Catholic Funeral Ceremony

At some point in our lives, we all come to realize that death is a part of life. Cultural diversity provides a wide variety of lifestyles and traditions for each of the unique groups of people in our world. Within these different cultures, the rituals associated with death and burial can also be uniquely diverse. Many consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people.

Death rituals, known as funerals, which have been a ritual that has dated back to 60,000 BC. A Catholic funeral is conducted in three different sections, Arnold van Gennep’s theory of rites of passage can be implemented when discussing the three phases in a Catholic funeral. The Pre-liminal stage of a funeral can be seen as a pre vigil, this is where family and friends gather in the home of the deceased, in the funeral home, or in the church to pray and remember the deceased (Everplans, 2015). The liminal stage of the ritual is at the funeral itself and the Post-liminal stage being the wake that is set after the funeral, in an act of celebration to a wonderful life. Throughout the funeral ceremony, symbolism is represented right

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is a story of a woman, Agnes Magnusdottir, fighting against society’s opinion of her as she struggles to redeem herself. Agnes is portrayed as a woman who is struggling against the patriarchal system that seems to imprison her. The audience is positioned to feel sympathy for Agnes throughout the novel as she explains her harsh childhood through her conversations with Toti. We are also positioned to feel sympathy for her as Kent describes the way that she is treated by the men in her life, particularly Blondal and Natan. By the end of the novel the audience is positioned to feel angered by how Agnes is forced to struggle through to her final breaths with very little sympathy shown to her by the dominant characters

Death is something that people must deal with every day in our world, and there are several aspects of death that sometimes the living do not consider. For example, how does one celebrate or remember passed loved ones? What happens to you when you die? How would you like to be remembered? There are multiple ways to answer these questions, and examining differing points of view can be enlightening.

Death is a promise by God that we as humans still have not found the courage to accept nor comprehend. Good or bad. Old or young. God has promised us all an eternal resting place in heaven or hell, or even in someone. Where we can live through their thoughts and imagination, get a second chance at life through them. Throughout Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya we see how the dead linger and live in Antonio, unfolding their souls in his inquisitive mind and hand him the bricks to make them a home of his religious ambivalence.

Death has always been and will be a topic that just a few want to talk, but since time immemorial man has worshiped their dead, and this is reflected in the various rituals and forms of burial. The anguish of death has been considered the deepest anguish of man. Death is the inevitable companion of life, is the final stage. It can occur at any age, suddenly or after a long illness. Despite knowing that someday we will have to die the death of a loved one is a terrible fact, very difficult to accept, that affects everyone around the deceased person. When the link with the deceased breaks, the suffering is so great, that they put into question the fundamentals of being, of human existence and our deepest beliefs, affecting significantly the basic family and social relationships.

Criticisms of American funeral practices have been made publicly aware since the 1920’s, and actually go back to ancient times in the scope of human’s ceremonies for the dead. Since the first published argument against modern funerals various authors joined the movement publishing their disparagements of customs for the deceased; that in essence contend the grandiosity and lavish displays are merely a social and psychological representation of the monetary opportunity of funerals (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 306-307). Even further, regarding the encompassing funeral industry as exploiting grieving loved ones for their financial gains, while disregarding the actual needs of modern society (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 307).

One of the most telling parts of a society is how they handle the traditions that surround one of the hardest things that humans experience: death. Northern Ireland is a prime example of how a group of people can build up a set of traditions that help the morning process and how those traditions can be a healing experience that helps a family and community celebrate the life of the deceased. Washing and preparing the body is an important part of the process that has been mentioned in several works of poetry. The traditional Irish Wake is also extremely important in celebrating the life of the dead and all they accomplished, complete with drinking and laughter and being with family and

This paper explores the many ways cultures deal with death, both before and after. Most cultures have different practices when it comes to rituals before and after death, but some rituals and beliefs are surprisingly similar. When it comes to health care, nurses need to be aware of any cultural needs of a client in this emotional time. Asking questions about what the patient and family want to happen is very important. For example, Muslims would like the same sex washing their loved one, and they would like the family to do it themselves. The nurse needs to know this to provide culturally competent care.

Funeral ceremonies were extremely elaborate, especially for upper class citizens. Funerals had five parts in Ancient Rome; the procession, the cremation and burial, the eulogy, the feast, and the commemoration. Ceremonies began closely after death, as soon as all necessary preparations were made. At the home, the deceased’s body would be washed with warm water and then anointed. If the deceased person had held office, a wax impression of his features would be taken. Next, the body would be dressed in in a toga with all the regalia of the rank he was allowed to wear. Incense would be burned and pine woul dbe places outside the door to signify death in the house. In early and late times, when burial was more popular than cremation, a coing would be placed in between the teeth of the deceased, as payment for Charon, the ferryman of the underworld. These rites were simplified in poorer funerals, as well as done by a family member. However, for the rich, an undertaker, or designator, would do so().

While the model of a ‘Good Roman Death’ may have differed by person, the constant remained that a death that was rapid and without suffering, and in the company of relatives, was ideal. A Roman funeral began at the deathbed of the deceased with the last kiss, the closing of the eyes, and the calling out of their name to confirm death. The role of preparing the body was taken over by the woman of the house if a pollinctores, a male slave commissioned to lie out the body, was not employed. There were many laws surrounding the proper and decent disposal of the deceased as written in the Digest of Roman Law. Due to such laws, some worried about the legally mandated financial burden would join a burial collegium, a club in which members would make contributions to expense funerals.

We must come together as a society in order to realize in a larger sense the ephemeral nature of our lives. Not only does the funeral rite and ritual serve to bring the living this reminder, but also to help unite them in a sense of concord. We have become disassociated with each other as a culture. America values the individualism of its citizens, but we have become withdrawn from each other by morphing this principle into an extreme version of isolation and instant gratification for the self. We have lost much of the meaning and value of our lives. We must realize that mortality is something that is and will be shared by everyone in the American culture and unite, rather than retreat from each

The importance of burial plays a great part during the time period of The Ancient Romans as they had a strong emotional attachment to the ceremonial burial of the deceased and considered it such an honourable achievement to partake in such a religious ritual such as the funeral and burial. The Romans also wanted to demonstrate iusta facere towards the dead - the great deal of respect they had as well as the rights they had as the departed.

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

Catholics believe that the resurrection and death of Jesus have changed the meaning and the effect of human death. Death is no longer the end of an individual’s human identity, because the soul continues on after death. The Catholic Church teaches that a soul may go to heaven, purgatory or hell, depending on the quality of a person’s life on earth. “That the body dies, death is a normal natural process” (Ecclesiasticus 3:1-2) Based upon the sacred scripture and teachings of the Church, we know what Catholic believes after death and what follows it. When someone dies, their soul is separated from their body and no longer sustains any order within the natural body. As a result of this, the human body begins to corrupt and is left to decompose on its own. The soul however is completely different as it is immortal and will never cease to exist