tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post9024882339900973179..comments2024-03-25T11:09:41.538-04:00Comments on a minor friar blog: Against the Priests (a Funeral Rant)Brother Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07780326836452864455noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-61064198544185832422011-05-15T18:35:49.383-04:002011-05-15T18:35:49.383-04:00I really do hate hearing eulogies at funerals that...I really do hate hearing eulogies at funerals that practically bestow sainthood on the person. A doctor friend who died several years ago actually wrote a short note for the priest telling him that she would not want a eulogy at her funeral, only prayers and more prayers. Another priest we knew would allow anyone who wished to eulogize the person to do this at the wake, right after the prayers. Then he avoided it being done at the funeral Mass.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10030430757861849145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-20211010494846733962011-05-11T21:52:03.194-04:002011-05-11T21:52:03.194-04:00My parish has a lot of funerals--average about 13 ...My parish has a lot of funerals--average about 13 a week. They are wonderful opportunities to evangelize. Many there are not Catholic or non practicing Catholics. Here's a chance to bring them in. I've overheard, more than once, "I miss this." "This was beautiful." "This was so meaningful." <br /> Whatever you do, please be cognizant of this opportunity to touch souls.Faithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13945662015612932618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-40751542140695307672011-05-11T21:48:06.500-04:002011-05-11T21:48:06.500-04:00Father, I was organist at my praish for 20 years, ...Father, I was organist at my praish for 20 years, and trust me, I've seen just about everything (which was one reason for retiring from that position). At one wedding, the bride was a vet who insisted on her dog, Calvin, as ring-bearer. The dog was quite reverent and well-behaved - and I didn't see how he carried the cushin with the wedding rings on it as the organ is in an upstairs loft. At another wedding, the bride was a divorcee w/ 4 kids whose son walked her down the aisle. Her groom was a widower, a former priest, whose first marriage had taken place in another denomination, and whose laicization had just come through before he married wife #2. They lived together for a year before the marriage, but the wedding was quite elaborate, verging on tacky. As for funerals, at one there was a video show of the life of the deceased; at another, one of the eulogists showed up drunk and was alllowed to speak nevertheless. At another funeral, the deceased had been a member of a folk band which performed at the Mass - and all this w/out a murmur from our pastor. Not suprising, though - I once heard him say that "whenever anything comes from Rome, we close our eyes". Also, with regard to the choir, he told me that "I don't poke my nose in; I don't ask questions". <br />I live just outside Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and maybe this is a regional quirk - but these incidents, and many others, played a large part in my departure. When I left, I didn't even get a card.<br /><br />For obvious reasons, I must remain anonymous. Sorry for the length.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-17672506352510414862011-05-10T17:31:26.167-04:002011-05-10T17:31:26.167-04:00I was once at a wedding held at a Roman Catholic c...I was once at a wedding held at a Roman Catholic church where the first reading was taken from the Bible, the second reading was taken from the Koran, and communion was administered with the bride and the groom seated. I felt like an imposter to the faith being seen in attendance there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-87599830328660756932011-05-10T13:53:29.669-04:002011-05-10T13:53:29.669-04:00Amen! Priest funerals (and any liturgy conducted s...Amen! Priest funerals (and any liturgy conducted solely by and for priests) are oftentimes the occasions of some of the worst violations of liturgical law. Sad, and I'm not sure why...Padre Paulushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18345787413378864753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-9896653053894260102011-05-10T10:17:59.312-04:002011-05-10T10:17:59.312-04:00Really interesting post, Father. I'm rarely a...Really interesting post, Father. I'm rarely at funerals, however, I'm sure this will start popping up in my head in the future as I attend more. <br /><br />Of course that awareness is a double-edged sword. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-62680868869767601572011-05-10T09:27:02.268-04:002011-05-10T09:27:02.268-04:00Thanks for the comment.
I think the sense of GIRM...Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />I think the sense of GIRM 382 is that the homily shouldn't be eulogy, <i>genere laudationis funebris</i>,as I have said. This doesn't revoke the rubric in the funeral ritual that gives family or friends a chance to speak after the Prayer after Communion, before the Final Commendation.Brother Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07780326836452864455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-48999156406326137152011-05-10T09:06:09.468-04:002011-05-10T09:06:09.468-04:00"But here's the thing: as long as celebri..."<i>But here's the thing: as long as celebrities and politicians are allowed to have eulogies at their funeral Masses, you can't tell regular folks that they can't. If Barack Obama can get up in front of the Blessed Sacrament and praise Ted Kennedy, that means that someone can get up and talk about grandma's meatballs or uncle so-and-so's drunken misadventures. It's only fair, folks.</i>"<br /><br />Father, with respect, it isn't, you can, some bishops have, and you should. GIRM 382 is explicit: "At the Funeral Mass there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind." That's really the end of the matter, and Bp. Morlino's unpleasant experience in trying to put a stop to it demonstrates why abuse can't be allowed to fester. The longer it festers, the harder it is to fix. If people are upset at the perceived unfairness, they should ask why Card. O'Malley is giving a Catholic funeral to a notorious public heretic, let alone preferential treatment.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.com