The Committal Service
Following the Funeral Mass, the body is brought to its final resting place. The bereaved continue to accompany the deceased on his or her final journey. The body is brought to the cemetery and committed to a place of rest to await the Lord’s call to resurrection.
The Catholic cemetery receives the earthly human remains of the baptized and accepts responsibility in the name of the whole church community to care for the burial site and offer prayerful intercession for all those deceased within the cemetery.
Following the conclusion of the church’s funeral rites, a new relationship begins for the bereaved with both the deceased and the cemetery where the deceased has been interred.
The cemetery is most often the best place where the bereaved are invited to hold their beloved dead in prayerful remembrance. Often bringing floral tributes on special days in the life of the deceased or religious/secular holidays, family members are always encouraged to primarily visit the cemetery to hold their beloved deceased in prayerful memory.
At the same time, the church encourages the faithful to use the other Corporal Works of Mercy, i.e. feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc. as excellent ways in which to honor and remember their beloved dead.