Thank you for this. Cremation is abominable m, and the approval of it has quickly led to the decrease in funeral masses, “celebrations of life” and other horrors. As an historian, I can also attest to the mess it’s creates for future genealogists
I have specified for my end of life a traditional Requiem Mass and a burial in a pine coffin, and have drawn up what should be noted on my headstone. I used to live near an old pioneer cemetery and spent time almost every day there walking my dog and scrutinizing the headstones. It is still being used for recently deceased people. I became quite familiar with many of the “inhabitants,” and having them beneath my feet always compelled me to pray for the souls I walked by. Sometimes I looked up their names and found out about some of them. It was always surprising what I learned. The most poignant burials were the little ones who lived a very short time. I can say that I was moved to pray and deeply enriched by “getting to know” these buried individuals and it became a daily visit that edified me and gave me peace. And food for thought about my own limited existence. I miss this place but am grateful for what this cemetery gave me. But ashes are ~ gone!
"'He lies within,' said Denethor, 'burning, already burning. They have set a fire in his flesh. But soon all shall be burned. The West has failed. It shall go up in a great fire, and all shall be ended. Ash! Ash and smoke blown away on the wind!'" Thus the words of despair from The Return of the King. Cremation seems to bespeak that same despair.
All true, but oxidation, slow or fast, is oxidation. And caskets in America are absurdly expensive as are the vaults they go in. If we're going to bury the dead, we should bury them not seal them in hermetically sealed containers.
Having recently buried my husband in a coffin which was lowered into the ground, there to stay until the Resurrection of the Dead, I became aware of the pagan mentality of Catholics who viewed it as an archaic practice.
Having been taught as a child in Catholic school that cremation was only allowed during times of plague or a disaster which would not allow for the right process of burial, not to mention that in addition to being pagan, it is a masonic practice, daring God to resurrect those ashes, I am appalled at the blatant abuse of a deceased body created by God.
The prelude to cremation is the dumping of loved ones into a godless facility, there to be neglected and abused, hastening the time when they can be burnt as garbage to be disposed.
Thank you! I told a friend, who had her husband cremated (it is less costly), now we will never know if his body is incorruptible!
I myself will not be cremated nor embalmed. This will necessitate a quicker burial but that is ok. There are no Catholic cemeteries near where I live, but there is one in a town nearby that many Catholics are buried in and that our Parish priest visits monthly.The other option is to be buried on our land, but I fear no priest would ever visit.
Though it's rife with questionable fads and hippy sensibilities, the "green burial" trend is not entirely negative, to the extent that it enables and encourages people to have less commercialized burials.
Alongside cremation, modernity's attempt to sterilize death has resulted in norms like expensive, fortified caskets and the excessive use of embalming. Many people act like it's obscene to view a dead loved one unless they've been caked in makeup and pumped full of formaldehyde, or unthinkable to bury them without a heavy duty casket to preserve the corpse from decay for as long as possible. Habitually hiding or delaying death's effects are yet another way modern man avoids reflecting on his own mortality.
Bucking modern funeral trends is easier said than done, of course, but when I die, I really want to be viewed and buried un-embalmed if at all possible, with only a simple wooden coffin when I'm laid in the ground. After all, this is how our ancestors grieved and buried loved ones for generations.
That's ludicrous. I imagine the concrete layer is an attempt to prevent that mandatory embalming fluid from polluting the soil. No escape from the regulatory hoop jumping, even in death.
I read The Loved One in university! One of my first year literature courses had a segment where we explored critiques of the modern funeral industry, with Waugh's contribution standing out most distinctively.
I don't hold much about my university education in high regard, but I do credit that course with sparking my initial interest in alternative (i.e. normal and traditional) burial options.
What a wonderful explanation for the reason for burial! I have always detested the idea of cremation, especially if we are created in the image and likeness of God.
