Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
During this month of "All Souls" it is normal and natural (especially given the Mass readings which more and more, speak of the "End Times") for people to ponder their own mortality and what is to come after they finish their earthly journey.  It is a time when some think about and/or plan their funeral liturgies.  If you don't know, many (at leat in our parish) are now choosing cremation rather than the traditional way of burying their body or interring it in a mausoleum.

As I have indicated before, the Church still prefers and strongly promotes the long standing practice of having a mass of Resurrection with the body present, with cremation immediately afterward, with the interment of the cremains then taking place with prayers and a blessing of the place of interment.  (Scattering cremains is still forbidden by the Church).

The reality here at Sacred Heart is that many choose immediate cremation with the cremains brought to church for the Funeral Mass.  While there is nothing "wrong" or "bad" about doing this, I still believe it is important to promote the Church's preference of the presence of the body for funeral liturgies.  Doing this gives us the opportunity to give proper honor to tht\e body that was baptized and was made holy through the reception of other sacraments, especially Holy Communion.  Having the body present before cremation also helps the family and friends of the deceased in the process of mourning and grieving of the one they loved, more so than when an urn with cremains is present before and during the funeral.  

While I understand that given the realities of family coming in from out of town (usually out of state) for a funeral, and cremation usually taking at least a few days, family would have to stay beyond the funeral if they wished to be there for the interment, I believe the Church would say that the funeral liturgies, compared to the interment rite (which is brief), has more significance, and should be given the most priority when it comes to one's presence in funeral rites.  You may also be surprised that the cost of having a person's embalmed body present (in a rental casket) before the cremation, is not that much more expensive than immediate cremation.  I know that we live in a fast-pace, money-conscious society that tends to promote expedience in "all" things.  I believe the Church (as in more than a few things) has a different way of looking at and doing things, and has many benefits to us and our loved ones is we listen and ponder what they (the Church) encourages us to do.

If you have made the choice of immediate cremation for yourself or a loved one who can't make that decision any more, I urge you to see to it that I'm called at the time of death, so that if possible, I can pray over the body before it's taken away for cremation.  It is obviously the last opportunity to honor the body with prayer and the sprinkling of holy water before cremation happens.