As a catholic..can I be cremated?

Question

I am in no shape or form currently ill..thank god..but its something that will come to us all. I would like to be cremated because I dont want my children to have a grave to attend to and I dont want the thougt of them standing at the grave side in tears! I dont think they should be put upon, to have to visit on birthdays, motherdays, christmas ect...I want them to remember me in their hearts and not at the graveside. So as a catholic would my religion accept my choice?

A lot of you are saying that I have to still have my ashes buried? I can honestly say..I dont like the sound of that..if thats the case I might as well be buried. Why does the church need to tell us what we must do with the ashes? If I say in my will that I want my family to chose what to do, will the church then not perform a service for me?

Answer 1

You do just as you wish to do. If you wish leave instructs to be cremated and have your ashes scattered where you wish. Never mind what the priest says or any church says. They don't know if there is a god or if there is what he says or wants. They are just guessing and your guess is as good as theirs

Answer 2

As you are a Catholic are free before God to do anything you want to do because God gave you a free choice. But you know and I know that we do not need to be a Catholic to have a free choice. So I think you are really asking is, are you doing anything wrong as a Catholic to be creamated?

First of all the practise of cremation needs to be understood. The premise of cremation is not Catholic or traditionally Christian it is an eastern religious idea based on the belief that we are all energy, so the body doesn't matter because we will all be re-incarnated or in someway absorbed into the cosmos.

However, the Christian, Catholic and Jewish view is that we will be resurrected and that is why many chose to be buried and the idea of cremation was pagan. In the bible when Jesus was crucified for the sins of mankind many people were resurrected from the dead, even Jesus was ressurected from the dead. Some people build tombs to wait for the ressurection.

The bible does say that we will be resurrected if we have faith in Jesus as Lord and we will only die once. But those who do not believe (live for Jesus) will die twice.

The scriptures do acknowledge physical resurrection but people are not clear as to whether they will have a brand new body or whether the body will be a renewed super body? So if you are resurrected in the body you now have some people believe foolishly that you will not be ressurected if you burn it. But if we look at scripture it is clear that King David's body decayed and so did all the prophets. So it is all about the power of God, he can do anything. After all if he made the world with a command what is raising a body from the dust?

The problem, is all about conscience and faith, or is it money? Sure cremation is cheaper than burial. But what do you believe? Once you have decided what you believe your own consideration then will be how your family will react.

Answer 3

I've always leaned toward wanting to be cremated. I can only think of one good thing for a burial -- a cool epitaph. Still, I'd probably want to be cremated. Scattered, please. Edit: I once had a dream where I was an astronaut going into space, and while I was floating, I saw a huge area of space covered with coffins. Some were open, and some were closed. There were rotting bodies flying everywhere, and that made me think, buying a piece of land to bury a dead body is pointless. It just takes up space and contributes to old "ghost" houses.

Answer 4

As a Catholic you can be Cremated, but the ashes still have to go into a grave. That is the teaching of the Church and the Bible, they can not be spread out and they can not be kept at home. they are to be buried with the respect of a regular body, and as I said put back into the Ground. From Dust you came to the Dust you shall return. I hope that helps.

Answer 5

Well, i am not a Catholic but I am a Christian and in the Bible God says that our SOULS go to heaven and we will be given a new body ( If a body at all) when we go the the new earth that God will create.

Our bodies will decompose in the soil anyway, if we r not cremated, just like every other living thing on earth.

Being buried is much more expensieve, aslo for the remailing family, but cremation is not.

I want to be cremated when i die, cos there will be no use for my body after i die and i dont want my remaining family to have to scrape together so much money for my funeral. I would not want to be a burden to them in my death and my body whould just turn back into earth, it will just take longer.

Answer 6

Catholics along with most Christians belive in the eventual resurrection of our bodies.

Cremation has been looked at as a denial of this doctrine but modern teaching recognizes that God is all powerful and cremation is not really an issue to our bodily resurrections.

The policy of the Catholic Church is: "While the Church recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed, cremation is permitted as long as it had not been chosen for reasons contrary to Church teaching.

Cremated remains are to be treated with the same respect given to the remains of a human body, and should be buried or entombed. The scattering of cremated remains on the sea or on the ground, or keeping them in the home, is not the reverent final disposition that the Church requires.

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

I am a retired funeral director--Many catholic churches have a graveyard and mausoleum that they own. Some have niche's(A smaller spot for cremains). We never had the church object to cremation. Some people had personal dislikes to cremation. This is a view of the legal not moral view.

edit:: it relation to your cremains you can do with them what you choose. some buy a urn for the family--some have their ashes spread in a cemetery(most have a designated area for that. If your family takes the cremains they are the responsibility of the family--to keep or to bury

Answer 8

I am a catholic; I recently attended a cremation of a much loved aunt of mine; she and her husband felt as you do about a grave; there was simply no issue to answer as far as the parish priest was concerned. I have let my own partner and family know that I want to be cremated. I see no contradiction at all with church teaching; it's whatever local custom prevails

Answer 9

The body is temporal, it does not matter if you are Catholic, Baptist or anything else. Flesh only exists as long as it functions, what good is it to you after you no longer occupy it? It is better to put your concern into the spirit, the eternal part of you.

I am going to be cremated and do not want my family to keep ashes around. My kids are going to throw them into the soil of their gardens. Just because I am dead does not mean I can't still be useful in some way.

Answer 10

Yes, of course it is alright. I knew a priest who was cremated and that was about 10 years ago. The reason the church was against it in the past was because pagans used this form and thought it destroyed the spirit as well.