As I compose this pastor's column, I have just returned from the home of Clyde and Ida Porterfield, where I comforted Clyde and prayed for Ida in the wake of her sudden death. I want to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to call me right after a loved one has passed away and know that I am prepared to go to the home or hospital (or other institution) to pray over them (and with the family) in committing their soul to the eternal care of the Lord and offer prayers and presence for the one is grieving their loved one's death. I cannot give the Sacrament of Anointing to the person who has died, yet I want to nevertheless "be there" as a "presence of hope" if the family member or members would welcome me to come.
With regard to Ida, Clyde informed me that she had pre-arranged with one of the local funeral homes and had decided to have her body present for the Rosary and funeral Mass and then be taken for cremation followed by interment in a columbarium. This gives me another oppportunity to ask your consideration of such arrangements for yourself if you are choosing to be cremated. This is NOT firstly what Fr. Bill "wants" but rather what the Church strongly encourages for a number of reasons, starting with honoring the body of the person that was baptized and received other sacraments of the Church, including and especially the Holy Eucharist. Having the body present (whether with an open casket or not) allows the family and others to mourn the loss of the "person" whose soul is now, we pray in the loving, merciful hands of God. While cost might need to be considered for some, please realize that to embalm a person and "rent" a casket is really not that "pricey" and after doing the research, I can tell anyone who wants to ask me, what some of the funeral homes in the area charge for such services.
While talking about cost, this past weekend, I spoke of doing pre-arrangement for the funeral Mass with us (ie music, readings etc.) and if cremation is the choice to consider choosing and purchasing an urn through an online service (like Amazon) which can be a good thing to do for a number of reasons, including a lower cost for the urn. By the way the dimensions for the niche's in our Sacred Heart Columbarium are eleven and a half square in the front and ten and a half square toward the back of the niche. Each niche is one foot and eleven and seven-eighths deep from front to back.
Admittedly this pastor's column is bringing up things that some don't want to think about or plan in advance which is okay. I do know that Clyde Porterfield is blessed that Ida made some decisions and arrangements ahead of time to lighten the burden of decisions for him at a most difficult time as he mourns Ida's passing. Please pray for Ida and all who have recently died as well as Clyde and all those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones!
With regard to Ida, Clyde informed me that she had pre-arranged with one of the local funeral homes and had decided to have her body present for the Rosary and funeral Mass and then be taken for cremation followed by interment in a columbarium. This gives me another oppportunity to ask your consideration of such arrangements for yourself if you are choosing to be cremated. This is NOT firstly what Fr. Bill "wants" but rather what the Church strongly encourages for a number of reasons, starting with honoring the body of the person that was baptized and received other sacraments of the Church, including and especially the Holy Eucharist. Having the body present (whether with an open casket or not) allows the family and others to mourn the loss of the "person" whose soul is now, we pray in the loving, merciful hands of God. While cost might need to be considered for some, please realize that to embalm a person and "rent" a casket is really not that "pricey" and after doing the research, I can tell anyone who wants to ask me, what some of the funeral homes in the area charge for such services.
While talking about cost, this past weekend, I spoke of doing pre-arrangement for the funeral Mass with us (ie music, readings etc.) and if cremation is the choice to consider choosing and purchasing an urn through an online service (like Amazon) which can be a good thing to do for a number of reasons, including a lower cost for the urn. By the way the dimensions for the niche's in our Sacred Heart Columbarium are eleven and a half square in the front and ten and a half square toward the back of the niche. Each niche is one foot and eleven and seven-eighths deep from front to back.
Admittedly this pastor's column is bringing up things that some don't want to think about or plan in advance which is okay. I do know that Clyde Porterfield is blessed that Ida made some decisions and arrangements ahead of time to lighten the burden of decisions for him at a most difficult time as he mourns Ida's passing. Please pray for Ida and all who have recently died as well as Clyde and all those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones!