It’s time to bell the cat – revisiting human traditions
My dear friend, the late Fr Larry Pereira always said that religion is like a river; at its source it is pure, and then as it comes down into the plains, people throw their rubbish in it. I get it when people rightly express their frustrations at human religious traditions, especially those linked to sacramental celebrations; traditions not advocated in any form by the Catholic faith.
What ails the Christian community, or for that matter any other religious community, is not the faith as expressed in the scriptures, but the ‘rubbish of human traditions’ that are thrown in the name of God and faith. One such tradition is the distribution of ‘snack boxes’ distributed after funeral, month’s mind and anniversary masses.
Growing up, I was routinely hauled to ‘seventh day’, ‘month’s mind’ and ‘first death anniversary’ masses. Mercifully, the seventh day mass has been ‘laid to rest’. Let’s look at the evidence in the ‘General Introduction to the Roman Missal’ 336/37 which states, ‘The funeral Mass has first place among the Masses for the dead. On the occasions of news of a death, final burial, or the first anniversary, Mass for the dead may be celebrated.’ So how did the seventh day mass and month’s mind mass come about?
I have a hunch. Back in the day, and I really need you to stretch your mind to a period beyond even your birth, funerals were a race against time. Hot tropical climates, like India, cause the corpse to rapidly deteriorate. Funeral masses and burials were conducted within the day. In a world that lacked even the telephone, the tolling of the Church bell became the sole means of communication. Perched at the highest point of the village, the bell became to a village what satellite communication is to us. It was the ‘Whatsapp’ of the day.
Very nice article. Thanks for giving an insight in how to explain the how n why. Really meaningful. Wish this is conveyed to as many as possible.
Very true Fr. Warner. This gesture of providing snacks somehow seems like an act that dilutes the status of grief of the bereaving family, unless ofcourse it is sponsored by the friends or relatives of the mourning family.
Good insight. Thank you Fr Warner. – Renold ssp
Good insight. Thank you Fr Warner. – Renold ssp
These so called traditions should be stopped. Early in the 60’s and 70s there were no snack boxes if I remember correctly for months mind , one year mass.We should progress and not commercialised the sad situation.
Well written article Fr. Warner, well done.
I live these wake up calls Father. Thank you for reminding us where the focus should be.
Dear Fr. Another ritual which you may have missed is the playing of a funeral band which accompanies the cortege from residence to graveyard. It has become so ingrained in the minds of our Catholics that many poor folk will borrow money to hire a band lest the neighbours feel that the deceased did not get the final respects. Request you to kindly speak out against this outdated tradition which puts another financial burden on the poor
There are very few who courageously call a spade a spade. We should be the change that we wish to see in this world. I choose to try and put an end to outdated traditions as far as possible.