Q: I read your article on funerals and find it very interesting.
One question: you mention 9:45 reflections, 10:00 funeral (I find this a great idea). My question: is the body brought into the front of the church, kept at the entrance of the church during the reflections, or brought into the church after reflections?
I have always had the reflections immediately at the beginning so as to get it over with. One never knows what will be said.
Blessings!
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A: Thanks for your comments on my article.
If mourners are paying their respects to the deceased and visiting the family in the church before the funeral Mass, then I think the body could remain in the nave for the pre-Mass reflections.
However, I always like to include the body in the entrance procession, so I recommend having the pall bearers and morticians bring the remains to the main doors after the reflections, so the ceremony can begin there.
I’ve covered a lot about funerals in my book Light in the Darkness. People may see the priest and other ministers inside the church before the funeral begins, and they go to the door for the procession. I think the same applies to the deceased.