St. Stephen’s Parish
Croghan, NY
Guide for Planning Music for Funerals
St. Stephen’s Music Ministry considers it an honor and a privilege to Minister to your family in your time of sorrow as you mourn the loss of a loved one and honor his/her life in the celebration of the Mass.
Whether planning the Funeral Liturgy of a loved one or pre-planning your own, the music you select can say a lot about what you, your family and loved ones believe. It can be a great source of comfort and consolation to the living. The music you select can even inspire new faith or renewed faith in the lives of your family and friends.
The sacred and communal nature of our Catholic Funeral Celebrations requires careful planning in the selection of music. This planning will insure the ability of all those gathered to actively participate in the celebration. Because of the sacredness of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, secular instrumental or vocal music, or the use of recorded music of any kind should not be used. If the family has a favorite song that doesn’t meet the guidelines for the Mass, perhaps this song could be played at the Funeral Home or at another gathering where all the family is gathered.
We will make every attempt to honor the wishes of the family regarding hymn selections. Rather than list specific songs to choose from, we would recommend that you look through the hymnals used at church. Currently, we use Breaking Bread and Journeysongs Hymnals. In some instances, some hymns, although very beautiful, may not be appropriate for the occasion or season. In this case, the Pastor and/or Music Ministers will offer support and guidance in order to select more appropriate songs.
All of this follows the Liturgical Norms of the Church.
"Music is integral to the Funeral rites. It allows the community to express convictions and feelings that word alone may fail to convey. It has the power to console and uplift the mourners and to strengthen the unity of the assembly in faith and love. The texts of the songs chosen for a particular celebration should express the paschal mystery of the Lord's suffering, death, and triumph over death and should be related to the readings from Scripture."
Thus, while Funeral music may express "convictions and feelings," its subject must always be the paschal mystery and it must be related to the readings from Scripture.
Rather than adopting popular secular songs which are inappropriate to a liturgical setting, we should seek out good liturgical music on a paschal theme which can "support, console, and uplift participants and help to create in them a spirit of hope in Christ's victory over death and in the Christian's share in that victory." USCCB (Order of Christian Funerals, number 31)
On the reverse side is a Planning Guide for the outline of the Mass. This can be used to help guide and place the music in the Liturgy. (Music could be moved around to best fit the Liturgy)