The Catholic Church, since the time of the first Christians, has always surrounded the dead with an atmosphere of sacred respect. This and the funeral honors that have always been taxed on them allow them to speak of a certain cult of the deceased: worship not in the strict theological sense, but understood as a broad sacred honor and respect for the deceased by those who have faith in the resurrection of the flesh and in future life.
Christianity in its first centuries did not reject worship for the deceased of
ancient civilizations, but consolidated it, prior purification, giving it its
true transcendent meaning, in the light
of the knowledge of the immortality of the soul and the dogma of the
resurrection; since the body which
during life is "temple of the HolySpirit"and"member of
Christ" (1 Cor 6:15-9) and whose ultimate destiny is spiritual
transformation in the resurrection has always been, in the eyes of Christians,
as worthy of respect and veneration as the most holy things.
This respect has been expressed, first of all,
in the very way of burying the corpses. We see, in fact, that in imitation of
what they did with Lord Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and the pious women, the
corpses were often washed, anointed, wrapped in bandages impregnated in scents,
and thus carefully placed in the tomb.
In the minutes of the martyrdom of St.
Pancracio it is said that the holy martyr was buried "after being anointed
with perfumes and wrapped in delicious canvases"; and the body of Saint Cecilia appeared in 1599, when the cypress ark that enclosed her was opened,
dressed in delicious clothes.
But not only is this careful preparation of the
corpse a sign of the piety and worship professed by Christians to the deceased,
but also material burial is an eloquent expression of these same feelings. This
is especially clear in the veneration from the time of the first early Christians was professed towards the tombs: flowers were scattered on
them and freed from perfumes on the graves of loved ones.
In the first half of the second century, after
having some concessions and donations, Christians began to bury their dead
underground. And so, began the catacombs. Many of them were excavated and
expanded around the tombs of families whose newly converted owners did not
reserve them only for their own, but opened them to their brethren in the
faith.
As time went on, the burial areas widened,
sometimes at the initiative of the Church itself. It is typical of the
catacombs of Saint Calixto: The Church directly assumed its administration and
organization, on a community basis.
With the edict of Milan,promulgated by
emperors Constantine and Licinius in
February 313,Christians ceased to suffer
persecution. They could profess their faith freely, build places of worship and
churches inside and outside the city walls, and buy lots of land without danger
of being confiscated.
However, the catacombs continued to function as
regular cemeteries until the beginning of the 5thcentury, when the Church
reburied exclusively on the surface and in the basilicas dedicated to important
martyrs.
But the veneration of the faithful focused in a
particular way on the tombs of the martyrs; it was actually around them that
the worship of the saints was born. However, this very special worship of
martyrs did not suppress the professed veneration of the dead in general.
Rather, it could be said that, somehow, it was enhanced.
Indeed: in the minds of the early Christians,
the martyr, the victim of his unwavering fidelity to Christ, was part of the
ranks of God's friends, whose friends of God beatific vision he enjoyed from
the very moment of his death: what better protectors than these friends of God?
The faithful understood this and always had as
a very high honor to rest after their death near the body of some of these
martyrs, fact that received the name of tomb ad sanctos.
For their part, the living was also convinced
that no tribute to their deceased could be equated to burying them sheltered
from the protection of martyrs.
They considered that this ensured not only the
inviolability of the tomb and the guarantee of the rest of the deceased, but
also a greater and more effective intercession and help of the saint.
This is how the basilicas and churches
generally became true cemeteries,which soon forced the ecclesiastical
authorities to put a limit on the burials in them.
Funerals
and Burials
But this did not affect the feeling of deep respect and veneration that the Church professed and continued to profess to her deceased children.
Hence, despite the prohibitions she was forced
to avoid abuse, she remained steadfast in her will to honor them. And so it was
established that, before being buried, the corpse should be brought to the
Church and, placed before the altar, the Holy Mass was celebrated in his
suffrage.
This practice, already almost common towards
the end of the 4th century and of which St. Augustine gives us a clear
testimony in recounting the funerals of his mother Saint Monica in his
Confessions, has remained to this day.
St Augustine also explained to the Christians
of his day how external honors would not bring any benefit or honor to the dead
if they were not accompanied by the spiritual honors of prayer: "Without
these prayers, inspired by faith and piety towards the deceased, I believe that
it would be of no use to their souls if their bodies deprived of life were
placed in a holy place. If so, let us convince ourselves that we can only favor
the deceased if we offer for them the sacrifice of the altar, prayer
oralms" (Decura pro mortuis gerenda, 3 and 4).
Understanding it this way, the Church, who always had the concern to give dignified burial to the corpses of her children, toasted to honor them the best of their spiritual deposits. Depositary of christ's redeeming merits, he wanted to apply them to his deceased, taking into practice offering on days on their graves what he so beautifully called St. Augustine sacrificium pretii nostri,the sacrifice of our rescue.
The Deceased in the Liturgy.
On the other hand, since the 3rd century it is
common to all liturgies to remember the deceased. That is, in addition to some
special Masses offered by them next to the tombs, in all the other Eucharistic
synaxis memory moment of the deceased was made, as is still done. This same
spirit of affection and tenderness encourages all prayers and ceremonies of the
wonderful rite of the exequias.
Today the Church recalls in a special way her deceased children during the month of November, in which the "Commemoration of all the Faithful Dead"stand out, on November 2nd,especially dedicated to her remembrance and suffrage for their souls; and the"Feast of All Saints", on the 1st of the month, which celebrates the arrival in heaven of all those saints who, without having acquired fame for their holiness in this life, reached the eternal prize, among which are the vast majority of the first Christians.
May all our faithful departed brothers and
sisters especially those who have died of coronavirus (COVID-19) rest in peace.
Amen.
Robert., NSINGA
