This week's Mercy Monday focused on burying the dead

#MercyMonday - Bury the Dead

Communications • Mon, Oct 31 2016 a

• #MercyMonday - Bury the Dead

The fourth Corporal Work of Mercy is to Bury the Dead. For Christians, burying the dead is an expression of faith. It includes a dignified burial regardless of economic means, praying for the repose of the souls, and ministering to the grieving. Catholic Cemeteries serve as an extention of our Catholic Church Community by offering a reverent, sacred ground of prayer and preparation for eternal life.

Through our prayers and actions during these times we show our respect for life, which is always a gift from God, and comfort to those who mourn.

• Send a card to someone who has recently lost a loved one.  Make your own card and use some of these prayers.
• Visit the cemetery and pray for those you have lost.
• Spend time planning your own funeral mass, read through the Order of Christian Funerals and find our hope in the Resurrection.
• be faithful about attending wakes/visitation;
• support or volunteer at a hospice;
• participate in a bereavement ministry;
• spend time with widows and widowers;
• take friends and relatives to visit the cemetery;
• support ministries that offer free Christian burials to those unable to afford one;
• offer daily prayers for those with terminal illnesses and for those who have died;

Almighty and ever-living God,
Remember the mercy with which you graced your servants in life.
Recieve them into the mansions of the saints. Look also with favor on those who mourn and comfort them in their loss. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.