Planning for a funeral is planning for the last farewell and celebration of a person's life and legacy. The Funeral Planning Ministry is a supportive ministry providing assistance to families in planning the Funeral Liturgy for their loved one. It provides family an opportunity to reflect on the life of their loved one and to plan a funeral that has significance for them. A planner meets with the family in a one-to-one setting to choose readings and music for the funeral. As part of the process, family members are able to indicate those individuals who will participate in the service. A key role of the planner is to provide guidance on the liturgy, answer questions, and provide clarification for family. The planner ensures that all of this information is shared with those members of the St. Benedict community involved in the funeral. Resources and training to assist with planning are available to planners. The team of planners are involved in the ministry on a rotating basis as funeral requests arise. If you’d like to join this ministry or have any questions, please email Teresa at Teresa.Dunn@dor.org.
We are filled with sympathy for you and your family as you endure this difficult time. May God’s blessing be with you in your loss. St. Benedict Parish is honored to be walking with you as you plan the funeral liturgy and burial for your loved one.
St. Benedict Parish proudly celebrates very beautiful funeral liturgies. We work very hard to make sure that every aspect of the funeral experience is as simple, powerful and provides as much healing as possible. If we can assist you along these lines, please let us know.
If you want to schedule a funeral with us please call the parish office at 394-1220 or contact your funeral director of preference who will then schedule the funeral with us. Funeral Policies and Procedures: Please review these Funeral Policies and Procedures at St. Benedict Parish prior to planning.
The following guidelines answer some of our most frequently asked questions about funerals and how they are prepared. They are offered here also to avoid miscommunications and the possible hurt feelings that might result from those miscommunications. They also represent some encouragement and direction for those other professionals that may be involved.
The Location of the Funeral The site of the funeral ought to be a very important consideration of your decision-making process. It is not always easy, but there are some things that should be kept in mind.
The pastor or his designate makes all decisions regarding funeral liturgies. Any change to the ordinary course of a liturgy in that parish must be approved by him.
The pastor makes decisions about the presider, time, etc.
Given these above points we should keep in mind that St. Benedict Parish is committed to flexibility. It has been our policy to always work together to meet any special accommodations.
Our funeral times are ordinarily the following: Monday – Friday 11 am; Saturdays 10 or 11 am.
The Celebrant and Homilist at the Funeral It has already been said that the pastor is the celebrant and homilist at funeral liturgies unless he has delegated that to his parochial vicar. Visiting clergy are welcomed, however, because of a special connection that may exist between the family and the desired priest. The following points must be observed:
Before inviting visiting clergy to take part in a funeral liturgy, the pastor must be informed or asked. This is preferably done by the family themselves. The visiting priest may not be consulted before attending to this courtesy.
After gaining permission by the pastor, the visiting priest will then contact the pastor to acknowledge their intention and availability and to request permission to participate.
The meeting will happen at our parish to prepare the funeral as if the pastor was himself celebrating the Mass. (Truly, if the visiting clergy met a problem and couldn’t make it to the funeral, he would have to!)
The parish will not permit any priest from outside the Diocese of Rochester without a letter of suitability from the congregation or diocese.
These considerations are largely common (or best practices) of most priests and are only rarely problematic. It is, however, necessary to follow them. The worst thing that could happen is to have no presider at a funeral because these were not observed.
The Funeral Liturgy As it regards the funeral celebration we observe one overarching principle: The Liturgy of the Mass is a celebration of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It does not matter whether it is a wedding, Sunday, funeral, etc. A Mass is solely directed to the saving message of victory in Jesus Christ. Therefore:
The music director of the parish must be consulted about visiting musicians and must approve all musical selections for a funeral liturgy. Ordinarily, parish musicians are to be used.
Songs, texts, words, actions that obscure or frustrate this are not permitted.
To this point – There are no eulogies; words of remembrance may be offered that maintain the focus on the Gospel. These words must maintain this because they are offered within a specific context: the Mass itself.
For the same reason, music selected for Mass must be chosen to maintain the same principle.
We hope this is helpful. For the majority of you, this is not a concern. However, since I am writing this out and posting it, you can correctly assume that it sometimes is a problem. Our hope is focused on the beautiful celebration of the life and birth into the mercy of God for your loved one. Please let us know how we can help and assist. Our answer is almost always yes on most matters. Many thanks and God bless you!
Planning for the Liturgy: In order to make the Funeral Liturgy a meaningful and healing experience for family members and friends as we thank God for the gift of your loved one's life, support one another in our grief, pray for the deceased and celebrate our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, family members and friends will be asked to play different roles during the liturgy and the family will be asked to select readings, prayers and music. You can find all this outlined in our Funeral Planning Form.
Words of Remembrance: Click here for the planning sheet for Words of Remembrance.Readings: Readings for the Liturgy of the Word for the Rite of Christian Burial are divided into three parts: a selection from the Old Testament; a selection from the New Testament; and a Gospel.