Thank you for this beautiful essay. I had an agonizing disagreement with my sister and older brother when our youngest brother died unexpectedly at the age of 55. Although we were all baptized in the Catholic faith, they did not understand the theological reasons for burial you've presented here. Their reasons for cremation were based in emotion. Our mother died when we were all teenagers. They were both horrified at seeing our mother's body lowered into the earth. (I don't know why I did not experience that event in the way they did.) After much prayer and efforts to persuade them not cremate our brother, we came to a "compromise." Our brother's body now rests in a mausoleum that is located in a Catholic cemetery -- about 20 feet above ground. His body will never return to the soil that nourished him. I admit, I was so happy that my brother was not cremated that I never explored whether internment is consistent with Catholic theology. Can you please direct me so that I can be better prepared for future conversations?
Interment is also quite traditional, as one can see in countless marble tombs throughout Europe contained in churches. It was done especially for the higher-ranking figures (kings, princes, bishops, and the like). While it lacks some of the symbolism mentioned in this article, it retains the most important aspects.
Agreed. When I have time, I should reply to the article in length and in detail.
But let me quickly make a few points:
(1) Most people, and very apparently the author, have ZERO clue what is involved in modern embalming. I encourage the author and others to view a video of embalming. It's a sickening and disgusting procedure. The actually PHYSICAL violence done to the body/corpse for funeral preparation is stunningly horrible if not an outright desecration.
(2) Modern embalming is simply an effort to present the body (via chemical infusions and cosmetic cover-up) in a form that softens the hard and harsh reality of death for an unbelieving generation ("Johnny has died, but let's make him pretty").
(3) With the exception of very arid or cold climates, even bones will decompose in most environments over the years, decades, or centuries. In such cases, the result is the same as cremation.
Again, I encourage Catholics to view a video of modern embalming. Perhaps your reaction will be the same as mine:
"No way! Please cremate me -- but yes, follow the laws of the Church, in that the remains be kept intact and buried in a holy place."
Brothers and sisters, we will all pass through the FIRE anyway:
"Each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:13-15, RSV-CE)
Finally:
"... till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;
you are DUST, and to DUST you shall return.”
(Genesis 3:19, RSV-CE)
So, eventually, yours, mine, and the author's remains will all crumble to DUST. (Unless, of course you are one of the incorruptibles).
And, just because the pagans practiced cremation CENTURIES ago for reasons contrary to Christianity, well then ...
I guess we should not decorate Christmas trees at home either, since (oh my gosh!) the Germanic PAGANS originated this practice.
Or, let us tear down the Pantheon in Rome, which originally was a Roman PAGAN temple, but now, since A.D. 609, it is a Catholic church called the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs.
We could go on and on with the "because the pagans once did it or used it".
My dear Christian Catholic brothers and sisters, do not fear cremation if it is done with hope in the Resurrection and in accord with the laws of the Church. Just keep the remains WHOLE and TOGETHER (no sprinkling!) and NOT on your mantel, but buried in a holy place (or placed in a columbarium, if you prefer).
I cremated both my mother and father. They are buried in the same plot in the earth at our local Catholic cemetery. I visit and pray at their gravesite every Sunday after Mass.
When I saw the physical cremated REMAINS of my parents, it hit home more that any of the many "beautified" corpses (prepared by a professional mortician) that I have seen at funerals down through the years.
We all will turn to DUST, one way or the other.
The question is, "What are we doing DAILY for the glory of God and to SERVE our neighbor and to WIN others for Christ? Are you salt (Matthew 5:13)?"
I have instructed my family to cremate me when my Day arrives. I absolutely do NOT want a moritician poking, prodding, and violating my corpse with metal intruments and chemicals.
Again, I encourage all Christians to watch an embalming video.
Don't listen to these Pharisees who without charity intimate that you are somehow compromising your Catholic faith through the practice of cremation.
I would not defend modern embalming. On the contrary, it strikes me the same way as it does you. A lower-cost alternative is to bury the body directly in the earth or in a simple casket, which can be about the same price or less than cremation. This requires people being less attached to the modern funeral home expectations of a long delay before burial and so forth.
Okay--I just researched it--I was misinformed. Natural burial in a closed casket is legal here. There is a recent law banning "human composting" having something to do with cannibalism (!) and contaminating the food supply. But natural burial, closed coffin, in a cemetery is okay. Whew!
