and given out as rewards for good behaviour. The older ones were the best with their rounded corners and gold leaf on the edges. Now with in house printing, holy cards come in sheets with micro-perforations and are easier to make, but thinner and with less gold leaf. With a few years of handling, though, the new ones will acquire the worn patina that makes them treasures.