CHRISTIAN BURIAL

New Zealand Tablet, 1 November 1906, Page 11

CHRISTIAN BURIAL

(By the fUBv-'J. Golden, Kaikoitba)

From a -Catholic view-point Christian burial presents' a twofold; aspect. 'ihe time-honored custom of -burying the dead is observed with . due decorum., Moreover, in the case of adults, the funeral service is a. series of prayers" offered up by way of suffrage for the benefit of the " -'departed soul. For, borrowing the language of Holy Writ, 'it is a holy and wholesome thought to -pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins ' (Jl. Maohabees xii., <lt>). The Catholic Church is iih'e direct and legitimate heir to the faith and customs and traditions of the ancient people of liod. As such, she honors her dead' by religious sepulture , with . its many touching and. sacred ceremonies. Believing in the Communion .-of Saints, as did the. faithful in the oldeu Dispensation, she otters the- Mass, " 4 the sacrifice of infinite power ' for the solace of her departed members. Moreover 'she' reveres and -assuages them by- solemn funeral obsequies She yearns . tor their - release from the , purifying - prison' of . purgatory, whence they cannot escape until 4 the last farthing' has been paid." She' yearns to have them wing their happy flight to heaven, and be associated with the angels and tne glorious compaay of the Church Triumphant. Never does -Holy .Church relax her efforts - to assuage the pains and hasten the release of her chiP dren sunering purgation for" their faults. Never while on earth were they loved and served with greater solicitude than now in their painful captivity 'Nothing defiled can enter .the kingdom of God,' .as we learn from the Beloved Apostle. Therefore, some souls notpure enough yet for heaven, suffer a temporary purca^' tion after death. But they are saints. Moreover, they love Gad most ardently, .and- are drawn towards Him with, the most intense, longing.. They are secure n>f salvation, and adore their Saviour more perfectly than ever they had done while .in the flesh. They are holy souls, having- died- in grace and union with God. But they are expiating for. sins that were not to deathor, mayhap, for temporal debts due to grave transgressions, whose guilt, and eternal punishment have been cancelled by the Precious Blood, which has been applied by the Sacrament of Penance. They made a fruitful use of penance," the Sacrament of Reconciliation, ' the second plank after shipwreck,' ■' and purgatory will complete the process, of their purification for the "Beatific Vision However, as < this, paper does not propose to offer proof for the existcnpe*" of a middle- state after deathlet it suffice to quote a passage from St. Paul, in this' connection — ' Every man's work shall be made manifest : for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because' it stall be revealed by a . fire : and the fire shall, try every man's work, of What sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he feath built thereupon, he shall receive ,a reward:. . If any- man's work burn, he shall suffer loss ; but he himself shall be saved, yet- so asby,fire 1 (I. Cor. iii., 113-15). ' * . • <The burial of the dead has ever been regarded as " ' A Sacred' Duty.' THe Old Testament, abounds with passages respecting this duty and" the observance thereof. A few references to the times will .-be interesting. It willbe seen that the peqplet'of God-took care to have their own distinctive cemeteries, and. family burial places The action of the Catholic Church regarding the dead is similar to that of ..the ancient Patriarchs. We. have our- distinct-ive and consecrated . cemeteries, - family vaults, and .tombs. ... , ,' , - _ . ™.2r raljaI ?'- in . obedience to. a Divine command, , left Uvaldea and came to dwell in Chanaan, the future Land of Promise. Now, when "his wife, Sara, died at the age of 127 years, Abraham buried her 'In the. double

