St. Joseph the Worker

Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker:

This Sunday is the Feast of All Souls, celebrated annually on November 2^nd.  It is a day to pray for all those who have died.  It is a day to pray for those in purgatory.  It is a day to remember all our loved ones who have touched our lives and now rest forever from their labors. 

We will have our Mass of Remembrance at the 10:30am Mass on Nov. 2^nd.  At that Mass we will call to mind all those from our parish who have died since last All Souls Day.  Relatives of those deceased have been invited to celebrate their loved ones’ memory.  Please continue to pray for all those who have died from our parish.  May they all rest in peace.

In my 42 ½ years of being a Catholic priest, I have seen God work in beautiful ways when someone passes from this world to the next.  Those grieving are often comforted through prayers, hugs, kind words, food, a listening ear, and much more.  Many families through the years have told me how comforted they were through the funeral liturgy.  I have been told by many non-Catholics through the years that Catholics do funerals right—and I couldn’t agree more!  Our liturgy at the time of the death of a family member or friend is such a comforting prayer during loss and grief.

The Catholic Church has three stages of the funeral rite.  The first is the Visitation and Wake Service the night before the funeral Mass.  The second is the Mass itself.  And the third stage is the burial. 

One question I am asked often concerns cremation.  Is it allowed by the Catholic Church in this day?  The answer is yes.  The preferable way is to have the body present, as the prayers are still geared to the presence of the body.   If cremation is desired, the Church does prefer that the body be present at the funeral Mass and cremation done after, before the burial.  If the deceased is cremated before the funeral Mass, the cremains are brought to the church during the Mass.  After, the cremains are buried in a cemetery plot or in a columbarium, a receptacle for cremains.

An important fact to remember that applies to our diocese—the cremains must be buried within 30 days after the funeral Mass.  The cremains are NEVER to be strewn in a body of water, or put on the mantle, etc.  The cremains are the remains of the deceased and are to be given the same respect that a body would be given.  And to that end, Bishop Paprocki has decreed that all cremains must be interred within a month or there cannot be a Mass in church or a service at the funeral home presided over by a priest.

The Catholic Church strives to uphold the respect that is deserved by the one deceased.  The respect of their body/cremains remains paramount. 

Let us pray for all our deceased with the beautiful and traditional prayer of comfort:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May their souls, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  AMEN.

Your Pastor, Father Joe