As we all know, the funeral rites of the Catholic Church were "wreckovated" after Vatican II. What happened, even before it became popular in our denial of death culture, is that our funeral rites became a "celebration of life" and worse yet, a canonization of the deceased.
Accompanying this "wreckovation" of Catholic funeral theology was the denial of grief, depression and anxiety about the death of a loved one.
The first thing to go was the use of "black" or "violet" vestments for the funeral rites. White was mandated by liturgists and almost without exception every parish in the USA acquiesced to these liturgists denial of grief, depression and anxiety in the face of the death of a loved one.
We are a resurrection people these liturgists told priests at liturgical workshops across the country. Once a priest heard anything at a workshop after Vatican II, it was implemented the next day.
Even the laity were told not to wear black to funerals, wear white or joyful colors because of course your loved one is in heaven. The suffering of purgatory and the finality of damnation lost its favor in the resurrection lie (not Christ's resurrection but our automatic canonization of soul and eventually body).
After joyful canonizations of loved ones, celebrations of life, bright and happy colors for funerals, and the denial of grief in our liturgical life as it concerns death, people grieve nonetheless after the joyful, uplifting and happy not sad funeral rites. But they feel guilty because their faith isn't strong enough to give them lasting joy about the death of someone they love and life changed as they knew it.
13 comments:
I was at a Funeral Mass last week (OF). The priest wore a white chasuble and stole that were white but trimmed in Black with a bit of gold. They were absolutely beautiful.
I'm a little too young to have seen the black vestments, but I think the ones you are wearing in the picture are beautiful and absolutely should be worn for a funeral. I can't help but wonder why the change.
Anonymous at 4:03,
Progressives desire to make everything “meaningful.” They really did not care what the faithful thought
Pierre - So black vestments at funerals weren't meaningful? Interesting.....
Anonymous at 6:17,
Not to progressives. Neither was Latin, Gregorian Chant nor sacred polyphony
Anonymous @ 6:17:
No they were not meaningful, they were "meaningful, completely distorting their true meaning in the liturgy of the Church, and by Church I mean both lungs East and West, but excluding the Protestants who have no meaning because for them human reason is totally corrupt from the Fall.
During the 1960s violet became the normal colour for funeral Masses. It is still the norm in the UK, Ireland and Europe. JFK's Requiem Mass in 1963 had black vestments; his brother Robert's in 1968 had violet, as did Padre Pio's in the same year.
Many parishes got rid of their black vestments after 1970 when they were no longer required for Good Friday. If no black vestments are available, violet may be worn at EF funeral rites.
The Fathers of the Oxford Oratory have issued a guide for funerals in the Ordinary Form. They have taken a leaf out of Henry Ford's book: You can have any colour as long as it's black.
John Nolan,
JFK’s requiem was a low Mass with Cardinal Cushing barking his sub-par Latin. His brother’s funeral was worse
Our pastor wears only black vestments for funerals. He said that he realized about twenty years ago that people had lost any concept or sense of praying for the souls of the deceased. He tries his best, but when you hear how "good Catholics" talk after a loved one has died, you might as well have a canonization ceremony. With many funeral masses being postponed because of the COVID problems, I have seen this in obituaries, .....the Celebration of Life Mass will be at a future date." What the heck is that?
Anonymous,
You are fortunate to have a Catholic priest as a pastor instead of the ersatz ones
When my mother passed away last year, our priest wore black & gold vestments.
In England and Wales the colour white is allowed at funerals 'by way of exception', but the once-fashionable term 'Mass of the Resurrection' is no longer to be used. In the US edition of the GIRM, in addition to violet, white or black 'may be used'. It can be inferred that in E&W the options are a) violet or black and b) white, in that order; whereas in the USA they are a) violet and b) white or black, in that order.
John Nolan,
In the US, in the typical OF parish, white is almost always used. One rarely sees violet or black.
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