Suggested Scripture readings follow. You may click on the reading to review it and, if you wish, to print it.
Or you may click here to print out the list of readings. Make one selection each from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Gospel. Enter each selection on your Funeral Planning Sheet where indicated.
Other Scripture passages may be presented to the pastor for approval. However, non-Scripture readings may not be read in place of these readings.
1-1:
2 Maccabees 12:43-46 ~ He had the resurrection of the dead in view.
1-2:
Job 19:1, 23-27a ~ I know that my Vindicator lives.
1-3 (Long):
Wisdom 3:1-9 ~ The souls of the just are in the hand of God.
1-3 (Short):
Wisdom 3:1-6,9 ~ The souls of the just are in the hand of God.
1-4:
Wisdom 4:7-15 ~ The just man shall be at rest.
1-5:
Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9 ~ The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.
1-6:
Lamentations 3:17-26 ~ It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord.
1-7:
Daniel 12:1-3 ~ Those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 ~ A time for everything
G-1:
Matthew 5:1-12a ~ Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
G-2:
Matthew 11:25-30 ~ Come to me and I will give you rest.
G-3:
Matthew 25:1-13 ~ Behold the bridegroom! Come out to him!
G-4:
Matthew 25:31-46 ~ Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
G-5 (Long):
Mark 15:33-39;16:1-6 ~ Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
G-5 (Short):
Mark 15:33-39 ~ Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
G-6:
Luke 7:11-17 ~ Young man, I tell you, arise!
G-7:
Luke 12:35-40 ~ You also must be prepared.
G-8:
Luke 23:33, 39-43 ~ Today, you will be with me in Paradise.
G-9 (Long):
Luke 23:44-46, 50, 52-53; 24:1-6a ~ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
G-9 (Short):
Luke 23:44-46,50,52-53 ~ Father, into Your hands, I commend my spirit.
G-10 (Long):
Luke 24:13-35 ~ He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
G-10 (Short):
Luke 24:13-16,28-35 ~ He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
G-11:
John 5:24-29 ~ Whoever hears and believes has passed from death to life.
G-12:
John 6:37-40 ~ I shall raise him on the last day.
G-13:
John 6:51-58 ~ Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
G-14 (Long):
John 11:17-27 ~ I am the resurrection and the life.
G-14 (Short):
John 11:21-27 ~ I am the resurrection and the life.
G-15:
John 11:32-45 ~ Lazarus, come out!
G-16 (Long):
John 12:23-28 ~ If it dies, it produces much fruit.
G-16 (Short):
John 12:23-26 ~ If it dies, it produces much fruit.
G-17:
John 14:1-6 ~ In my Father's house, there are many dwellings.
G-18:
John 17:24-26 ~ Where I am, they also may be with me.
G-19:
John 19:17-18,25-39 ~ Bowing his head, he handed over his Spirit.
Prayers of the Faithful - Please select Prayers for the liturgy from the attached options.Please also select any family members and/or friends who may wish to read them at the funeral.
Your Readers: The Old and New Testament Readings and the Prayer of the Faithful will be placed on the lectern for their convenience. If you would like a copy of the contents of the binder ahead of time for practice, please let us know. Please check to make sure that they have turned to the correct page before reading. Music: Please feel free to use our Parish Hymnal, to choose appropriate music/song selections for the funeral liturgy. You can find some music suggestions and the corresponding numbers to find them in the hymnal here: Suggested Hymns for Funerals
Musicians: St. Benedict provides you with an organist/pianist and a cantor/song leader. Their stipends are paid to the church through the funeral home (if applicable) and we will take care of payment of these stipends to the musicians. Our Pastoral Musicians will lead us in song through the funeral liturgy. If you wish to have someone sing a special song or solo, please let us know well ahead of time so that they may join our ministers of music. A rehearsal is usually held a short time before the funeral. If you need other arrangements, let us know. Burial: Consider St. Bridget's and Calvary Cemeteries as a final resting place: Plots currently are available for both forms of Christian burial (casket burials as well as cremation) in several different areas at both cemeteries. St.Benedict supports the maintenance and grounds improvements to the Cemeteries through the generous donations of parishioners. To get a sense of our cemeteries, we invite you to take a walking tour. Take a moment to sit and pray. Spend some quiet time with the Lord and the memory of those who have gone before us. Our Cemeteries are a place to pray and remember all that God has given us. Reflect on where you choose to be buried when your time comes to go home to the Lord. Would you like to rest here among others who have been cornerstones of our parish family?
“Lord Jesus Christ, by your own three days in the tomb, you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you and so made the gave a sign of hope that promises resurrection even as it claims our mortal bodies.”
If you would like to inquire about available plots and learn more about pricing, please call Tony at 394-1220, ext 24.