CATHOLIC FUNERAL PRACTICES
Years ago someone remarked to me that in the Catholic Church we know how to bury people. I know that sounds kind of strange, but upon further reflection it makes a lot of sense: death is a part of life. For a Christian, death is the complete incorporation into the life of Christ. For as Christ died and rose, so too each of us believes that will be our future. Yet, the reality of death is harsh. It is difficult to face death, whether it be our own or that of a loved one.
When someone dies there are a series of things that occur. The first is the shock and the displacement of not having someone around who once was there. A lifetime of memories and experiences is cut off. Secondly, there is the lack of knowledge about what the fate of that person is. Where do they go when they die? Are they in heaven? Purgatory? Finally, there is the adjustment that is needed in life for the survivors. We must go on and be reincorporated into the life of the parish, community, and world.
Our Christian burial rites and practices help us in all of these areas. At the Vigil or Wake Service, time is spent telling the stories of the deceased’s life. There is time to recall the great and heroic things accomplished as well as the funny, unique, and wonderful things done. This is done in the context of prayer, asking God to be with us in our sorrow. Family and friends gather in the presence of the deceased as a reminder that this person is no longer physically with us, yet their spirit lives on.
The funeral Mass, usually the following day, places the life of the one who has died in the midst of the Paschal mystery. Each of us who is Catholic proclaims the death of the Lord until He comes in glory. The Body and Blood of Christ nourish us for strength on our spiritual journey until we reach our eternal home. Celebrating this Mass for the deceased lets us know that God is faithful to His promises. We can place our hope in Christ who died for us and rose that we might have eternal life. Fear is driven out by the prayer of the community calling on God to bring home the one he loved. Baptism is incorporated into this community of faith. The sprinkling of the coffin or remains and the placing of the white pall remind us of the connection. Now we confidently entrust the person into the arms of the Savior.
The burial rites remind us that life continues on. The person who lived will be remembered by the physical place on earth in the cemetery, but we who survive must begin the process of living once again. All of us are on this earth but a moment compared to the eternity we hope to live with God. Our physical frame is only dust, but dust created by a loving God. That dust will be recreated at the end of time. We believe in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.
When we say farewell at the cemetery or mausoleum, we mark the spot so that we will never forget. We pray for the dead at Mass. We help one another in their grieving, often by sharing cards or a meal. We do all of this in the context of faith. Christ claimed us at baptism on earth and now claims us eternally in death. Our prayers and rituals as Catholics assist us in life and death. We are thankful for our faith, especially at the death of a loved one.
Peace,
Fr. Chris
SBC MASS
Single Black Catholics will gather Sunday, July 15, for 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. James Cathedral, 215 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, followed by brunch at Lily Marlene’s at Church Street Station. Admission is $15.95 per person; call Seandrea by Wednesday, July 11 at 407-657-2563.
The Black Community Ministry will have prayer service every third Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Call 407-658-1818, extension 243 for details.
THEME OF THE PAX CHRISTI FLORIDA ASSEMBLY TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER 2001: BUILDING COMMUNITIES OF MORAL CONVERSATION
Overview of the Workshop: This interactive workshop will explore our civic responsibility as active participants in a democratic society. It will focus on the power of dialogue and moral discourse as means for building effective organizations and a better world. We will begin with an assessment of our values as a faith-based constituency rooted in the biblical vision of peace and justice and how that disposition colors our advocacy efforts in the public arena. What are the advantages and disadvantages of our faith-based approach? Are we just another “special interest group” in the maze of contemporary democratic advocacy organizations? Is there a deeper communitarian challenge to bring our values into the public square while inviting others to enter the “conversation”? How can we be freed from the myopia of our own ideological orientations and suspend judgment as we truly enter the open space of vibrant moral discourse? How do we become skillful facilitators of moral discourse in public spaces? How do we overcome the wall that divides facts and values, the blinders of our own predispositions, and the penchant for avoiding spiritual/moral talk in public? Through presentations, personal reflection and focus groups, participants will consider their roles as transformational leaders who engage others in meaningful values conversation within the public sphere. The workshop will be couched within the socio-political context of a communitarian worldview that sees civic moral discourse as the means to identify core values within our multicultural society, sufficient to build community and sustain the common good. The workshop will address the following areas:
* What is the connection between
transformational leadership, moral reflectivity and social change?
* What is communitarian political
philosophy and how does it challenge both the left and the right?
