Planning the Funeral Mass Liturgy

The Funeral Liturgy is the central liturgical celebration and thus is centered upon Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. It focuses on the presentation of the deceased to the Lord.   As Catholics, the Funeral Mass is one more celebration of our journey towards God.  Full of scripture and prayers commending the soul to the Lord, it is a liturgy of hope in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting, as we proclaim in the Apostles’ Creed.  The Funeral Mass begins with the reception of the body, continues with the celebration of Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist and concludes with the final commendation and farewell.  Many symbols are used including sprinkling the body with holy water, reminding us of baptism, burning of incense, placing the white funeral pall on the casket, placing the crucifix on the casket or next to the urn. All are signs of preparation for the body to be presented to the Lord. Although the dearly departed loved one is gone from this earthly life, the Mass is beautiful, and it provides promise for eternal life while moving to a new spiritual relationship with God. “If then, we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him.” (Romans 6:8)   Just as in the Vigil, family members and friends are encouraged to actively participate in the Mass, their participation can provide great comfort to all.

We encourage you to work with someone from our bereavement ministry to help answer any questions and they will walk you through the Mass and assist in selecting readings and music for the Mass liturgy.