My sister, a former funeral home employee in New Mexico, says it is legal for no embalming, but the funeral must take place within 3 days and must be closed casket. I think the orthodox Jews have funerals like this.
Jesus Christ, resurrected after three days. His body remained, relatively, intact. Consider the remains of devout Catholics buried for decades, or centuries: their bodies have completely decomposed. Even in a sealed vault, bodies will molder away to nothing after enough time. What of the thousands of devout soldiers KIA, or those buried at sea? Altogether, if those remains, totaling in the billions, can knit themselves back together on Resurrection Day so can consecrated ashes.
I definitely agree with the sentiment, and after reading some of the comments, I was glad to see you were also sympathetic in understanding the relative cost for families. I live in a fairly "poor" country, and one thing I didn't see brought up are the cemeteries that have recurring and continual costs and fees other than just the initial fees. Many families here simply cannot keep paying the recurring costs, and if the family doesn't continue to pay, then the body may literally be dug up and moved to a communal site as is mentioned in this article from the USCCB where it apparently happens in Italy https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/vatican-offers-further-guidance-handling-cremains. The majority of cemeteries are not owned by the church here, and the only other option for families are a sort of communal "well" that individual churches are allowed to build on its grounds that has a kind of nameplate of each person's ashes that were poured into it. Certainly it's not ideal, but when families have no other choice, I think it's infinitely better than spreading the ashes in some random place and not burying them.
You definitely hit the nail on the head that it's a horrible capitalist invention of profiting off of the dead and grieving families. It's too bad, but we have to make do with what we have also and be aware that some people have no means to do it the "right" way.
I agree with your assessment and the beautiful theology. Considering that a proper burial was about $13,000 and cremation was around $3,000 my mother was cremated. She had stage 4 cancer for 5 years and every cent of her savings was spent on doctors bills and hospice. Unfortunately the sad reality is that many, many people can’t afford the more beautiful burial.
I think what we have to recognize is that the funeral industry is capitalism at its worst, taking advantage of the most vulnerable people (emotionally speaking). A simple burial in a simple wood casket shortly after death can be done, in many places, for less than $2000, and a simple stone marker can be obtained. Somehow we have to recover this simplicity that we have lost.
I have no idea where you live but there are “cheap” base prices, and then a billion other fees for every tiny thing. It really adds up. And add to that a broken family situation with lots of complications, infighting, debt you are dealing with, other family members who could care less about the Catholic Church…it’s very overwhelming and I’m very grateful for the mercy of the Church in allowing cremation. Sometimes I think, in these beautiful, pondering conversations on what once was and how it should be, what’s lost is the fact that this is the ideal…and we live in a very non-ideal world and society (and a lot of us, non-ideal family situations). If you can afford the privilege of the ideal, and a family system that is supportive, that’s absolutely wonderful! But obviously there are reasons the Church, in her wisdom and compassion, has given the faithful these concessions.
I couldn't agree more with you that we are not living in ideal times, and that there can be very complicated and messy situations that seem to have no good solution. It seems to me, however, that the Church creates problems for itself. By permitting something that's easier and less expensive, it takes away the incentive, the moral pressure, to provide affordable options for everyone. If there were a hard "no," then you can bet entrepreneurs would arise to provide for every demographic.
Thank you for this. Cremation is abominable m, and the approval of it has quickly led to the decrease in funeral masses, “celebrations of life” and other horrors. As an historian, I can also attest to the mess it’s creates for future genealogists
I have specified for my end of life a traditional Requiem Mass and a burial in a pine coffin, and have drawn up what should be noted on my headstone. I used to live near an old pioneer cemetery and spent time almost every day there walking my dog and scrutinizing the headstones. It is still being used for recently deceased people. I became quite familiar with many of the “inhabitants,” and having them beneath my feet always compelled me to pray for the souls I walked by. Sometimes I looked up their names and found out about some of them. It was always surprising what I learned. The most poignant burials were the little ones who lived a very short time. I can say that I was moved to pray and deeply enriched by “getting to know” these buried individuals and it became a daily visit that edified me and gave me peace. And food for thought about my own limited existence. I miss this place but am grateful for what this cemetery gave me. But ashes are ~ gone!
