In the last few decades in the Church, we have seen many different forms of experimentation with the liturgy, even to the point of priests or parishes tampering with some of the words or rites of the Mass. The universal Church, and most recently Pope Benedict, has been calling upon priests and people to be faithful to the liturgical traditions passed on to us. In the Mass, for example, this means that the priest cannot improvise any of the words of the Eucharistic Prayer. There is some room to adapt the liturgy to local circumstances, but there are general guidelines that must always be followed.
Even when people respect the guidelines for Sunday Mass, they sometimes think that in a wedding Mass or a funeral Mass they have total authority to introduce changes. But we must remember that the Church also has an official liturgy for both funerals and weddings that must be respected.
This brings me to the topic of this announcement: funeral eulogies. Eulogies have never been officially included in the liturgy for funeral Masses. There are many options permitted in the liturgy, such as different readings from the Old and New Testament and the Gospels, the Prayers of the Faithful, the hymns, and so on. But a eulogy is not listed among the options for the funeral Mass. In the introduction to the Order of Christian Funerals, the Canadian Conference of Catholic bishops clearly states, “there is never to be a eulogy.”
There are many reasons why the Church has never included eulogies as part of her official funeral liturgy. The purpose of a funeral Mass is to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased, and to celebrate our Christian faith in the Resurrection and eternal life. The funeral honours the deceased above all as a child of God, baptized into Christ, and destined for eternal life.
There have been examples in our parish of orthodox and inspiring eulogies, but these are rare exceptions. In most cases, eulogies are filled with many stories, anecdotes, and jokes that often distract people from the central meaning of all the prayers and music of the funeral Mass – eternal life. On occasion, a non-practicing Catholic giving the eulogy will take the opportunity to make comments that contradict Church teaching.
One might think that a simple solution would be to permit eulogies by faith-filled people on the behalf of the deceased who were regular parishioners, while not permitting them for others. But in practice it is not possible or advisable to discriminate in this way. Either eulogies are permitted (that means for everyone) or they are not.
Accordingly, after years of unsuccessful experimentation in permitting eulogies, after discussing with Parish Council, and for the safeguarding of the Church’s liturgical tradition, which is designed to worship God and strengthen the faith of the people, we will no longer be allowing eulogies during the funeral Mass; however, we do offer two other options:
– Someone may speak about the deceased at the reception immediately following the funeral Mass
– The family may share with the priest details of the life of the deceased that they would like mentioned in the homily
We hope that this new policy, which is simply a return to tradition, will help to safeguard the Church’s liturgical tradition. In the case of funerals, a faithful adherence to the liturgical norms actually allows the Holy Spirit to strengthen the faith of the people and to console those who mourn, through the prayers, the Scriptures, the holy water and incense, the hymns in praise of the Resurrection and eternal life.
Fr. Tim McCauley Allison Fortier
Pastor Chair of Parish Council
Homilies