We have so many different rites of passage in life. Some we recognize with graduations even at the Kindergarten level, marriages, reunions, get-togethers, moving to new homes, new jobs but there is one passage of life that every single one of us will experience at some point. Our death. I'm not here to be a downer, in fact, just the opposite. I am here to remind you of what lies beyond our death. New life in Christ and eternity.
It's becoming a trend for families not to have a formal funeral for a loved one. I know because I have worked in a parish setting for over twenty years and I assist at funerals as a cantor, helping leading the singing. While it up ticked during Covid, a trend to not formally recognize someone as dead has slowly been creeping in our society, treated like it's an old fashioned custom that needs airing out and changing.
But we should not change it. Funerals serve, not just in the Church but also in secular society, to help us deal with the passing of someone. It's an acknowledgement of their life, a celebration of their life and yes, clichéd but very true, a closure. But it's not just a closure or end of a life, it is also a beginning and that's where I love my Catholic faith because we are so very sure of an eternal life after we die. We believe so immensely that Christ died and ROSE from the dead that even when one of our loved ones dies, we KNOW, we are absolutely sure we will see him or her again when we die. That gives us HOPE.
That HOPE has always been a teaching in the Church. When Jesus died and rose three days later, it gave us the JOY that God has always wanted us to have in our lives. The whole reason He put us on earth, was to experience the JOY of getting to see HIM face to face one day. Even when we screwed up, sinned beyond all measure and He had to send down his very, one and only son to die to make it all right again, He gave us hope and we too would see God face to face again, just like he had designed us to.
Yet, more and more people are opting out of the whole funeral thing. It's depressing, we don't need this closure, the dead person didn't want people crying, gawking, sobbing all over them.
But we DO need it. We DO need to be constantly reminded every time someone passes from this life to the next that we too will do that someday and I mean that in a positive way! We can get so caught up in the unhappiness of life, all the things we have to do, the negative, that we forget we need to celebrate death. Yes, celebrate that which brings us closer to our God. Because death is NOT the end. It is hope and love. It is God calling us to a home that is exquisite beyond all measure. It is beauty we cannot not even imagine until we get there. It is listening to the words of the readings and Gospel at the funeral service, listening to people singing 'praying you into heaven', it is hearing voices of loved ones saying goodbye and praying for us, it is hearing the prayers of the Church asking that we be forgiven of any sins so we can stand before almighty God in His loving embrace. Our Church asks that for each and every person during a funeral.
It is our last Rite of Passage that we will all make. And we need to make the most of it. We should want all of our family and friends to come to our funerals, to pray for us, to see us off on this epic journey of eternal life to join other family members and friends who have gone before us, to hear the angels sing and praise God. Don't miss out on the joy and wonder, the reassurance of God's love for us and our loved ones. We need to hear, smell, voice and raise our hands to Him in blessed assurance. God will hold us in the palm of His hand. And we'll make that final rite of passage into a loving home for eternity.
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