"'He lies within,' said Denethor, 'burning, already burning. They have set a fire in his flesh. But soon all shall be burned. The West has failed. It shall go up in a great fire, and all shall be ended. Ash! Ash and smoke blown away on the wind!'" Thus the words of despair from The Return of the King. Cremation seems to bespeak that same despair.
Very apt quotation, thank you!
All true, but oxidation, slow or fast, is oxidation. And caskets in America are absurdly expensive as are the vaults they go in. If we're going to bury the dead, we should bury them not seal them in hermetically sealed containers.
I agree with this!
If one looks, there are simple wooden caskets available for much less than the fancy ones:
https://trappistcaskets.com/caskets/#csksmpl
https://titancasket.com/products/eco-pine-box-casket
https://arkwoodcaskets.com/product/order/
Sadly, these are often marketed as "eco-friendly" or as Jewish, showing that Catholics have dropped the ball in this area (as in so many others).
Many locales dont allow them, unfortunately.
What do you mean they don't allow them? They don't allow a wooden casket?
Right. They don't want decomposition in the ground or the water, or maybeit is for aldehyde they don't want
They cannot deny burial in a casket. That is absurd.
Marian Caskets does simple pine wood caskets with the Marian M on front, like John Paul II’s.
Marian Caskets is a beautiful option. Simple pine caskets similar to the one John Paul II was buried in with the Marian M on top.
Having recently buried my husband in a coffin which was lowered into the ground, there to stay until the Resurrection of the Dead, I became aware of the pagan mentality of Catholics who viewed it as an archaic practice.
Having been taught as a child in Catholic school that cremation was only allowed during times of plague or a disaster which would not allow for the right process of burial, not to mention that in addition to being pagan, it is a masonic practice, daring God to resurrect those ashes, I am appalled at the blatant abuse of a deceased body created by God.
The prelude to cremation is the dumping of loved ones into a godless facility, there to be neglected and abused, hastening the time when they can be burnt as garbage to be disposed.
I think you are right to see this phenomenon as a symptom of the "disposal" society.
Finally someone has clearly articulated why we should not cremate. Thank you! I know many turn to it because of the cost of a regular burial.
My pleasure.
Dr. K, thank you for this most informative article. Your argument makes perfect sense and is a comfort. Deo gratias.
Thank you! I told a friend, who had her husband cremated (it is less costly), now we will never know if his body is incorruptible!
I myself will not be cremated nor embalmed. This will necessitate a quicker burial but that is ok. There are no Catholic cemeteries near where I live, but there is one in a town nearby that many Catholics are buried in and that our Parish priest visits monthly.The other option is to be buried on our land, but I fear no priest would ever visit.
Though it's rife with questionable fads and hippy sensibilities, the "green burial" trend is not entirely negative, to the extent that it enables and encourages people to have less commercialized burials.
Alongside cremation, modernity's attempt to sterilize death has resulted in norms like expensive, fortified caskets and the excessive use of embalming. Many people act like it's obscene to view a dead loved one unless they've been caked in makeup and pumped full of formaldehyde, or unthinkable to bury them without a heavy duty casket to preserve the corpse from decay for as long as possible. Habitually hiding or delaying death's effects are yet another way modern man avoids reflecting on his own mortality.
Bucking modern funeral trends is easier said than done, of course, but when I die, I really want to be viewed and buried un-embalmed if at all possible, with only a simple wooden coffin when I'm laid in the ground. After all, this is how our ancestors grieved and buried loved ones for generations.
I agree 100%. All that you say is so very true.
Where I live, law requires embalming, and also a concrete "crypt" in the grave around the coffin!
That's ludicrous. I imagine the concrete layer is an attempt to prevent that mandatory embalming fluid from polluting the soil. No escape from the regulatory hoop jumping, even in death.
Evelyn Waugh wrote a savage critique of American funeral customs decades ago, and it's only gotten worse.
I read The Loved One in university! One of my first year literature courses had a segment where we explored critiques of the modern funeral industry, with Waugh's contribution standing out most distinctively.
I don't hold much about my university education in high regard, but I do credit that course with sparking my initial interest in alternative (i.e. normal and traditional) burial options.
