Your loved one's ashes don't have to stay together either. Families can choose to split the ashes of the deceased among the wider family, where the individual families can choose what they want to do with them.
No, it is not a sin to separate ashes. The Bible does not specifically mention cremation or the scattering of ashes, so there is no ruling on this matter. However, some people may have religious or spiritual beliefs that say cremation and the scattering of ashes are not acceptable.
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.
In addition, with cremation, many families are choosing to divide ashes of a loved one into multiple memorials - with this, you can honor, celebrate, and memorialize a loved one in more than one way!
The law considers ashes to be the same as a body, so is unwilling to rule for separating them amongst different parties.
Most of the time unclaimed ashes are scattered. But the funeral home has to get approval for the scattering just like the family would. Other funeral homes will bury the remains. They'll usually wait until there are a certain number of remains then bury them together in a mass grave.
Here are the top cremation myths and what the Catholic church has to say about them. Cremated ashes can be scattered. Though the Pope and the Church approve of cremation, scattering of one's ashes is strictly prohibited.
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.
There's nothing wrong with keeping a loved one's ashes in the house.
Is there energy in cremation ashes? The truth is, there is an essence of your loved one that lingers with the cremation ashes. While it may not be a consciousness, it is a little of their energy that stays behind, almost like someone's perfume that lingers in the air even after they have left the room.
For many people, the act of scattering a loved one's ashes brings peace and closure. It can symbolize the return of the individual to nature, or the release of their spirit to heaven.
Catholics are forbidden from keeping the ashes of cremated loved ones at home, scattering them, dividing them between family members or turning them into mementoes, the Vatican has ruled.
Catholic practice does not include commingling the ashes of spouses. This is based on the church's belief that the body of a person is God's temple and therefore deserves individual honor and preservation.
Nor can the ashes be scattered in the air, land or sea since doing so would give the appearance of "pantheism, naturalism or nihilism," the guidelines said. It repeated church teaching that Catholics who choose to be cremated for reasons contrary to the Christian faith must be denied a Christian funeral.
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.
If the metal urn is sealed with wax or adhesive, try to open it by soaking a cotton swab in fingernail polish remover or an epoxy solvent. Repeatedly run the swab along the sealed portion of the urn. You might have to wiggle the lid several times or use a flathead screwdriver to open the urn.
The actual ashes are thus useless as they will not contain DNA. It is the bones and teeth that could potentially hold some DNA viable for analysis. However, after the cremation, the bones and teeth left behind are turned into a find powder (a process known as pulverization).
Can two people's ashes be mixed together? Yes. Mixing ashes is a common process known as “commingling.” Commingling means that the couple's cremated remains are mixed, or “mingled” together in an urn, most often a companion urn.
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.
Human ashes do not dissolve in the ocean's waters. However, being a coarse, gritty, sand-like substance, the ashes will scatter throughout the ocean with no negative effects.
As we scatter his (her) ashes, we commit his(her) body to you and pray that he finds eternal rest for the glory of your holy name. Lord, forgive us where we have strayed during this grieving season. Fill us with thanksgiving for his well-lived and full life. In Jesus' name, we believe and pray, Amen.
Of all world religions, Islam is probably the most strongly opposed to cremation. Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is little diversity of opinion about it. Cremation is considered by Islam to be an unclean practice.
Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics, yet receiving ashes is a universal practice among Christians to begin their Lenten journeys. Most Catholic parishes offer Ash Wednesday Mass, and in some places, it is possible to receive ashes without attending Mass.
That vault is buried in the ground. Because the earth remains relatively cool, and due to the protective urn and vault, heat will have little effect on the ashes inside. Moisture can and will get in, which over time will cause the urn and vault to deteriorate and the remains to harden.