Pastor's Points: From Death into Life

Pastor's Points: From Death into Life

Recently we have had a lot of funerals. At one point, we were working with 6 different families who had loved ones in the dying process. Thanks to our pastoral staff, music ministers, a great group of volunteer funeral care ministers and hospitality ministers, we were able to work with all of those families at once to ensure that they were cared for. We have also had a couple of very large funerals in recent months that required much planning and cooperation among a large entity of people.

There is a lot that goes into a funeral. From the initial meeting with the family, to working with the funeral home, to the administrative work, to the funeral reception, a lot of different things have to come together—and often in just a couple of days.

After a couple of recent funerals, I have heard comments from parishioners who knew non-Catholics who were at those funerals. They relayed that their friends spoke of the beauty of the funeral liturgy: the signs, symbols, smells, reverence, and grace with which the Mass was celebrated. We Catholics do funerals well. And sometimes the funeral is for a person who died tragically or suddenly, and the family is often thrown into chaos. Francine Morrissette, commenting on the importance of Catholic ritual, writes the following: Rituals provide substance and meaning amidst the chaos of modern life, and Catholic faith rituals provide comfort, order, and much-needed nourishment for the soul. The funeral liturgy, through words, songs, poetry and prose, speaks what the heart sometimes cannot speak in the midst of grief. We proclaim our hope in resurrected life. We proclaim that the grave could not hold Christ. We proclaim that death leads to life—life eternal.

How grateful I am for all those who minister to the sick, the dying and the bereaved. One important group is our “Loaves and Fishes” Ministry, which puts on the reception after the funeral Mass if the family desires to have one. From huge funerals to a simple gathering of family and friends, the ladies of this ministry ensure that there is nourishment for the body after the soul has been nourished through the liturgy.

At St. Thomas More, we do funerals well. It is a time when we are at our best as a parish. We are able to walk with families as they pray for and remember their loved one. Death is never easy. The Church is called upon to be a refuge in the midst of the storm of death and to proclaim the good news of the resurrection.

“Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?”
-1 Cor. 15:55