(Action for Life Florida) — One of the most basic and important teachings of Christianity is that, through faith and grace, believers can transcend death.
Jesus demonstrated it by his own resurrection. He died on the cross, and then rose again. This is a historical fact, recorded in scripture, and attested to in ancient non-scriptural documents.
Christ’s resurrection has often been disputed, or at the very least questioned. And such skepticism is nothing new. The Bible tells us that even one of the 12 apostles, Thomas, dismissed his colleagues’ report that Jesus had appeared to them after being tortured to death and buried.
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,” Thomas told his fellows (John 20), “and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later Christ appeared again, and with characteristic good humor insisted Thomas do exactly that. The doubter was thus convinced, prompting Jesus’ famous comment, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
The prospect of living again after our earthly demise – as Christ did in his body, which the apostles were able to see and touch – is why the Church insists that the deceased body must be treated with dignity.
It should be buried in a grave that has been properly prepared and protected from disturbance (a practice known technically as inhumation). Or else it should be cremated, the ashes then interred in a permanent enclosure, often referred to as a columbarium.
Longstanding traditions dictate the suitability of particular funeral and interment procedures, which have varied over time. But the essential goal has always been respectfulness.
That seems to be changing.
According to the current progressive, secular worldview – which we refer to as being “woke” – the human body is endlessly malleable. One’s sex can be “changed” through surgical mutilation, as suits the individual’s gender identity. A body is also disposable at will, through abortion, euthanasia or suicide.
It’s not a gift of God, created in his image and likeness with its own dignity, and thus worthy of respect. Rather, it’s a mere object, mine to do with as I please.
Not surprisingly, novel approaches to handling the deceased body are gaining in acceptance. The most common deviation from traditional practice is not interring the ashes after cremation in an appropriate manner. Reasons vary.
Some people, because of intense grief, can’t bring themselves to part with the last traces of a loved one. They display the urn in a prominent place at home, or divide up the cremains among family members.
This is understandable, though not psychologically healthy or spiritually productive. I have a friend whose cremation urn still sits atop the family refrigerator ten years after his death. (There are even companies that offer a process for turning ashes into jewelry.)
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On the other hand, our current focus on “natural” lifestyles has given a boost to the ancient practice of scattering, so that the departed might spend eternity “at one with the Earth.” This often appeals to those whose outlook is romantic (even poetic), rather than religious. It also dovetails with certain kinds of pop mysticism.
The reigning preoccupation with environmentalism and sustainability has fostered objections to cemeteries. Where those facilities were one seen as places of tribute and remembrance, now they’re increasingly viewed as artificial impositions upon the natural landscape, harmful concentrations of horticultural chemicals, and a waste of space.
This outlook has given rise to the practice of human composting – which is exactly what it sounds like: processing bodily remains in a mixture of wood chips, straw, and alfalfa. After a month or so of decomposition and bacterial growth you get about a cubic yard of organic matter which can be used as fertilizer.
The ecologically committed draw a certain satisfaction from the thought of Aunt Minnie contributing her substance to the fertility of her beloved garden, or enriching the soil of some pleasant location she would have enjoyed. Which is why this idea has increasing appeal.
Perhaps the most repellent approach to bodily disposal is a procedure called alkaline hydrolysis. This consists of boiling the body for about an hour in an alkaline solution. Chemical action breaks down the remains into a brown goop which is then deposited in the sewer.
Whether composting or flushing, the underlying assumption is that we’re all just made of material things, the stuff of the earth, no more. God’s will for us (if indeed God is given any thought at all) has nothing to do with our final disposition. We should have no expectation that our bodies will be glorified. Resurrection is probably all a myth anyway.
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There’s a larger context in which this thinking has developed. Certain scientists have taken to the idea that we are currently living in the what has been called the “Anthropocene Era.” Beginning with the Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century, this is the time period during which human beings have exercised an inordinate influence on the natural environment.
From the large-scale burning of coal, to the advent of nuclear fission, to the global adoption of synthetic fertilizers, to the rapid growth of world population, people have changed the Earth, and not in good ways.
Many deep thinkers have concluded that the current epoch must end, clearing the way for restoring the “state of nature,” a state devoid of human beings and their troublesome carbon footprints.
The idea that people are children of God, and so are entitled to a decent place of final rest, is in conflict with this anti-human way of thinking. What we have here is population control taken to its ultimate genocidal conclusion. It is a false way of thinking, but it is increasingly influential.
Christianity has always taught that since human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, we have an essential, unique dignity. According to that dignity, by God’s will, our true destiny is to be bound for glory.
Today this premise is being undermined in a variety of ways, none the least of which is disdain for the human body, alive or dead. We must not acquiesce in this materialist way of thinking. If we do, we lose all hope.
Published with permission, this essay is based on a homily delivered by Fr. Orsi (above). A priest of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, Rev. Michael P. Orsi currently serves as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Naples, Florida. He is host of “Action for Life TV,” a weekly cable television series devoted to pro-life issues, and his writings appear in numerous publications and online journals. His TV show episodes can be viewed here.