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Funeral Liturgies at Divine Redeemer"I am the resurrection and the life ... everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
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A Message from Our Parish Family
We at Divine Redeemer Parish understand that if you have just experienced the death of a loved one, you may be feeling confused, sad, stunned, and even overwhelmed by your loss. We are here to offer both comfort and great hope for the future.
As Catholic Christians, we believe that at death "life is changed, not ended." Death is a passage to a new and fuller life, and ultimately to resurrection and eternal union with God.
The Catholic funeral liturgies emphasize our faith in Jesus' victory over death and our hope in resurrection, even as we mourn our temporary separation from a loved one. Through the many ceremonies and symbols that are part of our faith, we find hope in the midst of our tears. This page will help guide you through the Mass of Christian Burial or Requiem Mass and aid in your planning.
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Click below for a PDF download of the Funeral Planning Guide
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Selecting Scripture Readings and Music
The Funeral Planning Guide is designed to assist you in planning the funeral liturgy. This document acts as a checklist for each aspect of the readings, prayers, and music where there are options to select.
Since it is customary to offer a Mass of Christian Burial when we celebrate the life of a loved one in the Church, the Readings from the Sacred Scriptures suggested by the Church are included in the Funeral Planning Guide for your review. In addition, we have included Selecting Music for Funeral Liturgies to help you select music that is both comforting and uplifting. The Funeral Selection Form is provided for you to gather the information that would be helpful in communicating your preferences when you meet with the funeral director, the clergy, and the music director. Please remember that we are here to help you and to offer both comfort and hope for the future.
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Music Planning Resources
In times of grief and sorrow, we often turn to music as an expression of our faith - of those beliefs and hopes we sometimes cannot express in words. Whether planning the Funeral Liturgy of a loved one or pre-planning your own, the music you select can say a lot about what you, your family and loved ones believe. It can be a great source of comfort and consolation to the living. The music you select can even inspire new faith or renewed faith in the lives of your family and friends.
The Music Planning Resources page contains suggestions for hymns appropriate to Catholic funeral liturgies. While you are by no means limited to these suggestions, they offer a starting point for options to consider. Each selection is linked to an audio recording so you can hear an example of how each hymn would sound.
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Click below for music planning resources with links to audio recordings
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Signs and Symbols in the Mass of Christian Burial
Each aspect of the Catholic funeral liturgy has a role to serve in communicating the love of Christ for his people and fostering faith in His healing care for us. In order to help make the Mass more consoling and understandable, we have provided some explanations of these parts of the liturgy.
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The Priest's Vestments
At the funeral liturgy, the colors of the altar and of the priest's vestments may be violet, white, or black. Each of these colors reflects a different aspect of our faith and our love for the deceased. Violet symbolizes repentance and hope, representing our desire for God's merciful embrace and our hope of being united with our loved ones in heaven. White is the color of resurrection, an image of Christ's victory over death and our belief in the resurrection of the body at the last day. Finally, black vestments, traditionally associated with mourning, represent the mystery that Christ Himself entered into death on the Cross and the knowledge that, when darkness falls on our earthly existence, we do not enter that darkness alone.
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Music
Singing is close to the very heart of the Church's worship. In fact, the title of Requiem Mass (another term for the funeral liturgy) comes from the chant traditionally sung at the start of every funeral or memorial Mass: "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine." ("Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.") Music punctuates and accentuates the key moments of our lives, and the hymns and responses of the funeral liturgy are an example of this. They express our belief in the resurrection and bring comfort to those who are living.
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Sacred Scripture
In the Word of God proclaimed at the funeral liturgy, God speaks to us of His promise to prepare a place for us in heaven and bring us to Himself to be with him there. Families may choose one reading from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament, and many options for these can be found in the Funeral Planning Guide above.
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The Paschal Candle
The Paschal (or Easter) Candle is lit to symbolize the light of the risen Christ and our belief that He has conquered the darkness of sin and death. This candle stands in the sanctuary space to greet the body and remind us that our loved one, through his or her death, shares in the victory of Jesus over these powers of darkness.
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Sprinkling of the Casket
We share in the Lord's death and resurrection through the waters of our Baptism. The same cleansing waters of Baptism that made us sons and daughters of God and filled us with the Holy Spirit, are sprinkled over the deceased to remind us the grace and hope that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Placing of the Pall
The funeral pall points back to the white garment given us at our Baptism and symbolizes our life in Christ. It is draped over the coffin at the beginning of the liturgy, usually by family members.
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Symbols of Christian Life
A symbol of Christian life, such as a Bible, a book of the Gospels, or a Crucifix may be placed on the casket as a sign that the Christian is marked, in Baptism, and through Jesus' victory over death is brought to eternal life.
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Presentation of the Gifts
Family and friends are encouraged to bring the bread and wine to the altar at the Mass of Christian Burial. This action symbolizes that we are saying "Lord, we give our loved one back to you. We accept your will and we trust in you." Special symbolic items such as a familiar rosary, a cross, a special picture, or a token of the loved one's life or vocation may also be placed on a small table before or near the altar.
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Holy Communion
What more perfect way to share in the life of Christ with our loved one than to receive Holy Communion? The words of Jesus "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal and I will raise him on the last day" recall our hope for eternal life in Christ. All Catholics who are prepared are invited to receive Communion.
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Reconciliation
Often, the death of a loved one touches family members and friends who have become alienated from God and wish to become reconciled. The parish priest may assist in that process by offering the opportunity for the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation) at the church or funeral home before calling hours. If this is desirable, please contact the parish priest to ask if these arrangements can be made.
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Funeral Homily
The priest or deacon will give a brief homily based on the scriptures chosen for the funeral liturgy. He will most likely want to speak with you about your loved one's life so he can better integrate the particular texts you have chosen into his message. Before the final commendation, one family member or friend may speak briefly in remembrance of the deceased. However, a eulogy is more appropriately offered at the Vigil or Wake service on the night before the funeral.
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Final Commendation
The last ceremony of the funeral liturgy is the commendation and committal. Often, this is the most difficult time for the family and friends because it is a final good-bye to one we have loved through life. This is more than an end; it is a beginning of our loved one's eternal life in Christ. The holy burial place of our loved one also offers a sacred place to return, visit, and offer our prayers.
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