In our busy culture, it is hard to stop and make time for anything—even death. It used to be that a deceased person's life would be celebrated with at least an entire of day of viewing, followed by the wake, and finally by the funeral in church and the burial at the cemetery. Today, families are bypassing many of these steps.
Sometimes those left behind are simply not interested in having a funeral Mass, even if the deceased was a lifelong Catholic. In other cases, it is the person who has died who insisted during their lifetime that they wanted nothing special after their death, thus denying surviving family members an opportunity to say goodbye. Or the entire process is simply rushed through so that everyone can get back to business as usual.
What do these changes in our funeral practices say about the way we as a culture view death? U.S. Catholic is interested in hearing what you think. Do you have a story about how a death in your family that you wish was handled differently? Have you experienced this shift in attitudes toward funerals when discussing death with older relatives? Or are you someone who simply doesn't want a big ceremony after you die?
We'd like to hear from you. Post a comment below and let us know if you have a story to share.
Flickr image cc by michael_swan
