"The family and friends of the deceased should not be excluded from taking part in the services sometimes provided by undertakers, for example, the preparation and laying out of the body."
Friday, October 24, 2008
How about this?
I was reading the General Instruction of the Order of Christian Funerals (lest you think I'm a total nerd with no life, I was doing so while watching the Devils/Flyers game), I came across this line in paragraph 20:
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I think it may help in some situations. After the failed attempts to save our toddler's life, the ER staff allowed me to hold him as long as I wanted. I placed him in the body bag, we said a prayer, then I zipped it closed. My family and I helped to load his body into the medical examiner's van. I had asked to see him at the funeral home, but the owner told me she didn't want me to see him as he was post-autopsy, to wait until he was ready for viewing. (They had a similar tragedy in their extended family many years before.) I wish I could have dressed him one last time, but didn't want to add to their burden.
It's nice to know the Church wouldn't object to this. Burying a child is difficult for everyone - family, EMS, police, ER staff, the funeral director, and clergy. If the funeral homes allow it, families, particularly those burying children, may appreciate you or the funeral director mentioning it.
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