What a wonderful explanation for the reason for burial! I have always detested the idea of cremation, especially if we are created in the image and likeness of God.
This is so perfect, thank you for explaining this so beautifully.✨
Thank you for this beautiful essay. I had an agonizing disagreement with my sister and older brother when our youngest brother died unexpectedly at the age of 55. Although we were all baptized in the Catholic faith, they did not understand the theological reasons for burial you've presented here. Their reasons for cremation were based in emotion. Our mother died when we were all teenagers. They were both horrified at seeing our mother's body lowered into the earth. (I don't know why I did not experience that event in the way they did.) After much prayer and efforts to persuade them not cremate our brother, we came to a "compromise." Our brother's body now rests in a mausoleum that is located in a Catholic cemetery -- about 20 feet above ground. His body will never return to the soil that nourished him. I admit, I was so happy that my brother was not cremated that I never explored whether internment is consistent with Catholic theology. Can you please direct me so that I can be better prepared for future conversations?
Interment is also quite traditional, as one can see in countless marble tombs throughout Europe contained in churches. It was done especially for the higher-ranking figures (kings, princes, bishops, and the like). While it lacks some of the symbolism mentioned in this article, it retains the most important aspects.
For many people cremation is the only option due to financial circumstances.
Agreed. When I have time, I should reply to the article in length and in detail.
But let me quickly make a few points:
(1) Most people, and very apparently the author, have ZERO clue what is involved in modern embalming. I encourage the author and others to view a video of embalming. It's a sickening and disgusting procedure. The actually PHYSICAL violence done to the body/corpse for funeral preparation is stunningly horrible if not an outright desecration.
(2) Modern embalming is simply an effort to present the body (via chemical infusions and cosmetic cover-up) in a form that softens the hard and harsh reality of death for an unbelieving generation ("Johnny has died, but let's make him pretty").
(3) With the exception of very arid or cold climates, even bones will decompose in most environments over the years, decades, or centuries. In such cases, the result is the same as cremation.
Again, I encourage Catholics to view a video of modern embalming. Perhaps your reaction will be the same as mine:
"No way! Please cremate me -- but yes, follow the laws of the Church, in that the remains be kept intact and buried in a holy place."
Brothers and sisters, we will all pass through the FIRE anyway:
"Each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:13-15, RSV-CE)
Finally:
"... till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;
you are DUST, and to DUST you shall return.”
(Genesis 3:19, RSV-CE)
So, eventually, yours, mine, and the author's remains will all crumble to DUST. (Unless, of course you are one of the incorruptibles).
And, just because the pagans practiced cremation CENTURIES ago for reasons contrary to Christianity, well then ...
I guess we should not decorate Christmas trees at home either, since (oh my gosh!) the Germanic PAGANS originated this practice.
Or, let us tear down the Pantheon in Rome, which originally was a Roman PAGAN temple, but now, since A.D. 609, it is a Catholic church called the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs.
We could go on and on with the "because the pagans once did it or used it".
My dear Christian Catholic brothers and sisters, do not fear cremation if it is done with hope in the Resurrection and in accord with the laws of the Church. Just keep the remains WHOLE and TOGETHER (no sprinkling!) and NOT on your mantel, but buried in a holy place (or placed in a columbarium, if you prefer).
I cremated both my mother and father. They are buried in the same plot in the earth at our local Catholic cemetery. I visit and pray at their gravesite every Sunday after Mass.
When I saw the physical cremated REMAINS of my parents, it hit home more that any of the many "beautified" corpses (prepared by a professional mortician) that I have seen at funerals down through the years.
We all will turn to DUST, one way or the other.
The question is, "What are we doing DAILY for the glory of God and to SERVE our neighbor and to WIN others for Christ? Are you salt (Matthew 5:13)?"
I have instructed my family to cremate me when my Day arrives. I absolutely do NOT want a moritician poking, prodding, and violating my corpse with metal intruments and chemicals.
Again, I encourage all Christians to watch an embalming video.
Don't listen to these Pharisees who without charity intimate that you are somehow compromising your Catholic faith through the practice of cremation.
