Why use a Catholic Cemetery?
Aren’t all cemeteries the same?
Aren’t they all a place to place a body in the ground/mausoleum/columbarium?
What’s so special about a Catholic cemetery?
These are valid questions. I don’t believe we have done a great job in helping people understand what distinguishes us from other cemeteries. After all, it is true that all cemeteries “home” the dead. This has been the practice for centuries. So, what makes a Catholic cemetery different?
I believe that it goes beyond the “work of burying the dead.” For all of our employees, it is about the ministry that occurs while we do the work. For us, it is about accompanying the family while they are on this last journey with their loved one. It is compassionate listening and letting the family know that we value the life of the deceased. We have time for each person that comes to us-no rush on making decision and no pressure on sales. We have as much time as it takes to help you with the decisions you need to make at the moment. Our vocation is to serve.
Our message to all who come to us is one of hope. The loved one will be cared for until the resurrection of the body. We hold Christ’s promise to each in spite of the question, “How could God let this happen?” We help to confront death and touch people’s lives when they are in their deepest pain. We are the voice of the Church community at this time.
Our call is to reach into lives and restore hope, listening to the heart’s silence and reassuring them that they are not alone. We believe that death leads to new life. Every human being is precious, and we revere the life and body of everyone who comes to us. No one is turned away. There is always prayer done at every burial even if there is no family to bid farewell.
This hope and faith in eternal life is expressed in how we care for our grounds, in the behavior of our staff, in having the time to listen to the stories of those who have gone before us and joined the communion of saints.
Death has no sting. It is not the end. We are children of the earth and to the earth we return. We invite you to see God’s presence in our presence. We are here to foster hope in light of death.