The Church encourages you to be as fully involved as you can in the planning of your loved one’s funeral liturgy. In this liturgy, we celebrate the life of faith of your loved one, we commend him/her to the Lord, we support and pray for all those who mourn, and we seek strength in the promise of the Lord that he will not forget us through this very difficult time.

By the nature of the Church’s funeral rites, they are public and have certain formalities, traditions and customs. The prayer and ritual of the Christian funeral are approached as one prayer, like a procession that moves from the deathbed to the cemetery. Within this procession, there are three specific moments that the Christian community marks:

• Reception of the Body at the Church
• The Funeral Mass and Final Commendation
• Rite of Committal

  
Click here for a printable leaflet detailing the order of service and suggested readings, prayers of the faithful and hymns.

Funeral Guidelines Leaflet

The parish community seeks to comfort and support you and your family through this very sad itme, as you move from the privacy of your grief to the public celebration of your loved ones funeral.
The reception of the body at the church is the first stage of the public rite of the Christian community. It is general practice that this takes place on the evening before the funeral Mass. This allows the parting from family and friends to take place in stages. Since the church is where the community of faith comes to worship, the Rite of Recepiton of the Body takes place at the church.

The entrance procession is led by the priest. The coffin and the chief mourners may be accompanied by music or song, which helps to gather this community as one, in grief, and in your hope of resurrection.
In baptism, this person was presented to the community and welcomed at the door of the church. Now the family and all who accompany the body of the deceased person are greeted at the door of the church. In baptism, this person was washed clean in the saving waters. Now the body of the deceased is sprinkled with holy water.

The Funeral Mass is the central liturgical celebration for the deceased. The community gathers together to celebrate the life and death of one of its members. By coming together, we proclaim their presence and by our actions, in word and in symbol, our central belief in the resurrection of the dead. It is by celebrating Christ’s life, death and resurrection in the Eucharist that we, as the Christian community affirm our hope for all who have been baptised with Christ.

Personal mementos – reflecting the life of your loved one – can be brought in procession at the Reception of the Body or at the beginning of Mass. A commentary describing the connection of these momentoes with the deceased may be made. These emblems should not clash with the Christian symbols in the funeral rite.

The Word of God offers us life and hope and with this booklet you will receive a selection of sacred scripture provided for the funeral mass. Secular readings cannot replace the Word of God. This selection gives us an opportunity to hear God speak to our needs, sorrows, fears and hopes as we gather to mourn your loved one. You are invited to choose two readings, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament and a Responsorial Psalm if it is not being sung.

This is the final farewell by the family and community, whom we entrust to the tender and merciful embrace of God. The care taken to prepare the body of the deceased for burial reflects our Christian belief in the fullness of eternal life and the resurrection of the body. The prayers and gestures of the funeral rites also affirm the Church’s reverence for the body. Normally celebrated at the grave, this is the conclusion of the funeral rites. The community acknowledges the reality of separation and commends the deceased to God.

While burial is more common in Ireland, the practice of cremation is accepted by the Catholic Church. If the body of the deceased person is to be cremated, the rite of committal takes place at the burial of ashes. We honour them as we honoured the body. They are reverently buried or entombed in a place reserved for the burial of the dead, as soon after cremation as possible.

First reading from the Old Testament (outside the Easter season):
Job 19:1.23-27
Wisdom 3:1-9 (shorter form 3:1-6.9)
Wisdom 4:7-15
Isaiah 25:6-9
Lamentations 3:17-26
Daniel 12:1-3
Macabees 12:43-45

First reading from the New Testament (during the Easter season):
Acts of the Apostles 10:34-43
Acts of the Apostles 10:34-36, 42-43
Apocalypse 14:13
Apocpaypse 20:11-21:1
Apocalypse 21:1-7

Second reading from the New Testament:
St. Paul to the Romans 5:5-11
St. Paul to the Romans 5:17-21
St. Paul to the Romans 6:3-9 (shorter form 6:3-4, 8-9)
St. Paul to the Romans 8:14-23
St. Paul to the Romans 8:31-35, 37-39
St. Paul to the Romans 14:7-12
St. Paul to the Corinthians 15:20-28 (shorter form 15:20-23)
St. Paul to the Corinthians 15:51-57
St. Paul to Corinthians 4:14-5:1
St. Paul to the Corinthians 5:1.6-10
St. Paul to the Philippians 3:20-21
St. Paul to the Therssalonians 4:13-18
St. Paul to Timothy 2:8-13
The first Letter of St. John
The first Letter of St. John 3:14-16

Gospel Readings:
Matthew 5:1-12
Mark 15:33-39, 16:1-6
Luke 24:13-35
John 11:17-21

Samples for use in preparing the Prayer of the Faithful:

1. We pray for N who has died – may God now welcome him/her into his heavenly home of eternal happiness and peace.
Lord, hear us

2. We pray for the relatives and friends of N, especially his/her wife/husband N, his/her sons and daughters ….., his/her brothers and sisters ….., the members of his/her extended family, his/her neighbours and friends – may God fill their hearts with his comfort and consolation.
Lord, hear us

3. We pray for all those whose lives are dedicated to caring for the sick and in particular we pray for the doctors, nurses, chaplain and staff of ……. Hospital/Nursing Home who cared for N during his/her illness/old age – may God reward their goodness and kindness.
Lord, hear us

4. We pray in thanksgiving for our neighbours and friends who have been so kind to us during this time of sadness – may God reward their kindness and bless their homes with happiness and peace.
Lord, hear us

5. As we pray that N will find eternal peace, we pray that the peace that is in heaven will touch the troubled parts of our world, our country, our parish, our homes and our hearts.
Lord, hear us

6. We pray for all who have died, especially the relatives and friends of N who have gone before him/her: – may God unite them all in the happiness and peace of his heavenly home.
Lord, hear us