By Erin Scherer
Outreach Coordinator
Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services of Colorado (CFCS)
Why is the funeral Mass Father Owen Limarta’s favorite Mass to celebrate?
“It reminds us we don’t have to live on this earth forever,” he shared with the nearly 300 individuals gathered at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery’s second-annual Bring Them Home Mass on All Souls Day. “And if we walk through our suffering with Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid.”
The event offers the opportunity to bring the cremated remains of their loved ones to Mount Olivet for interment at no cost to them, no matter how long it’s been. In this way, Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services of Colorado (CFCS) hopes to bring peace, relief and closure, all in the context of faith.
The families of 40 individuals took advantage of the opportunity to honor their loved ones through the Mass. Following Mass, the cremated remains were laid to rest in Ascension Mausoleum, marking the largest funeral Mass Father Limarta has celebrated as a newly ordained priest.
Marveling at the remains of all those individuals placed respectfully at the foot of the altar, he sprinkled the urns with holy water and led the congregation’s prayers for the repose of their souls on the day the Church traditionally remembers those who have gone before us.
“Closure!” repeated Valerie Grieling, over and over, who joined her friend, Kristi McNulty, as they interred McNulty’s mother and father.
“I just can’t tell you how much it means,” McNulty added.
“The people were grateful for the opportunity to lay their loved one in sacred space,” shared Gary Schaaf, executive director of CFCS, a ministry of the Archdiocese of Denver.
Because of the human body’s dignity as a temple of the Holy Spirit and the Catholic belief in the resurrection of the body, the Church emphasizes the importance of burial or interment on sacred grounds. Burying or interring our loved ones at a cemetery also provides the opportunity for the larger community to gather and pray for the faithful departed who remain a part of the Church even after death.
Additionally, interment at a cemetery provides psychological and security benefits for families. The physical separation helps in the grieving process so those left behind can begin to integrate the new reality of no longer having a loved one present. And logistically, by placing a loved one in a sacred, consecrated place, we don’t have to worry about the safety of those remains or what might happen to our loved one after a generation or two.
Upon bidding a final farewell to their loved ones, Father Limarta reminded those present of Christ’s presence in our suffering and pain, a message that resonated with attendees who shared they no longer felt afraid of death.
“In our moment of suffering, we think God sits in heaven, away from our reality,” he said, emphasizing that quite the opposite is true. “Christianity is far from that belief. . . The reality of the cross reminds us at the moment of our suffering that our God suffered, too. We suffer with hope. We ought not to despair. . . Everything is oriented toward the glory of God.”
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If you missed the Bring Them Home Mass but would still like to place the cremated remains of your loved one on sacred, consecrated ground, the Crypt of All Souls mission program at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery provides a committal service each month from the Order of Christian Funerals and a dignified interment of cremated remains in Ascension Mausoleum at no cost. For more information, visit https://cfcscolorado.org/mission-programs/crypt-of-all-souls/.
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