Editor’s Note: In the Catholic Church, November is traditionally dedicated to the holy souls in purgatory and remembering those who have left this earthly plane. Throughout November, which begins with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, the Catholic Star Herald will be featuring articles related to this Month of Remembrance and how “death is not the end, but rather the door through which we must pass to gain eternal life.”
Every Sunday, Roman Catholics gather for the celebration of Mass, during which they profess together their belief in the resurrection, stating, “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.” This article of our faith is stated in the baptismal promises and the Apostle’s Creed as “the resurrection of the body.” It is our faith that on the last day we will be resurrected; that is, we will rise in our bodies, and for those judged worthy, to bodily enjoyment of the glory of heaven; for those not, to bodily suffering of the pains of hell.
Reverently burying the dead is a practice that goes back millennia. In the Old Testament, even prior to the Mosaic Covenant, we find records of the patriarchs burying their deceased loved ones. There was a respect given to the body, for human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. Reverencing the bodies of the dead showed respect to both God the creator and giver of life as well as the person who had died. Burying the dead became an important duty to be performed by the living.
Related: Talking Catholic Podcast with Father Rocks
An example of the importance of burying the dead is found in the book of Tobit. Tobit recounts how he would often bury the dead. He states, “If I saw one of my people who had died and been thrown outside the walls of Nineveh, I would bury him,” (Tobit 1:17) Tobit buried his deceased kinsmen in defiance of the king. He would even leave sacred festivals of the Lord to bury the dead. (Tobit Chapter 2) Some Jewish rabbis were of the opinion that properly burying the dead was an action that was greater than ceremonial observation!
Today, Catholics still observe this practice; one of the corporal works of mercy is to bury the dead (one of the spiritual works is to pray for the dead). This is due to the body being an integral part of the makeup of a human being. A human person is not a soul alone, nor is it a body alone. Simply put, the composite of soul and body is the person. Nor is the soul trapped in the body; it is intimately united to the body. The body is not like a plastic bottle that can be tossed away when death comes and rips asunder the union of body and soul.
The Church reminds the faithful of this when she teaches that “burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity.” (Ad resurgendum cum Christo 3)
Death tears asunder the union of body and soul. While the soul is indestructible and, as some hold, contains much of the remnant of the personality, it needs the body to be fully human and complete. As the document quoted above stated, the body is an integral part of the human person. Jesus, by his Cross and Resurrection, has redeemed human beings, body and soul, the complete person. On the Last Day, when Jesus returns in all his glory, we will be resurrected, reunited with this body in a glorified form. For these reasons, we treat the body of the deceased with great respect.
Therefore, we bury the dead in the ground or a crypt or mausoleum. This is true for the cremated remains as well; they are placed in a niche or the ground. “In order that every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism be avoided, it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewelry or other objects.” (Ad resurgendum cum Christo 7)
Respecting bodily remains
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a teaching regarding the proper disposal of the bodily remains earlier this year. They reminded us of the teaching previously mentioned regarding the proper burial of cremated remains. The document then gives a warning regarding two other forms of disposal of the body that are contrary to our faith.
The first is alkaline hydrolysis. This method places the body in a mixture of alkaline acid and water, which when placed under pressure and high heat, breaks down the body by removing the fatty tissue form the bones. The remaining bones are pulverized and can be place in an urn, but the liquid is usually disposed differently – basically, tossed away.
The second method is human composting. This method breaks down the body in a bin after it has been covered with plant material. This completely breaks down the body, leaving a cubic yard of compost, which is then spread on the lawn or the garden. It can even be divided so that it can be spread in several places. (This process is different than green burial, where the body is placed in the grave and remains there, even as it naturally returns to “dust.”)
Neither of these procedures respect the body, and both, in the end, amount to separating the bodily remains, contrary to the provisions of Ad resurgendum cum Christo. One makes the body to be waste that can be easily discarded, while the other betrays the idea that the human being is just another part of the earth, to which it returns when death occurs. Neither express the hope of the resurrection.
Showing reverence for the bodies of the deceased reminds us of the integrity of the human person: that body and soul are one. When we die, our bodies are not empty bottles to toss away, never to be used again. Sadly, too many think the body is just that, an insignificant container. Sadder still, many today think that this material life is all there is, and that when we die, we return to the earth or universe, our individual person never to appear again.
We who believe in Christ must not let this thinking cloud our understanding. When we bury the dead, keeping the bodily remains together, we remind ourselves of the hope of the resurrection. Burial reminds us that our bodies are an integral part of our identity. Therefore, recall the teaching of Saint Paul:
“We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For that which is corruptible must cloth itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.” (1 Cor 15:51-53)
Father Jason Rocks is chancellor of the Diocese of Camden and pastor of Holy Eucharist Parish, Cherry Hill.
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