What happens when you receive news of the death of a loved one during Holy Week. This is perhpas one of the most compactly organized and busy times of the year for us folk who must arrange the liturgies of the Easter Triduum, but on the other hand, we cannot ignore the need for pastoral presence to those who find themselves mourning during this period.
Because of the intensity of the celebrations proper to the Easter weekend (beginning with Holy Thursday, and ending on Easter Sunday), the Church does not permit the celebration of a Mass on Holy Thursday, other than the Mass of the Lord's Supper, which takes place in the evening hours of that day. On the odd occasion where there is a funeral necessary on that day, we can celebrate a Funeral outside of Mass, but this little change in the expected ritual should be carefully explained to the families involved (if and whenever it happens).
By contrast to Holy Thursday, the Church forbids the celebration of funerals on Good Friday, Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday. This means that if someone dies in the mid- or later part of Holy Week, we are all but obliged to wait until Monday of Easter Week before celebrating the funeral. For some, this might be difficult, but for most, it provides more time for travellers to arrive, and leaves a few days for them to celebrate the Easter weekend, as much as is possible at times like this.
As it turns out, we celebrated a funeral liturgy today. The first news I heard about it was on Holy Thursday morning, and having explained the above restrictions, the family eventually decided to wait until today in order to allow other travellers to arrive, and also to be well-enough prepared so that we could mark this passing with the dignity it deserves. These days have provided us all with an opportunity for graced moments, and for rekindling friendships: valuable relationships indeed.
The mass exodus has already begun as family and friends of the deceased have already begun their travels back home. In the coming day or so, most of them will have returned to their normal homes, and the reular routines of life will have reinvaded like the waves of the parted Red Sea. Having celebrated these moments well, everyone who was here will take a part of the experience with him-her, and lessons learned and reflected upon will now have their opportunity to be passed on to future generations.
1 comment:
This blog brought to mind the importance of structure during challenging times. I can rely on structure to maintain sanity when I'm experiencing change in my life. Since change is a continuous process structure is all the more critical. The simplest form of this structure is my morning prayer and meditation. I will be travelling to South America and when on the road it is always important to stick to a morning routine to setup for a good day. This blog has helped to reinforce this practice.
Thanks for the help.
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