Preview

The Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1995 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite
The Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite

Funeral services in the 1990’s are more complex that they have ever been before. The modern funeral director must not only be aware of and comply with their own state and local rules and regulations, but also with the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule and a variety of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) rules. Add to this the fact that the so-called “traditional funeral” has become less and less traditional. While the religious aspects still play a major role in the majority of the funerals held in the United States, changes in the attitude of the clergy and the families, changes in funeral home structuring and pricing, and changes in the funeral home facilities and services that they render have caused a great change in the funeral itself. There are several religions that practice funeral rites, however, in this paper I will attempt to compare/contrast the Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite.

Introduction to the Roman Catholic Church Of all the Christian religions in the world, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest, claiming approximately one billion members worldwide. In the United States there are about 55 million members. Roman Catholics believe that since Jesus Christ brought salvation into the world, He was the founder of their Church. They also believe that the Church has preserved the teachings of Christ and that the Holy Spirit guides the Church through its ministry. In regard to funeral rites, the Roman Catholic Church believes that all Catholics should be buried from the Church with a Mass. There is no actual charge for being buried from the Church. The funeral director should be able to guide the family as to the practices if an honorarium is customarily given to the celebrant.
Clergy Notification The practice of notifying the deceased’s clergyman when a death occurs was at one time a common as well as sensible practice. However,



Cited: Curley, Terrance, P. Planning the Catholic Funeral. Liturgical Press, July 2005. Funeral Etiquette. Google.com. 13 April 2008. http://www.mountcastle.net/ funeral.htm#Funeral_Etiquette_. Gambrel, Leslie. Personal Interview. 12 April 2008. Greenberg, Blu. How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household. Simon & Schuster, September 1985. Conservative Judaism. Google.com. 13 April 2008. http://uscj.org/index1.html. Watson, Ron. A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort. Jewish Lights Publishing, New York. November 1995.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mitford writes that embalming has long tradition in America, but it used to be performed at home, and all members of the family had to witness the procedure.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the essay, “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” by English author and civil rights activist Jessica Mitford, she offers a peculiar narrative through her critique of the thoughts surrounding the funeral industry and the issue of death. It is clear her ultimate goal is to share many of the common practices of the funeral industry to her readers, and display how seemingly barbaric and often times senseless they are. Mitford’s purpose in this passage is to convey that if more people actually understood these practices exercised in the funeral industry, they might change, and the mystery of what goes on behind these taboo doors would be out in the open for the general public to understand and acknowledge. Mitford introduces her essay with a discussion…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Morton R100 Handouts 1

    • 4218 Words
    • 13 Pages

    1. Watch “The Undertaking” where this video examines a family who works in the funeral industry as a window into American feelings on death and dying. Then, respond to the following questions: How do funeral rituals describe by the Lynch family show our cultural values about death and dying? How would a sociologist create a research question to systematically evaluate the claims that the Lynch family makes about death and dying? The funeral industry arguably exists to serve micro-level relationships, consoling individuals who have just lost others central to their social existence. How is the funeral industry connected to institutions at the community and national levels? While it seems like the funeral industry is very helpful and necessary, why do you think there is a stigma against it at the society level?…

    • 4218 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Food Rituals at Funeral

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As an aspect of culture, food is a tool of socialization whether it is teaching cultural and socioeconomic mobility through table manners. The type of food we eat, how we prepare the ingredients to make a certain recipe and ultimately how we consume and share it, is very telling of the actual essence of who we are and where we are from.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Andrew Lowe Research Paper

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Victorians are known for their fascination with death. During the Victorian era (1837-1901) they took death very seriously, no expense was spared when arranging a proper funeral. During this time most American’s lives became restricted to the family. As the emotional focus of people narrowed to the immediate family, the significance of the final act expanded.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Funeral Planning

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages

    You sit down with your funeral director and ask the questions you need clarification on, share the stories, and explore the many options available to you. In that way you will lead them all to the most appropriate service for your loved one, your faith, and your budget.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Only baptized persons have a claim to Christian burial and the rites of the Church cannot…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We live in a death-defying, death-denying society where the inevitable outcome is frequently prolonged through heroic measures and medicine. However, death is a very natural part of the circle of life. Through different genres of literature, death is often romanticized, challenging society's view of death. Through aspects of religion, love, and grief, death symbolizes the revival of life. In the non-fiction work, Stiff: Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach explores death and the human body and comments on the physical, religious, and social responses of surgeons, students, and experts to cadavers. Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, ponders the spirituality and truth about the aftermath of death, embodied in Hamlet’s father’s ghost and Yorick’s skull.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Funeral Directors Essay

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Right after being informed concerning a certain death, funeral directors must ensure that dead person's body is picked up and brought to his residence. They then assist the family of the dead person by offering them with assistance and advice with the funeral planning. Because memorials do not happen all the time, the help given by funeral directors in dealing with paperwork…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people don’t think about their funeral ceremony or what they want it to be like. Death is a situation that is faced all over the world every single day. It is grieved and life is celebrated in many shapes and forms. Death to the Igbo people can result in a beautiful, vibrant celebration or a ceremony or recognition at all. Burial rites and traditions of the Igbo people are created around how the person has lived their life, roles of the family, and the ceremony.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Funeral Floral Marketing

    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In addition to being a more savvy shopper, today's funeral home customer has also been influenced by our mourning-avoiding, efficiency-based culture. To paraphrase these social influences, "I don't want to hurt and the funeral makes me acknowledge pain. Besides, faster is betterÓ (this mentality is reflected in the increased rates of direct cremation.) Many, though certainly not all, primary survivor's lack an understanding of the value of ritual and minimize their need to mourn the…

    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is conducted by the priest of the deceased family, attended by the family members and friends. Depending…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the first page of the essay, it is said that that practice of embalming and primping a corpse for its burial has become so “universally employed in the United States” that it is often carried out without any needed approval or consultation from the corpse (pre-death of course), or family. This means that it is just assumed that the family of Mr. Body would, without question, want a…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Descriptive Essays

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    * Details of the funeral service (public or private); if public, date, time, and location of service…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Muslim Death Rites

    • 320 Words
    • 3 Pages

    4/12/07 Key Question: What do Muslim funerals reveal about the Islamic beliefs regarding life after death? Learning objectives: • To understand what takes place during a Muslim funeral service. • To identify the key Muslim beliefs expressed during a funeral service.…

    • 320 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays