Friday,
1963
PROGRESS--
'To
bury
the
dead'
EDITORIAL.
HE American funeral industry has been the subject
of severe crificTsm during the past few months.
Morticians have been accused of commercializing
death and capitalizing on bereavement. Since Christ-
ianlty has always considered "10 bury the dead" a
work of mercy we have a right and obligation, 10
re-examlne the ro/e played by those who perform thls
sacred task in our name.
That certain funeral directors are guilty of grave
abuses cannot be denied. The passing out of Ameri-
can Beauty roses as mourners file by to view the last
remains, the enticement to purchase elaborate ser-
vices far beyond the survivors' means, the display
of caskets wlfh built-ln accessories ranging from hand
painted portraits of the deceased's favorite horse
to foam rubber posture-perfect mattresses, smack
not only of abuse, but of sheer paganism in its lowest
and most degrading form.
But should these unprincipled practices of the
few be allowed to tarnish the image of the legit6
mate mortician who works out his salvation through
the corporal work of mercy he strives in all sincerity
10 perform? We think not. Furthermore, is if not true
that Mr. John q. Public, saturated as he is with the
paganism and materialism of our day, has himself
encouraged and even demanded certain compromises
with the dignity and simplicity that has traditionally
characterized Christian burial?
In today's funeral more concern is shown for
the survivors than for the deceased. This false empha-
sis is as old as man and is as unmistakenly pagan.
Back in the 4th Century, A,D., St. Augustine, writing
in condemnation of the extravagant and showy
funerals of pagan Rome had this to say: "The funeral
preparations, the condition of the sepulchres, +he
pomp, do more for the consolation of the living than
for the dead."
IXTRAVAGANCE and artificiality will always rush in
"-- to glamorize a graveside unaHended by the spirit of
Christian faith. For the devout Catholic, faith and the
profound simplicity of the Church's liturgy set tone
and meaning for fee funeral service. Nothing could
be more beautiful or consoling than the requiem
Mass and its accompanying absolutions.
But what of those who have no faith, or are
affiliated with no Christian Church? What is death
for these people? It is an aspect of reality not to be
faced, but to be abhorred. Since for these there is
no religious belief to give death meaning, the funeral
service becomes everything. Nothing can be too good
or 10o expensive for the departed loved one. The
casket is the|r last and only means of honoring his
beloved memory among men.
The funeral parlor becomes their capel, the
director their priest. Heaven, the love and mercy of
God, the consoling words of Christ, His passion and
death, the pledge of future resurrection these
eternal truths are of no consolation to men without
faith. It ;s only natural under such circumstances to
de-emphasize the unknown fate of the deceased and
to concentrate upon those aspects of the funeral
service that will be of comfort to the survivors.
Even among those with faith, the spectre of
pomp and vanity hovers over the Christian funeral.
But for a different reason. Amerlcan cuffure has con-
sc;ously or unconsciously cultivated certain status
symbols. One is the car; another, no less important,
is the casket. Whether John Brown's body is encased
in pine, mahogany or brass when his soul appears
before the Almighty, makes no difference to God
or 10 John Brown--but it can make a world of dlf-
ference to his survivors. The Browns lived first class,
they must be buried first casket. Those who ride
through life in Cadillacs are rarely content 10 send
their relatives off to eternity in a pine box.
MONG the status seekers there is no such thing
as a standard car, or a standard house either
as regards price or design. The man who could devise
a universally accepted casket for anything but desti-
tute Americans would certainly be a genius. Many
llve beyond their means to impress those about
them wlfh how much money they make, those same
people more often than not want to die beyond their
means to show how much they supposedly left behind.
Now, we can blame certain morHc;ans who en-
courage funeral extravagances for the sake of profit.
But let's not make Mr. Funeral Director the scapegoat
for pagan and materialistic excesses of which we our-
selves are guilty. If you walk into a funeral home
and demand the best that money can buy to bury
dear old Johnny, then don't complain when six years
later you are still paying the b.
Here in +he Northwest, to our knowledge, so-
called excesve abuses are the exception and not
the rule. We have reason to believe that the so-
called cost of dying is considerably below the national
average. Morticians who fly 10 perform a corporal
work of mercy in the services they offer can be
found in every community. Since the director is
obliged 10 offer his services to everybody, his poll-
cies are pretty much uniform. There is nothing offen-
sive or extravagant in the standard services of the
reputable mortician. Use of mortuary facilities, em-
balming, detailed paper work, transportation to and
from the cemetery--these have their legitimate and
necessary plac in the modern funeral. It is up to
you to add the extras.
F YOU want 10 be assured of proper burial for your-
self and your family, carefully select your mor-
tician, know what kind of casket you want and then
insist on getting ft. The services are the same whether
you select a $300 cloth-covered pine box or a
$3,000 bronze, silk-llned, sweet-scented showpiece.
And the corpse inside is just as comfortable in the
one as in the other.
If you are truly more concerned for the im-
mortal soul of the deceased than for the grief and
hear+ache his departure has caused, you will dem-
onstrate this by the Masses and prayers you offer
in his behalf. I+ amazes us to go +o Catholic funeraJs,
see the casket draped with expensive floral displays
of every arrangement and description and hear of
no one, not even close relatives who have come for-
ward to have a Mass offered for the dead man's
soul. How often have we been to requiem Masses
in which not even the family receives Holy Com-
munion? Can we blame these thoughtless omissions
on the local funeral director?
During the month of November, Holy Mother
Church reminds us that we cannot separate the reality
of death from the even more important reality of
future llfe. The second book of Machabees reminds
us that "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought
+o pray for the dead that they be loosed from sins."
It is through the Mass coupled with prayer and
sacrifice that a Christian best honors the dead. If
+hls thought is foremost in our minds there will be
little danger of being carried away by false senti-
ment and shal|ow emotion when God comes calling
for the soul of a loved one.
"4
