I’m excited you’re recording for SHE! Such a good program. Being new to a parish/area and being able to jump into their program was the hugest blessing for both my husband and I. Actually, I think our parish was the one begging them to do a women’s program so we just started season 2 and it’s so, so good. Im in awe that our little town in rural South Dakota draws between 30-50 women each week for this.
Absolutely lovely, inspiring, comforting piece on funerals. Just the grace I needed right now. God bless you and your family, Emily, and may He return you quickly to better health, especially as you continue to step out of your comfort zone into the work He has set before you.
As an Eastern Catholic priest, I am not familiar with a lot of Roman Catholic pieties or rituals, but I'll dump a couple of my thoughts anyway. In the Eastern Rite of Christian Burial, we constantly pray for the rest and repose of the deceased but also pray for the remission of their sins. (By the way, I am writing this as I am getting ready to have our first All Souls Saturday; one before the beginning of the Great Fast, 3 during Lent and one just before Pentecost. We read the names of all our deceased loved ones in the context of the Liturgy.) If the family has a viewing (which is becoming more rare these days), we have a prayer service at the funeral home where we pray for the same things: rest where all the saints and the just repose as well as the remission of their sins. Our final prayer is that He make the memory of the deceased be eternal, which is an Eastern concept that is too long to go into here. Even though it is a piety, we cannot know with certainty about where the souls of the deceased "go" after death, and we leave that in God's hands. We just know the soul has departed from the body, to be rejoined at the Second Coming of Christ.
Also, because of the Communion of Saints, we believe that the Saints in Heaven, the living on Earth and the souls in Hades all intercede to some degree with each other. I "talk" to my deceased parents much of the time for any guidance they can give and believe that they, to some unknown degree, know what is going on with me and my siblings. So, even if we don't know a lot of this stuff for sure, we do a lot of this and hope God's in there somewhere.
Oh, so even if the deceased is someone who wasn't the nicest person to ever live, we pray that, however much we can be saved after our decease, that it can happen somehow. Visitations should be open to anyone who wants to "pay their respects" and we just thank them. If they don't stay for the Parastas and or Panachida (two of the services done at the house or funeral home), that is their loss.
I would be hugely interested in the documentary Emily. We adopted our two children 15 years ago, and sense that perhaps reconnecting with birth Mam might be in the air….
I’m excited you’re recording for SHE! Such a good program. Being new to a parish/area and being able to jump into their program was the hugest blessing for both my husband and I. Actually, I think our parish was the one begging them to do a women’s program so we just started season 2 and it’s so, so good. Im in awe that our little town in rural South Dakota draws between 30-50 women each week for this.
Prayers for your healing and a peaceful time recording your talks.
Absolutely lovely, inspiring, comforting piece on funerals. Just the grace I needed right now. God bless you and your family, Emily, and may He return you quickly to better health, especially as you continue to step out of your comfort zone into the work He has set before you.
As an Eastern Catholic priest, I am not familiar with a lot of Roman Catholic pieties or rituals, but I'll dump a couple of my thoughts anyway. In the Eastern Rite of Christian Burial, we constantly pray for the rest and repose of the deceased but also pray for the remission of their sins. (By the way, I am writing this as I am getting ready to have our first All Souls Saturday; one before the beginning of the Great Fast, 3 during Lent and one just before Pentecost. We read the names of all our deceased loved ones in the context of the Liturgy.) If the family has a viewing (which is becoming more rare these days), we have a prayer service at the funeral home where we pray for the same things: rest where all the saints and the just repose as well as the remission of their sins. Our final prayer is that He make the memory of the deceased be eternal, which is an Eastern concept that is too long to go into here. Even though it is a piety, we cannot know with certainty about where the souls of the deceased "go" after death, and we leave that in God's hands. We just know the soul has departed from the body, to be rejoined at the Second Coming of Christ.
Also, because of the Communion of Saints, we believe that the Saints in Heaven, the living on Earth and the souls in Hades all intercede to some degree with each other. I "talk" to my deceased parents much of the time for any guidance they can give and believe that they, to some unknown degree, know what is going on with me and my siblings. So, even if we don't know a lot of this stuff for sure, we do a lot of this and hope God's in there somewhere.
Oh, so even if the deceased is someone who wasn't the nicest person to ever live, we pray that, however much we can be saved after our decease, that it can happen somehow. Visitations should be open to anyone who wants to "pay their respects" and we just thank them. If they don't stay for the Parastas and or Panachida (two of the services done at the house or funeral home), that is their loss.
Wow this documentary looks stunning. Please share when it's available for streaming/purchase, would love to see and support!
I NEED to know the name of that beautiful song on their film trailer🤩
I would be hugely interested in the documentary Emily. We adopted our two children 15 years ago, and sense that perhaps reconnecting with birth Mam might be in the air….
Safe travels to Houston! Let a local know if you need recommendations. :)