Hi, Lin —
Thanks for the question.
Nothing should be done with the ashes
that might imply a disbelief in the
resurrection of the body. That's
why the Church doesn't approve the
scattering of ashes. Mixing the ashes
with cement would seem to fall in
the same category.
These eternal reefs are supposedly
meant to hold the ashes for ever.
If you believe that, then you don't
know your Catholic faith. That's a heresy.
The Scriptures say this:
15 For this we declare to you
by the word of the Lord, that
we who are alive, who are left
until the coming of the Lord,
shall not precede those who have
fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord
himself will descend from heaven
with a cry of command, with the
archangel's call, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And
the dead in Christ will rise first; 17 then we who are alive, who are
left, shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air; and so we
shall always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 |
Human beings are the crowning jewel
of God's creation. The human
body is unique and should not be
treated like fish habitat. The point
of not scattering the ashes is two
fold:
- As I said previously, we believe
in the physical resurrection of
the body at the end of time so
we don't take actions implying
we don't believe this.
- Secondly, even though they have passed away, we
show respect for the remains of the faithful departed.
Being a habitat for a lower species (fish)
who have no immortal soul, on the lower
end of the food chain, is not being
respectful nor is mixing the
ashes with concrete.
John
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