Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Ashes
My church generally thinks in theological or juridical terms, that is doctrine and rules. But the lay people think in practical terms, that is, what works for their needs. Take the case of ashes, as in cremation. The church says that ashes must be kept together and buried or interred in a columbarium. But this is a big country and people tend to have lived in various different places. Sometimes, the relatives/friends of the deceased want to bury ashes in one place and then in another, because both places were important to the deceased. The deceased may have a favorite part of the country that had a lot of meaning for them, but the surviving relative/spouse/partner might not live in that place, but wants some ashes to be buried nearer to where they live now. And so it goes. Many priests simply look the other way, or as the Jews say, "Wink an eye." What can you do. Some call it the pastoral approach. Whatever, theology does not always line up with praxis in daily life, or death, for that matter.
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I read you everyday.
ReplyDeleteSo do I!
DeleteAnd here is yet another reader. If some days I cannot read you (life is busy, that happens), the next day I will read everything that I missed. Moreover, I use noscript, a browser plugin which may make me not counted by your statistics measuring tool.
ReplyDeleteLast, but not least, if you were the pastor somewhere, I'd go there with my family to listen you every Sunday.
My 94 year old father passed away June 25. Part of his ashes were joined with my mother's in a columbarium. Half were saved with my mother's to be scattered together this fall on the NC beach where they loved and lived in retirement. They were not Roman Catholic. The columbarium is at a Lutheran church; the beach is non-denominational.
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