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Charleston: farewells, flags, and the aftermath

28 Jun 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living,” but evil interrupts the divine program, we hear in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Wisdom. A week after Reverend Clementa Pinckney and eight others were fatally shot while engaged in Bible study at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, those slain are laid to rest and the nation engages in an emotional debate on the legacy of racism and the proper place of symbols such as the Confederate battle flag in the public square. Homily hint: How do we as a diverse and multicultural nation heal the breach? How do we overcome fear, hatred, bigotry, and the long legacy of racism? Family members of those slain in Charleston showed the way with their incredibly courageous statements of forgiveness to the troubled young man who took their loved ones’ lives. For more on the aftermath of the Charleston shooting, see: Mourners Pay Respects to Clementa Pinckney at South Carolina Statehouse; Some S.C. lawmakers say Confederate flag removal no sure thing

church Healing racism multiculturalism mourning and healing

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Death and mourning customs

Homilist resources for funerals - Prepare the funeral

Mexican American mourning customs and rituals Mexican American Catholics have a distinct sense of informality towards death. In their tradition they see the figure of "death" to be one they feel humans should continually face, as is evident in the yearly ritual Day of the Dead. Mexicans often don't consider "death" a figure to be feared, but rather known and even befriended. Perhaps as part of this familiarity, it may be said that Mexicans are more demonstrative in their response to the death of family members than most American ethnic groups. When a family member is ill and close to death, Mexican Americans will often seek to arrange last rites and funeral arrangements as quickly as possible. Before the burial, family members will come to visit the body of the deceased, which is laid out at the home on a table or stand, around which they often burn candles and incense. They also bring candles to Mass to light at the altar. At the burial, it is also considered respectful and consoling for family members to throw handfuls of dirt over the casket before it is covered. In the nine-day period following the funeral, the family will recite a novena for the soul of the departed. Funeral services and wakes are generally similar to other Catholic ethnic groups. Throughout these rites, though, one can see the openness and informality of the Mexican American view of death. Children have been prepared to deal with death closely and do not shy way from their roles as mourners. During the period of the wake, families will often spend time socializing and retelling stories from the life of the deceased. ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: "Dead Reckoning or Reckoning with the Dead: Hispanic Catholic Funeral Customs" by Kenneth G. Davis, Liturgy 21 (1): 21-27 2006. Vietnamese American Catholic mourning customs and rituals For Vietnamese, funeral rites reflect a strong sense of family. In the traditional Vietnamese view of the family--which has largely carried over to those in the United States--what in Anglo terms would be called the "extended" family is brought together into one unit. Mourning within this community, therefore, can be expressed just as deeply throughout the entire family, rather than being concentrated within the "immediate" family. Funerals are an especially strong expression of the love within families. Historically, Vietnamese spend more money on funerals than most Americans. Families may take all of their wealth, or go into debt, to provide an honorable funeral for their relative. When a member of the family is near death, the members of the family will travel to be near them in the final hours, wishing to say goodbye and hear parting words. Great importance is placed on dying in the home. Though the dying may stay in the hospital while they are ill, once death is imminent the family usually makes an effort to bring them home, to be with family, and have the priest come to the home to administer last rites. Following the death, Vietnamese openly mourn. It is not uncommon for the family to wear specific mourning garb for extended periods of time. Sometimes, the face of the dead will be covered during the wake with a white cloth, both out of consideration to the mourners and as a symbol of his or her departure. The funeral and mourning process extends far beyond the week or so that includes the wake, funeral Mass, and interment. Seven days after burial, the family of the deceased will often request a Mass in memory of the deceased. In the following year they may additionally arrange for three more. Periods of mourning may last up to three years. Polish American mourning customs and rituals The funeral and mourning customs of Polish American Catholics are not unlike those of many Catholic Americans. If possible, the dying remain at home, where the priest is called to hear their confession and anoint them. Traditionally (and in some cases continued today) the candle blessed on February 2, Candlemas, is placed in the hands of a dying relative, to mitigate suffering. Around the time that the priest is called, children and close relatives often keep watch around the bedside. This vigil continues around the body once the soul has departed. Polish Catholics living in a specific area often identify with a particular cemetery, and often people who have moved away will asked to be buried in that cemetery. Mourners pray the rosary for the dead at the funeral home during the wake. At times, Polish families are quite open about the body of the deceased and will touch it and even take pictures of it in the coffin. It is typical in Poland, however, that the coffin remains closed and those attending the funeral and wake (except close family) never see the body. Polish funerals are usually expected to be as costly as the finances of the family permit. The meal following the funeral (the stypa) is a sign of honor to the life of the deceased. The period of mourning in Polish communities is typically a year. During this time, families will often keep a candle perpetually lit in church and have Masses said in the name of the deceased. Filipino mourning customs and rituals According to the Filipino Bishops' Conference, "Filipino Catholicism has always . . . [stressed] . . . rites and ceremonies" as primary reflections and teachers of faith. Filipino mourning customs are no different. The funeral in the Filipino tradition is an expression of the life the deceased led. It is common for families to spend significant amounts on elaborate funeral arrangements. Families consider incurring debt to reflect the importance of the deceased for the family, and debt can be a source of conciliatory pride. The use of funeral homes is not common in most Filipino traditions, and, while this fact may change with American influence, many believe that family should be cared for, die, and have their visitation in the home. If the deceased is brought to undertakers, a member of the family accompanies the body at all times. Some Filipino Catholic traditions hold that the body should not be adorned with any jewelry or shoes in burial. Family will often ask that a priest come and bless the body of the deceased and regard this blessing as beneficial to the state of the soul in judgment. Filipino wakes are generally longer in length than in most American Catholic traditions, lasting up to a week, so that everyone who wishes to view the body may have the opportunity. During wakes, the casket is almost always open and it is not uncommon for mourners to touch the body. While wakes, as funerals, should reflect on the life lost, the time is not one for celebration, but only grief and pain. Often, to show any emotions that do not reflect the gravity of death can be seen as ill-mannered. Women may be expected to provide very public grieving at the funeral, while men may remain reticent. As a nation of 7,107 islands, however, the Philippines offer numerous distinct mourning characteristics, which vary greatly in their openness. Many Filipinos regard it as healthy and normative for the grieving process to extend well beyond the burial, with open mourning at times extending for years. On the 40th day following a death, on which, it is believed, the soul of the deceased is taken into heaven, family may hold a special celebration and Mass. SOURCES: Clark, Sandi. "Death and Loss in the Philippines." www.indiana.edu/~famlygrf/culture/clark.html. Guballa, Cathy Babao. "Grief in the Filipino Context." www.indiana.edu/~famlygrf/culture/babaoguballa.html. www.nccbuscc.org/mrs/pcmr/ethnicities/filipino.shtml Native American mourning customs and rituals In approaching funeral and wake rites for "Native American" mourners, pastoral staff should keep in mind the great variation that exists within this cultural group and make the effort to educate themselves in the traditions of the particular tribe to which the mourners and deceased belong. For example, Native American Catholic mourners, whether they belong to one or another tribe, may be informed by very different traditions in the way they regard the deceased's body, which affects the way they may wish for the body to be displayed during the wake and funeral. That said, it may be helpful to keep certain broader traditions in mind. The Native American family has a much larger scope than most European Americans and can reach second and third cousins within one uniformly important unit. Thus, as death approaches or has already come, it is expected that the entire family come to mourn, regardless of geographical distance or economic constraints. When the ill, nearing death, stays in the hospital, the entire family is expected to gather in the hospital and remain there. Hospitals in predominantly Native American regions find that they often have to change visiting policies to accommodate the mourning family. Similarly, wakes in Native American families can have what most would consider exorbitantly high attendance. Wakes sometimes, have to be held in untraditional settings, such as a community hall, to hold all the mourners. Funeral homes are not commonly used. It is expected that friends may pool together money to aid the family in covering the cost of feeding this gathering. Along with food, it is traditional in many Native American tribes to distribute tobacco to smoke communally following the ceremony. Within many groups, it is forbidden to consume any alcohol during the period of mourning. Clergy and pastoral staff may also find that Native American Catholics gather for funerals at parishes they do not regularly attend, because many Native Americans consider burial within one's home "reservation" land extremely important, even if the deceased did not live on this land. SOURCES: Crawford, Ann Caddell. Customs and Culture of Vietnam. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E Tuttle Co, 1966. www.nccbuscc.org/mrs/pcmr/ehtnicities

