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| Death: Our Birth into Eternal life
Damian Lenshek |
The following article is the next installment in a series that will appear in the Catholic Herald to offer catechesis and formation concerning end of life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from the Catholic perspective.
Unlike most of you, when I was in high school I did some things I regret.
I was visiting a friends’ home one day and noticed a package near the door prepared for the post office. It was marked “fragile.”
I picked it up and it was surprisingly heavy.
Then, trying to be funny, I pretended to drop it. My friend was not amused, as the package contained the cremated remains of a recently deceased grandmother.
Though many decades have passed since that day, I am still mortified.
I pray that my friend’s grandmother be brought quickly to the full and lasting joy of the Beatific Vision, and once there, I hope that she will pray that I grow in my reverence for mortal remains.
Pastoral problems
Ignorant high school boys are not the only source of disrespect for cremated remains.
While the Church permits cremation, She acknowledges that cremation opens the door to many possible abuses.
In 2016, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reiterated that cremated remains must be laid to rest in a cemetery and specifically mentioned that keeping ashes in a private residence is not permitted.
Despite the clear teaching of the Church, almost everyone knows someone who has cremated remains at home.
The data suggests that fewer than half of those cremated are ever laid to rest in a cemetery.
The situation comes about for many reasons.
Sometimes it is sentimentality, sometimes it is because no plans were made, or the family disagreed about what should be done.
Our current pandemic has caused some families to delay laying their loved ones to rest. Other times cost is the barrier.
The Church teaches that we should treat cremated remains with the same dignity as the body of our loved ones.
In fact, we should lay our deceased loved ones to rest quickly, whether they have been cremated or not.
Burying the dead is one of the Corporal Works of Mercy.
Just as it is not merciful to tell a hungry person, “I will feed you in a few months,” it is also not merciful to say to the dead, “I will lay you to rest in a few months.”
Too often, if there is not a specific plan for burial at the death of our loved one, cremated remains are abandoned or retained in the home, where they move from mantel to closet to basement, and eventually become the property of the next generation.
A pastoral solution
On November 7, 2020, the Diocese of Madison invites everyone who has cremated remains in their possession to lay them to rest in our Catholic cemeteries free of charge.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will celebrate a communal committal service at Resurrection Cemetery in Madison, and a similar service will be held at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Janesville.
If you wish to participate in this program, you must register at the website before the end of October.
All containers must be durable and clearly labelled on the outside with name and date of death, and brought to the cemetery the day of committal.
These remains will be laid to rest in communal crypts — the Sacred Heart Crypt at Resurrection Cemetery and the Saint Joseph Crypt at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Recordkeeping in perpetuity is included, so that you and your family will always be able to find the final resting place of your loved one.
In the future, based upon capacity, the remains may be relocated; however, they will always be interred on the consecrated grounds of Catholic cemeteries.
Memorialization is not included, but there are affordable options available.
Lay Them to Rest is an opportunity for all of us to participate in the urgent Corporal Work of Mercy, as well as the spiritual work of mercy of praying for the dead.
If you know someone with cremated remains at home, please let them know about this program.
To participate in this program, or to support cemeteries financially so that we can continue to offer opportunities like this, to www.madisondiocese.org/rest
Damian Lenshek is the director of cemeteries for the Diocese of Madison.