I would not defend modern embalming. On the contrary, it strikes me the same way as it does you. A lower-cost alternative is to bury the body directly in the earth or in a simple casket, which can be about the same price or less than cremation. This requires people being less attached to the modern funeral home expectations of a long delay before burial and so forth.
Agree. I have specified “no embalming” for my body.
We had made arrangements for a natural funeral as you describe when we lived in another state. Where we live now, it is sadly illegal.
That's a crime!
How many states make it illegal?
Okay--I just researched it--I was misinformed. Natural burial in a closed casket is legal here. There is a recent law banning "human composting" having something to do with cannibalism (!) and contaminating the food supply. But natural burial, closed coffin, in a cemetery is okay. Whew!
My sister, a former funeral home employee in New Mexico, says it is legal for no embalming, but the funeral must take place within 3 days and must be closed casket. I think the orthodox Jews have funerals like this.
You may choose not to be embalmed, at least in Oregon. However, the body must be interred within a short time.
Every diocese in the country would offer assistance to bury the dead. It’s one of the works of mercy.
Jesus Christ, resurrected after three days. His body remained, relatively, intact. Consider the remains of devout Catholics buried for decades, or centuries: their bodies have completely decomposed. Even in a sealed vault, bodies will molder away to nothing after enough time. What of the thousands of devout soldiers KIA, or those buried at sea? Altogether, if those remains, totaling in the billions, can knit themselves back together on Resurrection Day so can consecrated ashes.
I definitely agree with the sentiment, and after reading some of the comments, I was glad to see you were also sympathetic in understanding the relative cost for families. I live in a fairly "poor" country, and one thing I didn't see brought up are the cemeteries that have recurring and continual costs and fees other than just the initial fees. Many families here simply cannot keep paying the recurring costs, and if the family doesn't continue to pay, then the body may literally be dug up and moved to a communal site as is mentioned in this article from the USCCB where it apparently happens in Italy https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/vatican-offers-further-guidance-handling-cremains. The majority of cemeteries are not owned by the church here, and the only other option for families are a sort of communal "well" that individual churches are allowed to build on its grounds that has a kind of nameplate of each person's ashes that were poured into it. Certainly it's not ideal, but when families have no other choice, I think it's infinitely better than spreading the ashes in some random place and not burying them.
You definitely hit the nail on the head that it's a horrible capitalist invention of profiting off of the dead and grieving families. It's too bad, but we have to make do with what we have also and be aware that some people have no means to do it the "right" way.
I agree with your assessment and the beautiful theology. Considering that a proper burial was about $13,000 and cremation was around $3,000 my mother was cremated. She had stage 4 cancer for 5 years and every cent of her savings was spent on doctors bills and hospice. Unfortunately the sad reality is that many, many people can’t afford the more beautiful burial.
I think what we have to recognize is that the funeral industry is capitalism at its worst, taking advantage of the most vulnerable people (emotionally speaking). A simple burial in a simple wood casket shortly after death can be done, in many places, for less than $2000, and a simple stone marker can be obtained. Somehow we have to recover this simplicity that we have lost.
I have no idea where you live but there are “cheap” base prices, and then a billion other fees for every tiny thing. It really adds up. And add to that a broken family situation with lots of complications, infighting, debt you are dealing with, other family members who could care less about the Catholic Church…it’s very overwhelming and I’m very grateful for the mercy of the Church in allowing cremation. Sometimes I think, in these beautiful, pondering conversations on what once was and how it should be, what’s lost is the fact that this is the ideal…and we live in a very non-ideal world and society (and a lot of us, non-ideal family situations). If you can afford the privilege of the ideal, and a family system that is supportive, that’s absolutely wonderful! But obviously there are reasons the Church, in her wisdom and compassion, has given the faithful these concessions.
I couldn't agree more with you that we are not living in ideal times, and that there can be very complicated and messy situations that seem to have no good solution. It seems to me, however, that the Church creates problems for itself. By permitting something that's easier and less expensive, it takes away the incentive, the moral pressure, to provide affordable options for everyone. If there were a hard "no," then you can bet entrepreneurs would arise to provide for every demographic.
It's almost like... it's an entirely different and opposite church...