Thank you for inviting our parish to celebrate this Mass in honor of your loved one. It is our privilege and honor to serve you. Once contact has been made with funeral line staff, the priest will be contacted and a date and time for Mass will be confirmed. Our bereavement minister will then arrange to meet with the family to discuss what is needed to prepare for the funeral Mass.
For a Catholic funeral Mass, the following selections are needed:
- 1 reading from the Old Testament (During the Easter season, a New Testament reading may be chosen. Easter runs from Easter Sunday through Pentecost.)
- 1 Responsorial Psalm to be sung by the cantor and chosen by the music director to coordinate with the first reading.
- 1 reading from the New Testament
- 1 Gospel reading: from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John (the priest can choose this, if preferred)
- 4 Hymns: 1 opening hymn, 1 hymn during Preparation of Gifts (bread & wine), 1 Communion hymn, 1 closing hymn.
The readings are chosen from the USCCB list for Masses for the Dead. If you wish to review the possible readings and additional information about hymn selection for a funeral mass review the links below.
First Reading
Psalm
Second Reading
Gospel
Music
Additional Decisions
- Lectors - Lectors are needed to read the 1st Reading, 2nd Reading and the Intercessions. We know this is a difficult time for you, your friends and family, and we encourage you to allow us to minister to you. However, if you have family members or friends who read at mass in their home church, they are welcome to read at the funeral. We ask readers to arrive 15 minutes before Mass so the bereavement minister may go over instructions to eliminate confusion during Mass. Please give the first names of your readers to the bereavement minister no later than 2 days before the funeral. If there are no relatives or friends who would like to read, the bereavement will be happy to choose a volunteer from the parish who is trained for this ministry.
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion - The bereavement team will provide the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for the mass. This will be coordinated by the bereavement minister.
- Presentation of the Gifts - The family is welcome to choose family members or friends for the presentation of the gifts of bread and wine. Only 2 people are needed for the gifts. Please give the bereavement minister the first names of those chosen no later than 2 days before the Mass.
- Words of Remembrance for the deceased are optional and may be shared prior to the mass. We have a limit of one speaker. They may speak for 2-3 minutes. The Words of Remembrance need to be to the bereavement minister 2 days before the Mass for review.
- Pictures of the deceased and flowers may be present during the Mass in the Gathering Space. Please contact the bereavement minister for more details regarding placement.
- A $250 stipend is kindly requested. This may be paid through your funeral home. This money is used to pay music director, and cantor for their services, as well as for the maintenance of our church.
- Background information - Please provide the bereavement minister with some background information about your loved one. Share some thoughts and anything special and memorable about your relative or friend. This will be shared with the priest to help him as he prepares the homily and prayers for the deceased and your family.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our staff members. We are honored to help you during this difficult time. Please be assured of the prayers and support of our staff and entire parish community.
May God bless you and fill you with peace!
Funeral Links
Funeral Main Site
Order of a Mass of Christian Burial
Luncheon
Funeral Visitation