We are deeply sorry for your loss.
The Church will wait with you in hope.
On behalf of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist, please accept our deepest sympathies on the news of the death of your loved one. The whole parish will be praying for the repose of the soul of your loved one in the coming week. It is my hope that our celebration of the funeral rites of the Church in the coming days will be a consolation to you and your entire family. Please know that you are not alone in your grief. May you feel the healing presence of the Lord Jesus during our times of prayer with you.
Since the time of the earliest Christian communities, the Catholic Church has been celebrating funeral rites in the hope of the Resurrection from the dead. Over the centuries, it has developed a number of traditions to mark the passing of a loved one from this life to the next life. This way of praying for the deceased and for honoring the person’s life is particular to us as a community of faith.
The sights and sounds of the Catholic funeral rites may or may not correspond to how others in contemporary society approach death. Our perspective is taken from the Scriptures and reflects our 2,000 year history. If you have not been to the celebration of Catholic funeral rites for some time, the signs and symbols used may be unfamiliar to you. This page is meant to help you by explaining some of what will take place at the funeral home, at the church, and at the cemetery. It is also meant to help you and your family make a few choices about how you wish to participate in these three stages of the funeral rites that the Church offers you.
Please know that we pray for the dead at every offering of the Holy the Sacrifice of the Mass, day in and day out. There are special observances on Memorial Day each year at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yarmouth, as well as celebrations of Mass for the Dead on All Souls Day (November 2) each year. You may also wish to have Mass celebrated for the intention of your loved one in particular at other times of the year. If the parish can be of help to you in the weeks and months following the death of your loved one, please do not hesitate to contact us. We want to be near to you and your family during this difficult time. Please be assured of our prayers and our support.
In the consolation of Our Risen Lord,
Rev. Fr. Steven G. Cartwright, Pastor
THE THREE RITES OF THE CATHOLIC FUNERAL LITURGY
THE VIGIL ("WAKE")
The vigil (also called “prayer service” or “wake”) is an occasion for family and friends to gather at the funeral home or a chapel to pray together, grieve together, and remember the life of our loved one. It often includes:
STEP #1: SCHEDULE THE FUNERAL LITURGY
If you are working with a funeral home, the funeral director will be handling all of the funeral arrangements on your behalf and will coordinate with our pastoral office to schedule the funeral liturgy and the services of one of our priests.
If you are NOT working with a funeral home, please call the Parish of the Holy Eucharist pastoral office at 207-847-6890 and ask to speak with our Faith Formation Coordinator for the Sacraments, Kim Lovett, who will work with you during business hours, Monday-Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM, to coordinate the funeral of your deceased loved one. Our pastoral office is located at Holy Martyrs of North America Church, 266 Foreside Road, Falmouth, Maine. Or you may email us at pothe@portlanddiocese.org.
STEP #2: CHOOSE A CEMETERY
While it is not a requirement, the Church encourages the burial of Catholics in Catholic cemeteries. Throughout history, Christians have been buried near other Christians in places that have been blessed and dedicated for prayer and remembrance. Burial in the consecrated ground of a Catholic cemetery is a sign of our baptismal commitment and reaffirms that we remain brothers and sisters of Christ, united even in death. In those circumstances when the deceased is buried or interred in a non-Catholic cemetery, the priest will bless the site of burial.
...a word about CREMATION: The Church earnestly recommends the burial of the bodies of the deceased as a sign of reverence for the human body and the Christian belief in the Resurrection of the dead on the Last Day. The practice of cremation, however, can be permitted, provided that it has not been chosen for reasons contrary to Catholic teaching. If cremation is chosen, it is preferred that the funeral liturgy be celebrated in the presence of the body of the deceased prior to its cremation. Following the liturgy, the body can then be cremated and the burial rites of the Church be celebrated afterwards. If cremation has already taken place before the funeral liturgy, the funeral can still be celebrated in the presence of the cremated remains. In keeping with our hope in the Resurrection of the dead, the Church expects that cremated remains will be treated with the same respect given to the remains of a human body and thus be buried or interred in individual graves or columbaria. The secular practices of scattering, dividing remains, or keeping them at home have no symbolic meaning in our tradition and are never permitted.