Catholic Funeral
Recently I went to a friend’s funeral. It was at a Catholic Church. A few interesting things came up that I thought I’d share.
The first was in the prayers. In the opening prayer, the priest suggested praying to Mary and Jesus. I was standing there scratching my head as to why I’d want to pray to Mary. I mean, I guess I could pray to my deceased mother too if I followed his suggestion.
“Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, ‘The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.’” - Daniel 6:12-13 ESV
The second was the first reading from the book of Wisdom. I had never heard of this, so I had to look it up. It is a book not included in the 66-Book reformed Bible but is included in the Septuagint. (I didn’t go down the rabbit hole to look that up) as the Wikipedia article suggests it is eventually a part of the Apocrypha. The common church that isn’t Catholic, sees the Apocrypha as non-canonical.
“Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
The third takeaway was the communion process. When the priest recited the communion passages, a bell rang in my head as he recited that the bread was the body and the wine was the blood. Having gone through Lutheran confirmation, I knew that Catholics believe that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ. The bell ringing heightened this belief in transubstantiation (the bread and wine being transformed into body and blood). Catholics were invited to take communion (the implication was that no one else was). Again, from my Lutheran experience, ushers were trained to intercede so that the priest didn’t have to inquire as to their membership status at the altar.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:1-2
At the end of the service, the priest had a censer with smoke billowing out of it being waved at the casket. And as I suspected (Wikipedia and an article from St. Joseph’s church in O), confirmed that a censer billowing out smoke is representative of purification and sanctification from Moses and the tabernacle from the Old Testament. If it had been sweet incense, it would have been better, but this was something that was closer to paper burning. By the time the attendees were let out, I was coughing from the smoke-filled church.
“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.” - Exodus 30:1-10
Pastor Patrick’s Note: The true believing church of the evangelical or reformed movement, puts a distance between our belief and that of the RCC. We do not recognize the Holy Communion as “transubstantiation,” as we do not see it as a recreation of the body and blood of Christ. Rather, we partake in the Communion ceremony to repent of our sins, because we recognize the call by Jesus to, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The elements of Communion are simply elements, as it is the heart of repentance that our Lord is seeking from us.
Secondly, the burning of incense is not seen as a need, nor a call from the New Testament for today’s follower of Christ.