cave of the land, that looked towards .Mambre. . . . and the field was; . made - sure to Abraham, a/nd the cave thai was in. it, for a possession to bury,' "by the children" of Hetli * \(ien. xxiii:, i9-#0). Abraham ipplied for burial ground. The Hethites offered him free burial - with; themselves. This . the venerable . patriarch would not-accept ; but he offered, to purchase the field with,. ' the double cave.' So Ephron^tfre" owner of ; the covetod field, put his price' upon the property. '•"And' when Abraham had heard this,- he weighed out the money that Ephron had asked, in. the hearing 'of- the children iof -Heth, four hundred sides of silver of common current money '.. (Gen. xxiii., 16). ..Thus/was . ihe desired ' field made sure to Abraham ' jarid.to his: posterity for a possession ~ to biny '. in 'forever. Wheii Abraham himself 'died in a good old age. and" was gathered to his people,' Isaac and. Ismael, his sons ' buried him in the double cave, . which was situated in the field of Ephron \ . * . over against Mambre 1 (Gen. xxv. 8-9). ~ ' ■' r ■„ - The sacred penman is careful* oto , inform all the" ages of the , future that in r the- -same sepulchre were buried both Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob also, and the " descendants 7of Abraham in general. When the grand „ old Patriarch .Jacob was on":, his-, deathbed he charged his son Joseph and •his, brethren, saying: ' I am - now going . to be gathered to my people ;. bury me with .my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite, over against Mambre in" the land of "Chanaan, which Abraham' bought together with the field of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to bury in' -(Gen; xlix.,-. 29-30). In compliance with this -injunction, • Joseph and brethren made the necessary, arrangements. They embalmed, the* body of their father. They "approached King Pharoah for permission to proceed on the long journey. They made the usual mourning for many days. Finally, they set out from Egypt -with .the precious cas-; ket , for its sepulchre in the land of (Ihanaaa, ' ,So the sons of Jacob did as he commanded n sjg|^!lp|Ss£-' carrying him into the land of Chanaan, they^tmried "-him in the double cave, which "Abraham had/hougbt r (Gen:l»l 1^"13). ''• ;-, .■"- " 'i. . '~- I^,! 1 ■' : ■-£^>'.- How. "religiously the sons of Jacob" JfaM^the 4S&& of their * father respecting his sepulchre^ have his bones rest in Egypt, the his sojourn^ His "choice .by '. excellence -was -the sepule&re -of fathers, Abraham - and Isaac. How affeqti^^^e|ftMt: piety of his sons in conveying his remainsT^^^e^H^ tant field with ' the double caye ' away' in l^P*ian<t^oj^ Chanaan f ' This affecting episode" -is > Very meaningful. The faithful of the Ancient Covenants would have their own burial^ places. Moreover, the field purchased" by Abraham was in the future Land of Promise, whither the descendants-. of Abraham and Isaac and , Jacob "were tp come for possession, after their long' sojourn in-Egypt. -The bones of the Patriarchs had already taken possession of the* land promised by the Lord fa Abraham and his posterity. , . „.„.. Very beautiful and edifying. is the history* of ; . . Tobias, . -,'....• . . during the captivity under the Medes.- Conspicuous among his virtues was his great charity in burying . the dead of his fellow-captives. For this the cruel King Sennacherib, ordered his death and "the confiscation of his goods. -'But T he escaped by- flight and' returned' to ~his home and the pursuit of. his charitable works, when the same monarch had himself suffered a violent, death . at the hands of his own sons. His neighbors remonsstrated with him for the great risk attending his work of piety and mercy in burying the slain of his people. 1 Once already^command was given for thee to. be slain because of this matter, and thou didst scarce escape the sentence of death, and dost thou . again bury the dead ! ' (Tobias 'ii., 8). The sacred penman, goes on to say that the holy and God-fearing Tobias paid no heed to the. warning or. the danger, but carried- off the bodies of them that were , slain, and hid them in.^'his house, and at midnight buried,, them.' .. Now comes the reward for such mercy shown to the dead, even at ihe peril of his life. It is ■ the Angel' ' ; who speaks in approving and consoling, language. 'When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide thy., head by day in thy house, and .bury them by night, I .offered thy pray%r to the Lord. . ": ! And now the Lord' hath sent me to heal thee, and deliver- Sara; thy son's wife,from the aevil ' (Tobias xii., 12-14). St. Raphael then cured Tobias of the su&den blindness, for which his friends reproached him, but which was .pcrmittedby God for his trial and reward. 'Because thou 'wast' acceptable to x God,' assured thel same angel, .'it was necesr sary that temptation should prove" thee." This brief accpynt , of the charity ana\ " mercy of Tobias goes, to sh,ow how acceptable to is ihe pious and reverent burial of the dead. When any of the Jews happened to be stricken down- in the streets

