Please call the parish office to notify us that someone has died and you are requesting a funeral. Our coordinator of funerals will call you back as soon as possible.
When making arrangements after a loved one has passed, the best place to begin is to choose and contact a mortuary or funeral home of your choice. They will help to assist making sure all necessary arrangements are coordinated properly between themselves, the Church and the Cemetery.
- Registered and active parishioners (whether in the boundaries or outside)
- Any long time parishioner who has become inactive because of health or some other good reason
- Immediate family of parishioners (parents and children)
- Any Catholic living in our parish boundaries
A vigil service is offered the day before the funeral.
The funeral may be either a Mass or a Liturgy of the Word. We recommend a Liturgy of the Word service for people who are not practicing Catholics.
Following the funeral, a graveside committal service is also available.
Please Note: A funeral Mass is not a tribute service for your loved one, it is first a public act of worship to God. As such it is bound by certain rules of the Church. Given that it is situated within a specific parish community it also will follow the practices of our community. The Mass does not belong to any individual nor is subject to alteration based upon preference. Should you request to have the funeral Mass of your loved one at Our Lady of the Lake these ideals will be followed. Special requests can sometimes be accommodated, but rarely and only if they conform to these principles. Many of the things people request are very fitting for a vigil service or during a reception, but they are not fitting for Mass. Please understand this before making your requests.
Funeral services are available Monday through Friday only, generally at 10:30 AM.
You can select any of the prescribed readings for the Funeral Mass or service.
Scripture Readings
One reading is chosen from each the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Gospels.
Old Testament
2 Maccabees 12:43-46 "...he made atonement for the dead..."
Job 19: 1, 23-27 "...I know that my vindicator lives...."
Wisdom 3:1-9 "...The souls of the just are in the hand of God..."
Wisdom 3:1-6,9 "...The souls of the just are in the hand of God..."
Wisdom 4:7-14 "The Righteous One, though he die early, shall be at rest..."
Sirach 2:1-11 "...in fire gold is tested....Compassionate is the Lord..."
Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9 "...he will destroy death forever..."
Isaiah 26:7-19 "...your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise..."
Isaiah 35:1-10 "...Here is your God, he comes with vindication..."
Isaiah 40:1-11 "...Here is your God, Here comes with power..."
Lamentations 3:17-26 "...My portion is the Lord, says my soul..."
Ezekiel 37:12-14 "O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise..."
Daniel 12:1-3 "...the wise shall shine brightly..."
Micah 7:7-9 "...though I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light..."
New Testament
Acts of the Apostles 10:34-43 "Everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins"
Acts of the Apostles 10:34-36,42-43 "Everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins"
Romans 5:1,5-11 "...We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son..."
Romans 5:17-21 "...through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all..."
Romans 6:3-9 "...if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with him..."
Romans 6:3-4,8-9 "...if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with him..."
Romans 8:1-11 "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ..."
Romans 8:14-23 "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are Children of God"
Romans 8:31-35,37-39 "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 14:7-9,10-12 "This is why Christ died and came to life"
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 "Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard..."
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 "If there is no resurrection of the dead..."
1 Corinthians 15:20-28 "In Adam all die, so too if Christ shall all be brought to life."
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 "Death where is your victory?"
2 Corinthians 4:14-5:1 "The one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us..."
2 Corinthians 5:1,6-10 "We would rather leave the body and go home..."
Philippians 3:7-14 "...I run toward the prize to which God calls me..."
Philippians 3:20-21 "He will change our lowly body..."
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "If we believe that Jesus died and rose..."
2 Timothy 2:8-13 "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead..."
2 Timothy 4:1-2,6-8 "I have competed well, I have finished the race..."
1 John 3:1-2 "Beloved, we are God's children now..."
1 John 3:14-16 "We know that we have passed from death to life..."
Revelation 14:13 "...Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord..."
Revelation 20:11-12:1 "...The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades..."
Revelation 21:1-5a,6b-7 "...I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem..."
Gospel
Matthew 11:25-30 "come to me . . . and I will give you rest."
Matthew 25:1-13 "Look. The bridegroom comes. Go out to meet him"
Matthew 25:31-46 "Come, you whom my Father has blessed"
Mark 15:33-39 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark 15:33-16:6 "Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last"
Luke 7:11-17 "Young man, I say to you, arise."
Luke 12:35-40 "Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,..."
Luke 23:33-43 "Today you will be with me in paradise."
Luke 23:44-24:6a "Father, I put my life in your hands."
Luke 23:44-49 "Father into your hands I commend my spirit"
Luke 24:13-35 "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer..."
Luke 24:13-16,28-35 "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer..."
John 5:24-29 "Whoever hears my word and believes has passed from..."
John 6:37-40 "All who believe in the Son will have eternal life..."
John 6:51-58 "All who eat this bread will live for ever...."
John 11:17-27 "I am the resurrection and the life."
John 11:21-27 "I am the resurrection and the life."
John 11:32-45 "Lazarus, come out."
John 12:23-28 "If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies..."
John 12:23-26 "If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies..."
John 14:1-6 "There are many rooms in my Father's house."
John 17:24-26 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me..."
John 19:17-30 "Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirits."
Individual tributes or eulogies are not permitted at the funeral Mass. They are reserved for the Vigil or Rosary service (normally, the afternoon or evening before the day of the Funeral Mass) or for a reception following the funeral liturgy.
Yes, the bishops of the United States and the Holy See have authorized the celebration of a Catholic funeral liturgy with the cremated remains present.
The Order of Christian Funerals with a Vigil, Funeral Mass or Liturgy of the Word and Burial is the same whether a body or cremated remains are present.
The Order of Christian Funerals with a Vigil, Funeral Mass or Liturgy of the Word and Burial is the same whether a body or cremated remains are present.
No. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or a friend, are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires. Cremated remains, like a body, are to be placed in a final permanent resting place.
No. The principle of respect for the cremated remains of a deceased Christian embraces the deeper belief in the individuality of each baptized person before God. Throughout history, the mingling of remains has never been an accepted practice except in extraordinary circumstances. It is also unacceptable to have any part of the cremated remains be made into jewelry, dishes, art works, etc.