"The tears were many, and the faith is strong."

A very good, and very touching, article about Fr. Neuhaus' death and burial.

It is finished

"Then the soft thud of the dirt and mud upon his casket, deposited from above first by his relatives, then by his friends. We don't do that in Canada very often anymore; the usual practice is to depart the graveside with the casket in place over the grave, but not buried. I am not sure that's a good idea. There is something about looking down into the grave, hearing that soft thud. We avoid it, I suppose, because looking down those six feet gives us a sobering glimpse of eternity, or those soft thuds can be like hammer blows upon a grieving heart. Yet it is a reminder that there is nothing to come back to. It is finished."

I agree. The ceremonies are for the Church and the people. While we need to pray for the person who has died, so much of what we do after the death of a loved one is for us, and is very important...