No. But they don’t advocate preaching about it either. As far as I know there’s no mention of purgatory in the Order of Christian Funerals directives for priests. The Mass of the Resurrection in white vestments is about as far as can be, liturgically, from the old Requiem Mass and the Dies Irae sequence. In the new rite it seems as if God’s mercy has abrogated His justice. Of course it hasn’t. The Mass, therefore, ought to reflect reality, not emotional wishful-thinking. What almost all (some holy souls, other than baptized little ones, do go straight to heaven) of the deceased are crying out for at their own funerals, if they have died in grace, is relief from their purgative suffering. They cannot pray for themselves. The holy sacrifice is the most satisfactory gift we can give for the deceased Catholic because it is the direct application of Our Lord’s atoning sacrifice on the Cross offered in an un-bloody manner for him or her. It may comfort the mourners to dwell upon the merciful compassion of God, but the Mass is not being offered for the mourners; it is being offered for the deceased. Therefore, the liturgy ought to reflect the need of the deceased. Lex orandi est lex credendi (the law of praying is the law of believing). And what does the departed soul need? Our support in hastening the end of his purgation and his entry into heaven. How blessed we are who have priests available to offer the traditional requiem funeral Mass. Whatever the black vested celebrant says in his homily in reference to the deceased and in support of the aggrieved in this Mass, it will not be a eulogy. It will be a summons to pray and offer more Masses for those whom we Catholics have always called “the poor souls in purgatory.” Why poor? Is it just because of their purgative suffering that we call them “poor”? No, they are “poor” because they are helpless without the Church Militant’s prayers. To be balanced, however, let us also keep in mind for our own comfort that the souls in purgatory suffer with great joy, not only on account of the assurance of their salvation, but also because they know they are being purified so that they may be without any stain, like unto God, perfected vessels. And just imagine how ardently they long for the day when they shall see God and His Immaculate Mother! That is not a painful anxiety for them, but joyful and certain anticipation.
“A brief homily based on the readings should always be given at the funeral liturgy, but never any kind of eulogy. The homilist should dwell on God’s compassionate love and on the paschal mystery of the Lord as proclaimed in the Scripture readings.” (#27, #141) The instruction goes on to say that the homily should give consolation and strength to the community mourning the death of one of its members.
Bishop Thomas Tobin has an important post in his diocesan paper on the subject of eulogies. He begins thusly: “According to the dictionary, a eulogy is “a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died.” Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? In the context of a Catholic funeral, however, eulogies can be problematic for several reasons.
“The first is that Catholic liturgical norms do not permit a eulogy during the funeral Mass. The Order of Christian Funerals states, “A brief homily based on the readings should always be given at the funeral liturgy, but never any kind of eulogy. The homilist should dwell on God’s compassionate love and on the paschal mystery of the Lord as proclaimed in the Scripture readings.” (#27, #141) The instruction goes on to say that the homily should give consolation and strength to the community mourning the death of one of its members.” Read the full article here.