Authors Sean Reynolds

multiculturalism

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A crosscultural symphony

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

It does not matter if you are a full-time farmer or a backyard gardener. You know the truism: Purebred plants might somehow be more, well, pure, but they do not flourish the way hybrids do. The same is true for religion, and perhaps nothing illustrates this fact better than the “here-comes-everybody” Catholicism characteristic of the United States. Pastors often find themselves called to be conductors of a vast crosscultural symphony. As a result, parishes with people of many different ethnic traditions and religious expectations, often with the leadership of priests of backgrounds and cultures very different from many of those they serve, thrive. This situation is not a fluke but rather a sociological truism: Pastoring across cultures makes pastoring more effective. Failing to recognize different cultures, however, can spell disaster. Sometimes those different cultures are age-related or education-related, or tied to certain ways of being family. Sometimes cultures can include specifically religious differences, but ones that we hardly realize characterize those at Mass—someone with a cousin who belongs to a Protestant mega-church, a child who married a Methodist, the daily Mass attender whose father was a Presbyterian and whose best friend is Pentecostal. Sometimes these realities are as obvious as Hispanic Catholic religious traditions mingling, at times uneasily, with Vietnamese Catholic religious traditions or those of other lands. But they all produce hybrids—of expectations, of meanings, of style. And those hybrids are nothing to be ashamed of. They are in fact what makes distinctively crosscultural Catholicism flourish in the United States while more monocultural European Catholicism fades. © 2007, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

crossculturalism multiculturalism

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