FUNERALS

Service Times...

Funeral arrangements begin with a meeting with the funeral director. Next, the parish is contacted, where a priest confirms the date and time for the funeral Mass. Then, the parish Funeral Coordinator contacts the family to discuss the details of the Mass of Christian Burial. Masses are generally celebrated at 11 a.m., but exceptions can be made based on the family’s requests. 

 

Family Participation...

We believe that nothing expresses a celebration better than the involvement of family members and friends in the Mass. Below are opportunities in the Mass where family and friends can participate:

• Words of Remembrance 

• Proclaimers of the Word (1st and 2nd Readings lectors)

• General Intercessions / Prayers of the Faithful

• Presentation of Gifts (bringing up the Bread and Wine during Offertory)

• Serving as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist (if the person has been trained and commissioned within the Catholic faith and traditions)

• Choosing of songs/music

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Words of Remembrance...

The eulogy is not part of the Mass of Christian Burial. Eulogies by family members or friends are encouraged at the wake or vigil service or at the cemetery. Some families use the wake or vigil service for a time of memories for the deceased with an open podium. An individual may be invited, though, to offer some words of remembrance on behalf of the family at the Funeral Liturgy for a person dear to them. This is a great honor and responsibility. The guide below is offered to help you plan and deliver your remembrance well. 

 

• This occurs at the service's beginning before the Liturgy of the Word.

• One or two persons are allowed to offer words of remembrance

• Use your own words and speak from your heart while keeping it appropriate for a church

• Prepare your remembrance in writing. It makes your delivery easier for you and your thoughts clearer to the listener.

• You might read the scripture texts that the family has selected. They may bring to mind a specific quality, incident, or deed that symbolizes the person's faith.

• Please keep your remembrance short – between 2 and 3 minutes. This corresponds to about one page of printed text.

 

Readings...

All funeral Mass readings can be found online (click for reading options). Family members can select the readings or have the Funeral Coordinator make the selections. Alternate reading options may be considered but must be scriptural and approved by the priest or liturgist. If the family cannot provide the lectors, the parish will see that the readings are proclaimed. Intercession/Prayers of the Faithful may be read by a family member, family friend, funeral coordinator, liturgist, or deacon. The Funeral Mass planner will provide you with reading options for the service.

 

Music...

The Mass is a public act of worship of the Church.  The parish is ultimately responsible for the music in the liturgy. Hymns should reflect the idea of resurrection and hope. You may consider some specific religious music appropriate during the Mass. The parish Funeral Coordinator may help you choose music suitable for the funeral Mass. The entrance hymn, communion hymn, and recessional hymn are music that the congregation should be encouraged to sing, as well as the usual service music and responses. Solos may be done at the meditation after communion and are more appropriate as a prelude, during the presentation of the gifts, and as a postlude after the recessional. 

            A cantor and accompanist are needed for the Mass. Other musicians are allowed and must be knowledgeable on the liturgy of the Catholic Church and must be approved by the Director of Music. All music must be approved by the Director of Music for liturgical and sacred appropriateness. Secular music is not allowed.  

 

Pall & Paschal Candle...

Though a center of reverence, the casket is not the focus of attention at the Mass of Christian Burial. Instead, the focus is our hope of sharing eternal life and resurrection, promised at Baptism. During the entrance blessing, the casket is covered with a white cloth, the Pall, as a reminder of the white garment used at Baptism. The Easter Candle, also known as the Paschal Candle, is another symbol of Baptism and will stand ahead of the casket. Usually, immediate family members or the welcome ministers place the funeral pall on the casket. The American flag, a symbol of military service, never covers the casket in church during the Mass.

 

Entrance Procession...

The order of entrance is as follows: servers, presider, casket, pallbearers—followed by the family (if not already seated). The same order is used as we leave the Church. Musicians are not part of the procession. They must be upfront in the music ministry area, leading the congregation in the entrance or recessional song.

 

Homily...

The homily is the sermon by the priest or deacon after the Gospel. It is meant to reflect Christian faith and hope in the resurrection of the dead and eternal life. This is not the time for a eulogy on the deceased's life, but examples from the person’s life may be used in the homily.

 

Presentation of the Gifts...

If there is a funeral Mass where communion is administered, we encourage members of the immediate family to bring the gifts forward as a symbolic way of offering their loved ones to God. We encourage Catholics to receive communion under both species. If you have Catholic family members who are commissioned Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist (even from another parish), they are permitted to assist. Otherwise, the parish will provide Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.