• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Bishop Bans Eulogies

Fr. David Friel · August 25, 2013

NYONE INVOLVED IN SACRED MUSIC, like any member of the clergy, is familiar with the problems surrounding eulogies. The funeral rite makes allowance for “words of remembrance” to be offered, but the approach taken on a practical level differs widely among pastors and parishes and dioceses.

What are some of the problems? They can be too long, too personal, or too mumbled. They can be sappy, disedifying, or even blasphemous. They often become more a personal test of strength than an integral part of the sacrifice being offered. They rarely include anything prayerful or related to faith, and there is no guarantee that the theological underpinnings of the reflection will be orthodox.

Just this month, Bishop Michael Smith has issued new guidelines concerning what is permissible in the Diocese of Meath. In his statement (available here), he expresses his earnest desire to uphold “the dignity and intent of the funeral liturgy, often in difficult circumstances.” Although the focus of the statement surrounds “panegyrics and eulogies,” the bishop ventures into some other aspects of the funeral Mass, including sacred music. He writes: “Secular songs, poems and texts devoid of a Christian content are out of place in the Funeral Liturgy.”

Bishop Smith is wise to recognize the potential troubles that eulogies can cause. He is even wiser, I believe, to notice that funeral music really matters. If one is truly concerned about preserving “the dignity and intent of the funeral liturgy,” one must account for the music that is sung. Speaking about the funeral rites, the bishop rightly observes, “A dumbing down of their integrity does no service to the faith.”

The propers for the funeral Mass are quite beautiful, including those which have become available in English in recent years. Is the intrinsic “dignity and intent of the funeral liturgy” well served by Be Not Afraid, Prayer of St. Francis, On Eagles’ Wings, and How Great Thou Art? It would be difficult to argue that these and other songs encourage prayer for the deceased in the same way as Lux Aeterna. Any “dumbing down” of our sacred music—even if it was Josephine’s favorite song—is deleterious to the integrity of the funeral Mass.

I am generally disposed to think that diocesan directives are rather ineffective. In this particular case, however, I am pleased and grateful to see Bishop Smith’s new directive, since it provides pastors with authority higher than their own by which to eliminate eulogies that would be more appropriate to the funeral luncheon.

Would a similar statement from your diocesan Ordinary be useful?

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Far from dreading an encounter with the Iroquois, Fr. Garnier often told us he would be quite content to fall into their hands and remain their prisoner if—while they were torturing him—he at least had a chance of instructing them as long as his torments lasted. If they allowed him to live, it would afford him a golden opportunity to work for their conversion, which was now impossible, since the gateway to their country was closed as long as they were our enemies.

— Father Ragueneau (Jesuit Relations)

Recent Posts

  • Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
  • Apply Right Now! • Sacred Music Symposium
  • Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
  • PDF Download • Belgian Book of Gregorian Accompaniments (Official Edition)
  • Don’t You Agree About These?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.