Today was my first opportunity to celebrate a funeral Mass as a priest. Even as a deacon, who could have presided over a funeral outside of Mass, I never had the chance to do it.
It was a little bit intimidating. We found out about the person's death on Monday while the pastor was away and I ended up scheduling everything for this funeral (and another one). I had never met the man who died and haven't even had the chance to meet much of his family in the parish.
Going into the liturgy, I made a point of going over the ritual in the books. There is not that much added to the Mass, but you have to know when everything happens.
I think the scariest part for me was trying to think of what to say to the family. I decided to acknowledge that, and then spoke about how being members of the Body of Christ transcends the fact that we don't know each other and the fact that their loved one had died. We prayed for him and everything seemed to go well.
I decided to wear my cassock to the cemetery. I'm not a huge fan of wearing a suit (especially in this heat) but the simple clerical shirt and black pants look was just a little casual. I think the cassock (with an old stole) shows the solemnity of what we're doing and serves as a reminder that all of the things we do when a loved one dies are part of the prayer of the Church.
It was a powerful experience to minister to people during such a tough time. It reminded me of my experience last fall when my grandmother died. When you hear the prayers and words of the liturgy in that situation, you can really see how the Church makes Christ present in every part of our lives.
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