Only in "grave and exceptional cases" would the ashes be permitted to be kept in a home, the Church said. "It is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewellery or other objects," it said.
To set the faithful straight, the Vatican said ashes and bone fragments cannot be kept at home, since that would deprive the Christian community as a whole of remembering the dead. Rather, church authorities should designate a sacred place, such as a cemetery or church area, to hold them.
Burial Items Required for a Catholic Cremation:
This means you will still need the following burial items: Gravesite: (the space or plot within a cemetery) or mausoleum (private or public structure interring multiple people) Urn: the vessel to house the cremated remains.
Some people worry it's bad luck to keep ashes in their house, or it might mean the spirit or ghost of the person will stay in the house. Whatever your beliefs, there is no right or wrong when it comes to handling the ashes of a person who's died.
Keep. Another option with ashes is to keep them close by. As mentioned above they could be kept in an urn either in a house or garden, but there's also a growing trend to put them into jewellery.
In the Bible, there are no passages that prohibit or encourage cremation and scattering of ashes. However, many Christian sects believe a burial funeral aligns with best end-of-life practices. As a result, some Christian clerics may discourage cremation or prohibit it entirely.
A common question that we find in the cremation diamond industry is do ashes have an expiration date? The short answer is they don't; at least not in our lifetime. It would take around one million years for ashes to dissolve since they are made solely of inorganic material.
Cremation occurs at such a hot temperature all micro-organisms are destroyed, and the remaining ashes are inert. After cremation there are no public health risks associated with handling ashes.
The newest guidelines from the Vatican state that Catholic people can be cremated, but their ashes should not be scattered at sea, and the urn should not be kept in the home. The guidelines state that the cremains should be kept in a sacred place like a church cemetery.
There is no requirement to keep ashes on the forehead all day or for any period of time after they are given, but many Christians choose to keep them on their foreheads throughout the day on Ash Wednesday.
The Church strongly urges that the full body of the deceased be present during the final rites, but ashes are also allowed to be present at the Mass. If a Catholic family chooses cremation, the Church requires reverent disposition of the ashes. The Vatican says the ashes must be treated in the same way a body would be.
On Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent: Everyone of age 14 and up must abstain from consuming meat. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday: Everyone of age 18 to 59 must fast, unless exempt due to usually a medical reason.
Cremains contain what is known as rest energy, sometimes referred to as free or dormant energy. This type of energy is still subject to the restraints of natural law, and can have no physical or spiritual impact on those around it.
ashes to ashes, dust to dust [Rel.]
A phrase from the burial service in the Book of Common Prayer: 'we therefore commit this body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.
In essence they wish to make clear that the following are unacceptable: The scattering of ashes: 'in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way,' The ashes can not 'be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewellery or other objects. '
During cremation, the body parts that do burn consist of organs, soft tissue, hair, and skin, while the water in our bodies evaporates. The body parts that do not burn are bone fragments.
The placing of ashes on the forehead is a tradition with roots in the Old Testament. “I turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3).
Request that personnel at the funeral home or crematorium do it for you. Keep the original sealed container intact and transfer the ashes yourself. Simply take the plastic bag containing the ashes out of the cardboard box and place the entire bag inside a cremation urn, box or memorial chest of suitable size.
Sources in the funerary industry state that one pound of human or pet weight equals one cubic inch of cremated remains. If a person weighs 150 pounds, expect to receive about 150 cubic inches of ashes, which is about the same as 10.5 cups.
Can You Get DNA From Cremated Remains? Yes. DNA testing is often done on the bodies of the dead, even after they've been cremated. The immense heat of the cremation ovens breaks down the body's organic matter, leaving bone fragments and teeth behind as they don't disintegrate during the cremation process.
DO NOT leave the urn switched on overnight if it is not in use. It wastes energy and the urn could boil dry, which can damage the element. DO NOT operate the urn without the lid securely fastened. If the urn boils dry, it is equipped with a cut-off switch.
There's nothing wrong with keeping a loved one's ashes in the house.
Cemeteries will typically require you to bury the ashes inside a cremation urn vault. This is a container that encloses the urn and keeps the cemetery grounds from caving in and becoming uneven as the urn breaks down over time.