Masses for the Dead
Date: January 6, 2024
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: I have questions about Masses for the dead. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) says: “380. Among the Masses for the Dead, the Funeral Mass holds first place. It may be celebrated on any day except for Solemnities that are Holydays of Obligation, Thursday of Holy Week (Holy Thursday), the Paschal Triduum, and the Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Easter, with due regard also for all the other requirements of the norm of the law. 381. A Mass for the Dead, on receiving the news of a death, for the final burial, or the first anniversary, may be celebrated even on days within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), on days when an Obligatory Memorial occurs, and on weekdays other than Ash Wednesday or the weekdays of Holy Week. Other Masses for the Dead or ‘daily’ Masses, may be celebrated on weekdays in Ordinary Time on which Optional Memorials occur or when the Office is of the weekday, provided such Masses are actually applied for the dead.” What is the difference between the funeral Mass (380) and the Mass for the final burial (381)? There are texts for the funeral Mass, but none for the Mass for the final burial, so what Mass formulary should be used for that? Also, what does this mean: “provided such Masses are actually applied for the dead”? -- O.K., Potomac, Maryland
Answer: The norms in the GIRM attempt to cover, albeit in a general way, customs that are specific to a relatively wide cultural swath without being universal. This is especially true of customs surrounding such things as weddings, funerals and burial practices as these are often associated with deeply ingrained social mores.
In countries such as the United States deferred burials or even double burials are not common, and hence, there would be less experience of a Mass of final burial.
However, in some other cultures, for example, in some parts of Africa, the definitive burial of immigrants who pass away in the burgeoning cities is sometimes deferred, or considered as temporary, until the deceased can be transferred to the village of origin to be definitively buried with the presence of the whole family. In some cases, this can take months or longer.
In the U.S. something similar could happen if someone had been buried abroad and the body was later transferred to a final resting place nearer home. This could happen, for example, to military personnel whose remains were found after several years of being classed as missing in action or had fallen in wars in places where no adequate military cemetery was available.
Another situation could be due to the transfer of cremated remains from one resting place to another.
Although, as our reader points out, there is no specific formula for a final burial, I would say that the funeral Mass formula most appropriate to the circumstances could be chosen.
The rule in No. 381 specifying that Masses be applied to the dead repeats the norms first articulated in 1975.
At this time, many priests were probably still familiar with a situation once common in pre Vatican II times: the “Daily Mass for the Dead.” Many priests customarily celebrated this Mass, in black vestments, out of devotion toward the souls in purgatory. Some, somewhat cynically, claim that the fact that this Mass was briefer might also have been a motivation.
After the reform, there was a general desire on the part of the legislator to foster the habitual celebration of the regular cycles of the general liturgical calendar and to discourage an excess of devotional celebrations.
The expression “provided such Masses are actually applied for the dead” can thus be interpreted to mean that the formulas for “Masses for the Dead” may only be celebrated for a specific deceased person or persons, usually on an anniversary or for some other justified reason such as the presence of family members. They may not be used on a daily basis just out of devotion.
Note, the celebration of the Mass formula for the dead is distinct from the intention of the Mass. A priest can offer a Mass for the repose of the soul of a deceased person even if the prayer formulas of the Mass are those of a saint’s memorial, a feast day or a Sunday.
Finally, in general terms, the special intercessions which name a deceased person within the Eucharistic Prayer should only be used on those occasions when one of the formulas for Masses for the Dead are permitted.
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