Masses of Christian Burial
Date: August 24, 2025
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: If a Catholic hasn’t been to Mass or confession for several if not many years, is there some benefit to this person to have a Mass of Christian Burial after death? Also, for a practicing Catholic who has attended Mass regularly and gone to confession when needed, would it be wrong if this person decided in advance not to have a Mass of Christian Burial after death? — T.B., Courtenay, British Columbia
Answer: We have here two, almost opposite, situations.
The first regards situations in which a baptized Catholic might be denied a Mass of Christian Burial. This is a public act of the Church in which she intercedes for the deceased by name. This Mass uses the formulas found in the Roman Missal and the ritual for funerals. Some of these formulas may be used even if the deceased's body is not present.
Because of the public nature of the Church's liturgical intercession for a departed soul, there are some specific cases in which canon law requires the denial of a Mass of Christian Burial. Canons 1184-1185 say:
"Canon 1184 §1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals:
“1/ notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics;
“2/ those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith;
“3/ other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.
"§2. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed.
"Canon 1185. Any funeral Mass must also be denied a person who is excluded from ecclesiastical funerals."
In fact, these strictures are rarely applied. In part, this is because many sinners do show signs of repentance before death. Also, God’s mercy endures forever, and it is practically impossible to know a person’s final inner situation before the Almighty. As the old proverb says: “From the saddle to the ground, pardon sought, and pardon found.”
The above canons are also open to some interpretation. In No. 1184 §1 “notorious” would mean publicly known. Therefore, someone who had abandoned the faith and joined some other group would be denied a funeral; someone who harbored private doubts or disagreements would not.
Cases of those who choose cremation for reasons contrary to the faith are extremely rare and are hard to prove.
There might be some modern situations, however; for example, a person who, without formally abandoning the Church, dabbled in esoteric doctrines that propose reincarnation. If cremation were expressly chosen to underline this belief, there might be a case for denial of the funeral.
The most difficult situations to interpret are those in No. 1184 §1.3. Many canonists say that for denial of a funeral the person must be notoriously known to be living in a state of grave sin in such a way that holding a Church funeral would cause scandal.
In Italy for example, certain leading members of criminal organizations, convicted and subject to life imprisonment for causing numerous deaths of innocent people, were denied public funerals to prevent any exaltation or demonstration of power by these organizations.
Note that this does not imply any judgment by the Church regarding the state of these person’s souls. They may have repented of their sins and died in God’s forgiveness. The denial of the funeral is due to the public nature of the funeral and the danger of scandal.
Given the above, we can say that a funeral Mass can be celebrated for most Catholics. Even if a Catholic has not practiced for many years, the Church may still intercede for the repose of that person’s immortal soul.
Something similar can be said for other situations of habitual sinfulness in the private sphere, and usually the denial of a Mass of Christian Burial would normally be a rarity.
Hence, people in irregular marriages and suicides should not usually be denied a funeral. In such cases denial of the funeral is more likely than not to be counterproductive and cause unnecessary misunderstanding and bitterness. The Church intercedes for the soul and leaves final judgment to God.
The second situation is probably somewhat rarer. Would a practicing Catholic do wrong if he made provisions to exclude the celebration of a Mass of Christian Burial after death?
It is to be supposed that a Catholic would desire to receive the Church’s public intercession for his or her soul after death, which would be in line with the way they lived their lives. However, there is no canonical obligation to request this Mass and therefore it is difficult to think that they would be at fault.
There would be fault only in the unlikely case that a person refused a funeral to explicitly deny or reject some aspect of Catholic doctrine. For example, to reject the doctrine regarding the efficacy of praying for the deceased. In such a case the person’s prior disposition would be a spiritual fault.
There are probably many reasons why a practicing Catholic might decide against the Mass of Christian Burial. For example, that person may have many close relatives who are non-Catholics, or who are estranged from the Church, or who are unable to receive Communion, and hence, might find it difficult to be present at Mass. In such situations the person might foresee a simpler funeral service that avoids possible conflicts.
The person might have economic reasons and wishes to reduce the inevitable costs of a funeral to a minimum. The Mass itself has little to no expense attached, but the costs of the casket and moving the body can generate extra expenses and a person may wish to avoid placing extra burdens on the family.
Even if no Mass of Christian Burial takes place, other forms of the Funeral Mass, in which there is public intercession for the deceased, but without the presence of the body, can still be celebrated. This can be at the request of the deceased, or at the request of the relatives.
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