* What is public moral conversation
and how do you do it?
* How does the Church contribute
to the conversation and what is Pax Christi’s role?
About the presenter: John Frank is currently completing doctoral studies in Educational Leadership and is in the midst of research related to his dissertation entitled: Transformational Leadership, Moral Discourse, and the Advancement of Democratic Civil Society. He has been exploring how leaders within various organizational sectors (private, public and social) engage their constituents in moral conversation and “values talk” and how that process builds social capital and advances civil society. John has a master’s degree in Applied Theology and has worked in church and non-profit organizations for over 25 years. With his wife, Patricia, he founded Pax Christi-Florida in the early 1980’s. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and is in the process of launching DiaCom Paradigms (DCP), an independent consulting service with a mission to build community and commitment within organizational culture by unleashing the power of values-based conversation. DCP hopes to reach out to a wide range of organizations that can contribute to the reconstruction of community in the 21st century. These groups may include schools, churches and religious organizations, non-profit human service providers, civic organizations, public agencies and private industry. Central themes to DCP consultation services include transformational leadership, organizational learning, the place of values talk in the workplace, and the advancement of participatory democracy and civil society.
TRAVEL BLESSING
The bags are packed. We’re ready to burn rubber! But first, let’s start the trip out right with a travel blessing. You can pray something like this: “Lord, give us joy during these days. It’s wonderful not to have to work. Help us to discover new parts of your beautiful creation using all of our senses. Make us rich with experiences and help us to enjoy the people you put in our path. Please protect us, for we could encounter danger. Help us all to come back home refreshed, healthy, and happy. Be near us during this time. It’s for these things we ask, Lord.”
ASSISI COUNCIL 10367, KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Klinedale (K.J.) Baker will head Assisi Council 10367, Knights of Columbus, through the coming year. He was elected grand knight of the St. Clare based unit at its June meeting, succeeding Francisco (Frank) Cartagena, who served two terms in the top post.
New council officers also include Frank Perkowski, Sr., deputy grand knight; Raymond Duval, chancellor; Ryan Barton, warden; Antonio (Tony) Orona, treasurer; Thomas Connolly, recorder; Richard Goulding, advocate; Richard Bollman, Jr., inside guard, and Frank Perkowski, Jr., outside guard.
Named to appointed posts were the Rev. Chris Hoffman, chaplain; Carl Bolli, Jr., financial secretary; and Abraham Colon, Kevin Carroll, and Francisco Cartagena, trustees for one, two, and three years, respectively.
The above will take office at an installation dinner at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 20, at the Knights of Columbus hall adjacent to Our Lady of the Lakes Church on Maximilian St. in Deltona. Tickets for the affair will cost $12.00 which includes a full dinner. For more information visit the coffee & doughnut table after mass or contact KJ Baker or Frank Perkowski Sr. about tickets.
INDEPENDENCE DAY PRAYER
Lord, what’s it really like to be free … to be independent?
There always seem to be phone calls to be made, letters to be
answered, and jobs to be finished.
There always seem to be sick to be visited and people in prisons
that I don’t even want to exist.
And Lord, there’s always that deep down fear that I might be a goat
and not a sheep on Judgment Day!
So Lord, what’s it really like to be free … to be independent?
And Lord, can we Americans really celebrate a Fourth of July, an Independence
Day, with so many people here and around the world still not free?
The poor were always with you, Lord, and yet you celebrated a
wedding in Cana, didn’t you?
You had a resurrection cookout at a Galilee lake, didn’t you?
So bring out the fireworks, the hot dogs and the corn on the cob and
let us celebrate an Independence Day.
But Lord, help us always to realize that each day is also a dependence day; that each day we are all dependent on each other, as well as on you, hoping that someday the whole earth will celebrate a world day called “Dependence Day.”
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Before the cookouts and fireworks, join us for Mass at 8:00 a.m.
followed by a continental breakfast. Aware of our “dependence” upon
one another, please bring juice or Danish to share.
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N. Y. C. Cathedral High School Class of 1951 is having its 50th reunion September 22. For further information, please contact Pat Higgins at 718-858-1289 or Betty Mazziotta at 718-884-5456.
PATRONAL FEAST BBQ
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW
Mark your calendars now for our celebration of the Feast of Saint Clare. this year we will have a BBQ on Friday, August 10th from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. We will have dinner and entertainment followed by evening prayer. Watch the bulletin for further details, but plan ahead now to attend this event honoring our patroness Saint Clare.
