I WILL NOT BE CREMATED!

QUESTION? / COMMENT!

I do plan to ask my parish priest about this matter soon.  I was just wondering why I haven't heard a priest speak about when a person dies, what to do with their remains in a homily since my Mom died over 8 years ago.

This is a topic, among others, that should be address on a regular basis, because a woman from my women's group told me two weeks ago that she and her husband plan to be cremated, then separate both ashes, and one portion buried 

at his parents gravesite, and the rest at her gravesite!  I said to her, this is not the way of the Catholic church.  That's not right to split the remains of ashes." 

There was not much further discussion, but this is becoming common place, as another in the same women's group said her father-in-law's ashes have been separated into five different containers and each of his five grown kids has them!  It took me over 8 years to have my parents urns properly buried at Epiphany Catholic Cemetery, against my four brothers (and my folks)  wishes.  I took long Rosary walks, prayed a lot, and heard, "Do not be afraid."  They are, thanks be to God, intact and buried properly. --- I really do believe that many Catholics Christians and Protestants Christians do this out of ignorance.

What are your comments on this if I might ask?  SHOULD I address the priest and at another parish too do you think?  Just ask them why?

ANSWER! / COMMENT!

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy (CCC 2447); it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit" (2299 CCC). Further, ". . . The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body" (CCC 2301). Specifically, it emphasizes that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and that the faithful should honor it accordingly. The Church prefers burial of the body as a sign of hope in the resurrection, but it does not exclude cremation as long as the Christian doctrine is maintained. I personally don’t like cremation and I will not be cremated. The reason I don’t like cremation is because historically, cremation was practiced by various pagan civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, and others. In many of these cultures, cremation was part of their religious rituals, beliefs about the afterlife, or cultural customs related to honoring the dead.

In the context of Christianity and the Catholic Church, the practice of cremation has been historically viewed with suspicion because it was sometimes associated with pagan rituals and beliefs that contradicted Christian teachings. However, over time, the Church has distinguished between respectful cremation practices and those motivated by pagan or disrespectful motives.

Today, the Catholic Church permits cremation but emphasizes that the remains should be treated with respect and dignity, reflecting the belief in the resurrection of the body. The preference for burial remains because it symbolizes hope in the resurrection and the dignity of the human body.