7 Things Catholics Do at Funerals That the Church Actually Forbids

From Totus Catholica

There is a moment at almost every Catholic funeral you have ever attended where something happens that the Church's own funeral book says should not happen. Not a matter of taste. A written instruction printed in the official rite and quietly ignored in the room. And here is what makes it difficult: nobody in that room is rebelling. The priest is not being lazy, the family is not being disrespectful. Every one of these things is done out of love. They are just being done inside the wrong ceremony. In this video I show you seven of them with the exact document and the exact paragraph, so you can check every word for yourself. All seven come from a single misunderstanding. In this video: • Why the Church removes the flag, jersey, and medals from the coffin, and what the pall actually means • The eulogy rule almost everyone online gets wrong, and where you ARE allowed to speak • Why his favourite recorded song cannot be played at the Mass, but belongs at the wake • What the Vatican actually permits with cremation ashes, including the 2023 mercy nobody quotes • Three things you were told are forbidden that are completely allowed, including a Catholic funeral after suicide ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 The Rule Every Catholic Funeral Quietly Breaks 1:22 Is a Funeral a Tribute or a Rescue 2:19 Jewish Roots: Deuteronomy, Tobit and 2 Maccabees 5:10 The Flag on the Coffin and the Baptismal Pall 6:14 The Eulogy at a Funeral Mass 8:45 Cremation Ashes: What the Vatican Forbids 10:32 Three Things You Were Told Are Banned 📖 SCRIPTURE REFERENCED • Deuteronomy 21:23 • Tobit 1:17 • 2 Maccabees 12:43-46 ⛪ FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS & THE CATECHISM • Tertullian (2nd to 3rd century) • Minucius Felix, Octavius (2nd to 3rd century) • The martyrs of Lyons (year 177) • St. Augustine (around 420), On the Care of the Dead • CCC 1030 to 1032 • CCC 2111 📜 SOURCES & FURTHER READING • Order of Christian Funerals 38: only Christian symbols may rest on or be placed near the coffin during the funeral liturgy. • Order of Christian Funerals 132: national flags and insignia of associations are removed at the entrance of the church. • Order of Christian Funerals 30 and 31: the music must express the Paschal Mystery, which rules out music chosen to memorialize the man rather than to praise God. • Order of Christian Funerals 170: a member or friend of the family may speak in remembrance of the deceased, briefly, before the final commendation. Paragraph numbers follow the English edition used in the United States and may shift slightly in other editions. • General Instruction of the Roman Missal 382: a short homily is permitted, to the exclusion of a funeral eulogy of any kind. • General Instruction of the Roman Missal 57: the readings are always taken from Sacred Scripture, and it is not lawful to substitute other texts for them. • Sing to the Lord 93 (bishops of the United States): recorded music lacks the authenticity provided by the living liturgical assembly. A national norm rather than universal law. • Canon 1176: the Church earnestly recommends burial but does not forbid cremation, unless it is chosen for reasons contrary to Christian teaching. Cremation has been permitted since 1963. • Ad Resurgendum cum Christo (Vatican, 2016): ashes are not to be scattered, not to be preserved in jewellery or mementos, and not to be divided among family members. They are to be kept in a sacred place, with the bishop able to permit keeping them at home in grave and exceptional cases. • Vatican clarification (December 2023): a minimal portion of ashes may be kept somewhere significant to the deceased, with the consent of Church authority. • Canon 1184: the narrow grounds for denying a funeral, concerning notorious apostasy, heresy, schism, and public scandal. A Catholic funeral is not automatically denied to someone who died by suicide, who stopped practising, or who was divorced and remarried. • Black vestments are not forbidden. The funeral rite permits white, violet, or black. 🔗 EXPLORE MORE 🌍 Website: https://totuscatholica.org/ Rosary Guide: https://totuscatholica.org/rosary ✉️ Contact: https://totuscatholica.org/contact 🔍 Examination of Conscience: https://catholicexaminationofconscien... 📚 Free eBooks: https://buymeacoffee.com/totuscatholi... 👥 Become a Totus Insider: https://buymeacoffee.com/totuscatholi...