Christ the King Parish Bereavement Ministry
The Funeral Rites
In the face of death, the Church confidently proclaims that God has created each person for eternal life and that Christ’s death and resurrection has broken the chains of sin and death that bound humanity.
Christians celebrate Funeral Rites in order to:
- Offer worship, praise and thanksgiving to God with honour, respect and thanksgiving for the gift of life of the loved one who has died and returned to the Father
- Pray for God’s mercy and compassion on the deceased
- Surround the bereaved with care, love and support at this difficult time of sorrow.
The Catholic Church provides meaningful prayers and funeral rituals, all rich in compassion for the loved one who has died. These rites or rituals are celebrated in the presence of the body or in the presence of the cremated remains. Included are consoling prayers for those who mourn.
- At the time of death
- When the family gathers for the first time in the presence of the body
- At the Funeral Vigil
- At the Funeral Liturgy (whether with Mass or without Mass)
- At the Rite of Commendation and Farewell
- At the Rite of Committal
Prayers at the Time of Death
This is frequently the first expression of support for the bereaved family from members of the community. The presence of a priest (or perhaps someone he designates) can minister a spirit of peace and calm to an emotionally filled gathering. The simple familiar prayers prayed in these circumstances can bring comfort to those who are facing this loss, and serve to make the whole faith community present. Our Catholic faith calls us to surround the bereaved with care, love and support and we can do that through prayer beginning right at the time of death. “If one member suffers in the body of Christ which is the Church, all the members suffer with that member.” 1 Corinthians 12:25.
Gathering in the Presence of the Body
The first time family and friends gather to view the body brings them—especially people who were not with the person at the time of death—face to face in a profound way with the mystery of death. Once again a minister from the parish may be present with them at this time, and pray with and for them using prayers that the rite offers for this time. The rite shows reverence for the body of the deceased as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Vigil
The vigil prayer service or ‘wake’ is usually held the night before the funeral in the church in the presence of the body. Alternatively, the vigil may be held privately in the home.
The Vigil is the intended time when the whole Christian community (including relatives, friends and neighbours) keeps watch with the grieving family in prayer and grateful remembrance. This prayerful time allows comfort and strength to be gathered from God and from each other, for the more formal funeral and committal the next day.
The Church offers eleven different vigil themes for a family to choose from, with the reading of God’s word, full of hope in Jesus’ resurrection at the core of each. We pray that God comfort the mourners, and show mercy to the deceased while also celebrating the gifts and blessings of the unique life of the deceased.
The Vigil is the appropriate opportunity to share memory stories, to proclaim love and gratitude, and celebrate the unique life and gifts of the deceased in an atmosphere of prayerful compassion. Biographical history, poems, songs and spoken personal words of tribute or stories recalled, tears and even laughter are all appropriate as the family, friends and members of the parish faith community unite to face the harsh reality of their loss and the mystery of death.
The Funeral Liturgy
We believe that all life comes from God, and that each of us is created for eternal life. So when we gather to celebrate Eucharist in a Funeral Liturgy, we focus on giving God praise and thanks for Christ’s victory over sin and death, and for the life of the deceased. We seek comfort and strength in Christ’s Pascal mystery of life, death and resurrection and we commend our loved one to God’s tender compassion. Sharing in Holy Communion serves to unite us with Christ, with each other, and with all the faithful—both the living and the dead.
A Funeral Liturgy, outside the Eucharistic celebration of mass, consisting of scripture, prayer and music is an equally appropriate and beautiful way to celebrate a funeral liturgy. Together, the family and the pastor decide the form of liturgy to be celebrated.
The symbols—the pall, the Easter candle, the holy water, incense and white vestments—used in the funeral liturgy (with or without Mass) all recall our baptism into Christ’s death in the hope of sharing His resurrection.
The Rite of Commendation and Farewell
We profess faith in the communion of saints, made clear in this rite presented before the actual burial. Even as the reality of separation is upon us, the rite commends the deceased person to God, singing this prayer: “May songs of the angels welcome you and guide you along your way. May the smiles of the martyrs greet your own as darkness turns into day. Every fear will be undone and death will be no more as songs of the angels bring you home before the face of God”.
Holy water that united us in baptism and life is used to sprinkle the body and incense is used – both are signs and symbols of respect and prayer. The rite proclaims that death is not the end; we remain in relationship with the person who has gone before us on life’s journey into eternity.
The Rite of Committal
The last ceremony takes place at the cemetery and is called a liturgy or rite of final farewell and committal, when priest and/or designated lay person, family and community honour one of its members before the body is buried or entombed.
This is the hard moment when we come face to face with the grave, it is a final goodbye to one we have loved through life. We bury the body or cremated remains as our final act of care.
The support of friends and the comfort of faith help us to reconcile that life is changed but not ended. Burial can harshly signify a painful separation, yes, but only a temporary one; an end, yes, but more a beginning. In Christ the grave has been transformed from a sign of despair to a sign of hope in the promise of resurrection.
