Funeral Arrangements
If you are visiting this page, it is possible that you feel sad, lost, confused, stunned, or possibly even angered or overwhelmed by your loss. There may have been times in the past where you likely were able to comfort someone who lost a loved one. Now, you're not truly sure what you need to do, or where you should turn to find comfort, love and a helping heart to help bear the pain and grief you feel.
Catholic funerals services, including the wake, Funeral Mass, and burial offer family, friends, and loved ones who gather together the opportunity to both give and receive comfort. Those closest can be raised up from the depths of sorrow through the incredible support provided by those people and their church, and can receive the help they need to carry on.
At Nativity, we celebrate our faith belief in the eternal life, praying for the one who died in what we call the Order of Christian Funerals.
First Step - Please call our Church Office 813-681-4608 to speak to us and let us know when your loved one's passing occurred and what funeral home you will be making arrangements with. We pledge to do all we can to support you during this difficult time.
Our local funeral homes will help take care of most details with our Church regarding logistics and times, while our volunteer ministers will meet with the deceased's family to plan a wake service if requested, the funeral service at church, and/or graveside service.
Our funeral planning volunteers (or bereavement ministers) will help guide you through planning the funeral liturgy. During a funeral Mass there is an introductory rite, the Liturgy of the Word (readings), Liturgy of the Eucharist, and a final commendation and farewell.
Burial vs. Cremation?
The Catholic Church holds the bodies of its deceased members in the highest regard, with great reverence being due the human body in all stages, from conception through death and on to its final resting place.
While burial continues to be the Church's preference, and our rites presume the presence of a body and casket, the Church does permit cremation so long as it is not chosen because of a denial of belief in the resurrection or denial of any other Catholic teaching. "When cremation is chosen, our Order of Christian Funerals urges that the body be present in church for the funeral when at all possible, and for the cremation to take place afterward. This helps loved ones of the deceased to make their final farewell within the gathered community of faith, supported by the prayers, blessings, and ceremonies of the Church's liturgy." - Through Death to Life by Joseph M. Champlin
Our priests can help answer any questions you have regarding Catholic funerals and burials.