Ministry of Consolation & Funeral Planning Assistance

Planning the Funeral Mass for your loved one can be overwhelming.  The experience of the death of a loved one is a time of confusion, pain, and anxiety. The mission of the Ministry of Consolation is to console and comfort the family with support, to provide guidance and assistance in the actual planning of the funeral liturgy, to inform the priests, music director, and deacons, with decisions made by family, and to assess any special family needs.

We are notified by the Administration Office with the details of the deceased, date of the funeral/memorial, mass, family name, and telephone number. We make contact immediately with the family and set up a time and place to meet to help plan the funeral mass. We understand that the family may feel confused, sad, stunned, or perhaps even overwhelmed by their loss. We discuss and send them home with a booklet Through Death to Life (to select Old Testament reading, Psalm [read or sung] and New Testament reading – Father selects Gospel reading. We inquire if they have family or friends that would like to read (we always have the daily reader as backup). Also, Peter Morin has a booklet of Psalms and hymns to be sung that they take home to discuss with other family members. We inquire if they may have gift bearers, personal memorabilia to be placed in the narthex. We give our cards and encourage them to call with any questions they may have.

We also meet with families to discuss pre-planning arrangements. We all feel blessed to help families during these difficult times. If you would like to meet with a minister to pre-plan, then please contact the Administration Office at 904-471-5364.