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The ways in which we talk about and celebrate death…
Dear Friends,
 I'm not altogether sure that I fully agree with Tom McMahon in what he has to write today. Over my lifetime, and particularly through the impact of Vatican II, I think there has been a wonderful re-examination of the meaning of death in Catholic thinking. The vast majority of Catholic funerals I have attended in recent decades have ben uplifting and hope-filling in the ways Tom is pointing to. I have to confess I do worry when I read that people like our own Cardinal shove their oar into the waters and attempt to limit the eulogies although, I do concede that even he has a point when funeral liturgies descend into a celebration of the banal. Is "forcing compliance" the way to go though? If the conservative know alls had not done so much to make religion so irrelevant to so many we'd not have the necessity for having to resort of "forced compliance". That's a sure fire way to send even more in the direction of seeking secular liturgies and civil celebrants. What are your thoughts on these matters? How would you like your loved one's to conduct your funeral? <Link to Tom's commentary> |
