FUNERAL RITE SCRIPT
Hello and welcome to a video on the Catholic Funeral Rite. This is for the GCSE Catholic Practices paper. In this video we will be looking at what happens at the funeral and why each ritual is necessary.
Firstly the word rite comes from the word ritual. So what we will be looking at is what happen in the ritual of the catholic funeral.
It is important to understand the point of the funeral and this is to ‘accompany the deceased at their journeys end and to surrender him into his fathers hand’. This means that the funeral is a journey which allows the deceased to make their journey to eternal life.
The church supports the deceased at the vigil in the home, then at the mass at the church and then at the final commendation which is by the grave. This allows them to be passed from the Hands of the Church to the Hands of God and to have eternal life in heaven.
So let’s look at what happens in the funeral rite in more detail
Firstly we have the vigil
- The deceased is laid out in the coffin either at the home or in the church the night before the funeral
- Family and friends visit their loved one
- And Prayers and Bible readings are read
2) The Funeral Liturgy which is at the church
- this is usually a Mass (which include The liturgy of the word and the liturgy of the Eucharist) but sometimes just the liturgy of the word is said
- Bible readings will focus on the mystery of death
- It remembers the deceased and expresses grief
- It is an act of hope in God and the resurrection
3) The Commendation (or Committal)
- The final act of the community caring for the deceased
- Takes place next to the grave
- The grave is blessed and a Bible reading is read
-The coffin is sprinkled with holy water and lowered into the ground
-Prayer for eternal rest
So what is this point of this ritual?
There are three aims of the catholic funeral. These are:
- to support the deceased
- to support the community
- To remember the belief of eternal life
1) Communion with the deceased (link to the loved one)
- the funeral rite journey does what the catechism says and surrenders the deceased into his fathers hands
- the blessings and prayers supports the deceased in their journey to the next life
- the holy water sprinkled on the loved ones grave forgives them of any wrongdoing
- The congregation receiving communion also allows the prayers to be stronger as they pray for the deceased in their journey to the next life
2) Communion with the community which is to support the community
- visiting the deceased at the vigil and the the final prayers allow the community to say their last goodbyes to their loved one
- the celebration of the Eucharist gives spiritual strength to the community this is called grace.
3) Proclamation of eternal life
- the readings and prayers for eternal life reminds people of Jesus’ sacrifice the Paschal Mystery and that death is not the end
- hearing the Nicene creed during the mass allows Catholics to remember their faith and it refocuses people on their own life and priorities
- finally the communion is a reminder of Jesus’ last supper where he sacrificed himself in order that we may have eternal life.
As you can see having communion is very important I’m the Catholic mass as it meets all three of the aims: to support the deceased, support the community and allows the congregation to remember eternal life. This is because Christ is present through the Eucharist and therefore the highest form of prayer.
