burying the dead

In the book of Tobit, it is said that Tobiah came one day to his father while the latter was about to eat and told him that he saw one of their people murdered and left unburied in the market. Tobit sprang to his feet leaving his dinner untouched, went to the market and carried the body of the dead man to his house and placed it in one of the rooms. Then he ate his food in sorrow. At sundown he carried again the body, dug a grave and buried it.
This was the second time Tobit had the audacity to bury the dead, therefore, suffering the taunt of his neighbors. The first time he did something similar earned him the displeasure of the king of Niniveh (who had the man killed). He was driven out of the city and had his property confiscated. But that did not prevent Tobit from repeating the same act of kindness, without delay or any hesitation on his part, when the report of Tobiah, his son, reached his ears.


To bury the dead is one of the seven corporal works of mercy listed by the Church. The first six in the list is based mainly from the prophecy of Jesus of the Last Judgement (Mt. 25: 31-46 – to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and visit the imprisoned) and the seventh (to bury the dead) is based on the book of Tobit. The Church teaches us that these works as prophesied by Jesus himself will determine our final destiny either “to inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world” or “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Mt. 25: 34, 41)
We have to bury the dead.
It is utterly revolting to our Christian sense of what is right and wrong, whatever the circumstances were that brought about its death, to just simply wrap the body of a fetus in an SM bag, address it to the priests of the cathedral, and leave this at the foot of Our Lady of Candles. It is absolutely wrong! I truly sympathize with the mother of that child and the pain she must have felt in losing her child, but I cannot for the heck of it reconcile the fact that the love which naturally exists between mother and child, even though how pained, can leave a child, dead or alive, in such a sorry state! I believe even a non-believer would never leave in such a state a finger amputated because of gangrene. . . how much more a child!
Please do not get me wrong. This church, and I as its minister, have witnessed a number of parents burying their child, born and still-born. It is a heart wrenching event. They would bring them here at the cathedral, respectfully, if not beautifully wrapped, in cloth, and placed in a decent box. One time, people from Tabuc Suba who saw a fetus in the garbage had it wrapped in white cloth, placed it in a shoebox covered with white bond paper, drew a cross on the cover, placed a flower on top of it and a lighted candle beside it. They brought it in procession to the cathedral, a short procession composed of little kids. We prayed together – one our Father, three Hail Mary’s and one Glory Be on top of the prescribed liturgical prayer. Then together they all went to the cemetery to have it buried on consecrated ground.
We have an obligation to bury the dead and it is one of those obligations which can very well determine our final destiny.
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Cremation is gaining popularity among Catholics today, now that the church has given its nod on cremation (for as long as one does not do it in defiance of the belief on the resurrection of the dead). But cremation does not bring with it the church’s approval for non-burial. Cremated remain must be buried! One cannot bring around the cremains (that’s the word they use for cremated remains) on a jar and place it in one’s bedroom, sing Happy Birthday to it, or had it seated at table during family gatherings. One could not scatter it around to fertilize the earth (it would have been more heroic, if indeed he was a real environmentalist, to have all the waste he made in life processed in a compost pit while he was still alive!). The church commands us to bury it in imitation of Christ who was buried in the tomb to await the resurrection of the dead on the last day.
I even read an article wherein the cremains are converted into diamonds (it is possible because burnt bodies become carbon and carbon with the right pressure can turn to industrial grade diamonds). Then one can have it turned into earrings, pendants, rings and what have you. So, wouldn’t it be cute to wear around your mother or father in church and parties. Wouldn’t it be touching to gather around the grandchildren and tell them, “say hello to grandpa, he’s dangling on my ears.” And wouldn’t it be super romantic to have it set on your pendant so that you can always have him near your heart (or near the cleavage to be more precise). Then, after that, what?
But look, our faith teaches us that we all shall die one day and with dying comes the pain and grief of separation. It is part of our humanity, an experience we all have to undergo several times in our lifetime. Yet our faith teaches us that though we grieve for a while, life has to move on for those who are left behind as we look forward, filled with hope, to the time when all of us will be gathered for all eternity in the abode of the Father. The life we live now is temporary, and thus, consequently, so also is our health, our skin, our brain and its capacity and even our relationships. These too will pass away in death. Isn’t that the most human thing? But alas we are always in the look out to compete with God and build our tower of Babel in defiance to what is essentially human. We cannot wait for God to give us the eternity he promised. It was the sin of Adam and Eve. It was the sin of the builders of the tower in Babel. And it is our constant temptation today.