Birthdays
1 Ramon Quinones
80
2 James Scherer
81
5 Carol Hake
86
6 Father Chris
7 Donato
Passaro 88
10 John Martin
76
13 Deacon Joe
20 Peggy Blickenstaff
27 Carol
MacHardy 77
28 Trudy Powell
82
Anniversaries
4 Arelis
& Joaquin Rodriguez 37
12 Barbara & Denny Ash
32
16 Carmen & Victor Franco
46
21 Anita & Horace Johnson
45
27 Mary & Dr. Clyde Meade
44
Practica Católica de Funerales
Hace unos años alguien me
comentó que en la Iglesia Católica nosotros sabiamos como
enterrar la gente. Yo sé que suena como algo extraño,
pero despues de un poco de reflección tiene mucho sentido.
La muerte es parte de la vida. Para un Cristiano, la muerte es una
completa incorporación a la vida de Cristo. Porque asi como
Cristo murió y resucitó, asi tambien cada uno de nosotros
cree que será nuestro futuro. Sin embargo, la realidad de
la muerte es dura. Es dificil enfrentarnos a la muerte, bien
sea la propia o la de un ser querido.
Cuando alguien muere hay una serie de cosas
que suceden. La primera es el golpe y el cambio de no tener alguien
que estaba alli. Una vida de memorias y experiencias se rompe.
Segundo, hay una falta de entendimiento sobre cual es el destino de esa
persona. ¿Donde van cuando mueren? ¿Estan en
el cielo? ¿Pulgatorio? Finalmente, hay un ajuste que
se necesita para la vida de los que le sobreviven. Tenemos que seguir
adelante y reincorporarnos a la vida de la parroquia, comunidad, y mundo.
Nuestro ritual y practicas de entierro Cristiano
ayudan en estas areas. En la vigilia o Servicios de Velorio se pasa
un tiempo contando historias de la vida del difunto. Hay tiempo para
recordar grandes y cosas heroicas logradas como tambien jocosas, únicas,
y las cosas buenas que ha hecho. Esto es hecho en el contexto de
oración pidiendole a Dios que esté con nosotros en nuestra
pena. Familiares y amigos se reunen ante la presencia del difunto
como recordatorio de que esa persona ya no está con nosotros fisicamente,
pero su espiritu sigue latente.
La Misa de funeral, usualmente el dia siguiente,
pone la vida del que ha fallecido entre el misterio Pascual. Cada
uno de nosotros que somos Católicos proclamamos la muerte del Señor
hasta que El regrese en gloria. El Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo nos
nutre y fortalece en nuestro caminar espiritual hasta que alcancemos nuestro
eterno hogar. Celebrando ésta Misa por el difunto sepamos
que Dios es fiel a Sus promesas. Podemos poner nuestra esperanza
en Cristo quien murio por nosotros y resucitó para que tubieramos
vida eterna. El miedo se hecha fuera por las oraciones de la comunidad
pidiendole a Dios que lleve a casa al que el amó. El Bautismo
incorpora a uno en esta comunidad de fe. El rociar la caja o el cuerpo
y el poner la capa blanca nos recuerda esta conección Ahora
en confianza le confiamos la persona a los brazos del Salvador.
Los ritos funerales nos recuerdan que la vida
continua. La persona que vivió será recordada en la
tierra por un sitio fisico en el cementerio. Pero, nosotros que nos
quedamos tenemos que comenzar el proceso de vivir otra vez. Todos
nosotros estamos en la tierra por un momento comparado a la eternidad que
deseamos vivir con Dios. Nuestro cuadro fisico es solo polvo, pero
polvo creado por un Dios amoroso. Ese polvo sera recreado en el fin
de los tiempos. Nostros creemos en la resurrección de los
muertos y la vida eterna.
Cuando nos despedimos en el cementerio o musoleo
marcamos el sitio para que nunca se nos olvide. Nosotros
rezamos por los difuntos en la Misa. Nosotros nos consolamos unos
a otros en nuestra pena, a veces compartiendo targetas o una comida.
Hacemos todo esto en el contexto de fe. Nuestras oraciones y rituales
como Católicos nos ayudan en la vida y en la muerte. Somos
bien agradecidos por nuestra fe, especialmente a la muerte de un ser querido.
