Today I went to the funeral of my co-worker/friend's mum. I had never met her, in fact, to be truthful, I'd rarely spoken to my friend of her mum, other than to inquire about her failing health on the rare occasion, when the busy-ness of our jobs allowed.
However, I was truly blessed to attend this funeral. It was in a very old, historic catholic church in downtown Auckland. A church with a lot of history in this city. My friend's mum, Anne, was born just meters from the church and at one month of age was brought to the church by her father to be baptised into the Catholic faith. Now 2 weeks short of her 75th birthday she was being blessed & celebrated in the same church in which she'd been raised, married, and watched her own children wed. What a rich history of faith, commitment and grace!
It was so fascinating listening to her life's story. You can learn a lot about a person at their funeral! And consequently, I learned alot about my friend.
As far as the service went, that was a blessing too! I'd never attended a Catholic funeral before and found it deeply moving and very symbolic. There were five priests who oversaw the service and they explained pretty much everything they were doing. I really liked the symbolic rituals and their meanings. I also liked the obvious reverence and respect for God, the church and the ceremony, something that is often lacking in our own contemporary services as we strive to be so accommodating to everyone and laid back to the point, sometimes, I feel, of disrespect and irreverence. Even though some rituals, readings, etc, may seem boring or irrelevant, I think that if you know the meaning behind the rituals and you have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His Son, then the structures, liturgies, rituals, symbols, sayings, everything, means so much more.
Anyway, it was a good service. I'm blessed to have attended. I'm blessed to have seen how other denominations celebrate the lives of their loved ones upon death. I'm blessed to know that we have a hope and an eternal future awaiting us: a belief that is shared by those who love the Lord and call upon His name.
However, I was truly blessed to attend this funeral. It was in a very old, historic catholic church in downtown Auckland. A church with a lot of history in this city. My friend's mum, Anne, was born just meters from the church and at one month of age was brought to the church by her father to be baptised into the Catholic faith. Now 2 weeks short of her 75th birthday she was being blessed & celebrated in the same church in which she'd been raised, married, and watched her own children wed. What a rich history of faith, commitment and grace!
It was so fascinating listening to her life's story. You can learn a lot about a person at their funeral! And consequently, I learned alot about my friend.
As far as the service went, that was a blessing too! I'd never attended a Catholic funeral before and found it deeply moving and very symbolic. There were five priests who oversaw the service and they explained pretty much everything they were doing. I really liked the symbolic rituals and their meanings. I also liked the obvious reverence and respect for God, the church and the ceremony, something that is often lacking in our own contemporary services as we strive to be so accommodating to everyone and laid back to the point, sometimes, I feel, of disrespect and irreverence. Even though some rituals, readings, etc, may seem boring or irrelevant, I think that if you know the meaning behind the rituals and you have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His Son, then the structures, liturgies, rituals, symbols, sayings, everything, means so much more.Anyway, it was a good service. I'm blessed to have attended. I'm blessed to have seen how other denominations celebrate the lives of their loved ones upon death. I'm blessed to know that we have a hope and an eternal future awaiting us: a belief that is shared by those who love the Lord and call upon His name.
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