I attended my first Catholic funeral today and I was wondering what the different parts of the service convey?

Here’s a description of a Catholic funeral mass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_funeral

Thank you. I looked on the web. But I was more interested in personal feelings and experiences. It touched me more than I expected.

What I remember from my limited experience as a bridesmaid at Catholic weddings were the mysterious kneeling and rising. Someone rang a bell…we knelt.

There is a very clear order and reason to the Mass. I found it interesting.

@Adirondackwannabe I was working on a long complicated answer; because this is a subject that interests me, but it interesting that you found it moving, surprisingly moving, apparently.

I won’t go into my “religious” beliefs, for several reasons, including that they are almost entirely defined by what I don’t believe, and that is almost everything, in terms of the doctrine, dogma and theology of all world religions, that they are kind of idiosyncratic and because they personal… but, one of my two best friends, one is a gay lapsed Catholic and the other an atheist… (run on sentence alert!) ... my atheist friend told me that on her last trip to Europe, with her family, she got a chance, just a matter of pure luck, to visit Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris when a mass was actually being performed, I would died for that, well, maybe not, but my atheist friend found the whole thing very moving in a way that really surprised her too.

LOL. That is, apparently, my not long complicated answer. I’m sure you can’t wait for my actual long, complicated answer.

I am able to recite the whole mass from memory. Anything in particular that you’re wanting to know?

I loved everything about the latin mass. I knew the translations into english but I think it did not matter, it was more the lilt and movement and smell and feel of the mass that meant something, not necessarily the words. The english mass of today does not mean much to me. It seems too similar to any other generic church service.

But to directly answer your question, if you can get your hands on a “daily missile” they usually explain the meanings of the different segments of the mass. I am surprised Wiki doesn’t have an explanation. If you can’t find one, let me know, I have my mother’s old missile somewhere, I will hunt for it.

@Adirondackwannabe This is a good explantion of the meaning and significance of different parts of the Catholic mass. Whether or not you are religious it has some beautiful elements to it. There is a lot of comfort in the rituals, strangely, even if you don’t believe in all of it. I guess there is for me because I was brought up in it. I’m glad you found it touching and meaningful.

@Adirondackwannabe I’m glad you asked this, as I have also been fascinated and moved by Catholic rituals. I’ve not attended a funeral, but I have visited Catholic mass before and found it incredibly calming, beautifully moving, and just interesting in general.