by their - fierce enemies, Tobias ' forthwith leaped from his place at the table, and left his dinner, and came fasting. to ' the' body,' to fetch it away and give it the rights ,of sepulture. ' . His brave and merciful conduct 1 " met the .approval x>t heaven, and merited that an ambassador.should come from on high to applaud his work, and say to him: '.I am the. angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord. . . : Bless ye Him, and sing praises to Him ' (Tob. xii.,' 15-18). When John the " Baptist, the. Forerunner of the Messiah, was beheaded by the command ■ of Herod, ' his< disciples came" aiid,took , the body, and buried it, and came' and told Jesus ' (Matt, xiv., 12). The disciples of the austere and saintly Baptist might have feared the tyrant king and his vengeful court. . A cruel and inhuman - murder - had' been committed. Timid mindswould have been cowered by so foul a n act. Bxit the - disciples of the martyred Precursor braved "the danger and paid their last respects to_their illustrious master. The inspired writer has recorded- their charitable and heroic conduct, "for their glory and, the edification of Juture ages. To borrow the language of St. Mark :— ' They laid his body in a tomb.' No less heroic and loving was the office of two brave men to the lifeless body of Our Lord. • The four Evangelists narrate how Joseph of Arimathea .and Nicodemus came forward and paid the rites of sepulture to their crucified Master. Joseph ' went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. . . . And Nicodemus also came . . . bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen-cloths with the spices, as it is the custom with the Jews to bury.' And the inspired narrative goes on to describe how Joseph and Nicodemus laid the sacred body of their Lord in the rock-hewn monument, which was . near at hand, and wherein no corpse had yet been placed. Finally, . they rolled a great stone to - the door of the sepulchre and went their way, with the testimony that they had done well and religiously to the bleeding body of their beloved Master. St Paul also, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians; fifteenth chapter, testifies : « How that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; -and that He was buried.' Behold the zeal of the holy women, who anxiously expect the earliest dawn to come to the sepulchre in the garden, and anoint . their beloved Saviour with the most precious spices ! Beyond all expectation is the reward of their vigilance and generosity. The risen Redeemer greets them and gives them a message to Peter and the other disciples. How rich the recom-. pense Christ bestowed on his faithful and -devoted followers ! Their hearts were all aglow to honor His entombed body. Nothing but the darkness of night restrained them from the place of sepulture. But the dawning of the day found them on their loving errand undeterred by the fear of the Jews, and filled with the desire of serving their buried Lord. The aspect and the greeting of their risen Master fill them with such joy and exultation' as to- banish all the sadness and sorrow of the Crucifixion. They had sown in tears they now reap in joy., .Never has history, sacred or profane, recorded so blessed a pilgrimage to any tomb In the Apostolic constitutions, there is a most" striking testimony of the respect paid to the faithful departed. The same ancient records prove the be'le2'in purgatory and the practice of praying for those detained therein. ' Assemble in cemeteries, read the sacred books there, chant the hymns in honor of the martyrs and of all the saints, and for your brethren who have died in the- Lord.' Hereinafter follow the remarkable words :. ' And offer the x Eucharist » Gather from this that the very earliest Christians had their own cemeteries , met therein .to .perform religious rites ' in honor of their martyred -dead, and for. the solace of i those in need beyond the grave; and how, finally they offered the adorable sacrifice to assuage and release the -holy souls in. purgatory , Surely the Church of • to-day. is heir to the Church of the Apostles, As of old, so now, the Catholic Church offers the Euoharistic S*£ICI*IIICC« * Who, has .not heard . or. read of the. famous Catacombs of Rome? It has been pur good- fortune to teaverse a. goodly portion of the Catacombs of St. Callistus on the Appi,an Way, which leads by the Quo Vadis Those . wonderful underground passages and chambers and cal- . leries the early Christians excavated for a two-fold purpose. . In the days of the fierce persecutions the faithful used them both as burial places for their dead .and as safe retreats for the celebration of the Divine jnysteries. There on the tombs of the martyrs they offered the Sacrifice, and sang their psalms and hymns for their beloved brethren, who had fallen in sleep in the Lord, - There, also, they performed the

usual obsequies and funeral rites: How immense the expendi tire of tinie and labor upon 1 the hundreds of milesexcavated by those devoted Christians ! The catacombs are vast cities and cemeteries of the dead. Streets and squares and -rock-hewn chambers ate there without number. Has- hot the Count De ' Rossi made the exploration and illustration" of "them the ' great work of his life ? - This monumental work, recalls . the unflinching faith and heroism of the early Christians "during "the ten tremendous persecutions. It shows with what pains they secured honorable and religious sepulture for their heroes in the faith. It ! proves out . to, demonstration their belief in purgatory, ,aad "a practice - exactly corresponding to such beiief. It brings out into. relief the inscriptions which ask the faithful to be mindful, in prayer and Sacrifice, of the departed brethren. Assuredly those early Christians made valiant, battle for the faith of Christ," and for the fcurial and succor of their dear departed. Nor did they give way to unseemly sorrow and weepings, like those devoid of faith- in ; the resurrection. ( They conducted the corpse to its sleeping-place with 'torches and the singing of sacred hymns, with palnVs and, olive- branches, the emblems of triumph over the. l enemies of the immortal soul. The death of .the just 1 they; regarded as a new birth into eternal felicity. For the redeemed and sanctified soul it was a happy passage from the perils of -temporal life- into the security of heavenly bliss Funeral services, prayers, and Masses for the dead were then as rife as now-a-days. ; Very appropriate here is that memorable passage of St. Paul respecting the lifeless body. It furnishes the Reason why the people of God, in the olden Covenant and the new as well, have ever, with so much devotion, committed -their dead to mother earth. It forcibly inculcates the beautiful and consoling doctrine of the resurrection, and confidently mentions" the ' spiritual body ' ivhich shall spring up into "life eternal. •It is sown in corruption, it shall rise in incorruptibn. It is Sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory.- It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in"" power. It is sown in a natural body, it shall rise in a spiritual bo^y. If there is a natural body, there, is also a spiritual , body ' (I. Cor. xv., 42-45). - How clear and forcible the leaching of the Apostle touching the resurrection of -the hist ! Their bodies shall be endowed with the same glorious attributes as those of the risen Saviour, Who isHthe Exemplar and efficient Cause of their resurrection. He is 'the first-fruits ot them that sleep. 1 But the same Apostle makes a distinction respecting the general resurrection. • Behold I tell you a mystery We shall all indeed rise again; ;but we s-hall not all be changed.' The "reprobate shall have no share in the change from 'corruption '~ and dishonor and ! : weakness:' into' the likeness of the r : iseti and glorified body of Jesus Christ. - But they be given immortality only to suffer eternal pun- ■ isnment. ' . . , ~ (To be concluded.)