The psalmist’s prayer this Sunday serves as a suitable plea for anyone facing their own death of that of a loved one: “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.” Also facing people at such a time are decisions concerning the final disposition of the body. The Benedictines of St. Joseph Abbey in St. Benedict, Louisiana want to offer their handcrafted caskets to the public and sued in federal court for the right to do so.

Last year the monks had asked a federal judge in New Orleans to overturn a Louisiana law allowing only licensed funeral homes to sell caskets to the public. Several weeks ago, the court agreed.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval of the Eastern District of Louisiana found no rational relationship between the prohibition on coffin sales and the public "health and safety" concerns that were advanced to justify it. "It appears that the sole reason for these laws is the economic protection of the funeral industry,” Duval said in striking down the law.

At stake, the monks had argued, was the their ability to engage in free enterprise through the sale of the caskets, which range in price from $1,500 to $2,000 but which are considerably less expensive than many of those sold to bereaved families by funeral home operators.

The monks have made the coffins for decades to bury brother members of their community, but public interest in the caskets began in the early 1990s and has grown over the years. At least three other monasteries in the U.S.--St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana; New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, Iowa; and Mount Michael Abbey in Elkhorn, Nebraska--have casket-making operations and sell their coffins to the public.

Sources: Articles by Peter Finney, Jr. for Catholic News Service and Martha Neil for abajournal.com