Jeanie Hannaman

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing - The word “cemetery” means “place for sleeping” (from the Greek verb for sleeping, koimaō).  It was never applied to pagan graveyards, but rather coined specifically for the graveyards of Christians and Jews who believed in the resurrection of the dead... We must learn to see Christian “sleeping places” in this way.  They must come to appear to us in a certain way.  They are not dreary places of hopelessness and annihilation. – “She is not dead, but sleeping.” (Luke 8:52) Rather, they are places of anticipation, of assurance of the quick passing of this world. 

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - So now we see the price that the Catholic Church must pay for the years of confusion over matters of doctrine during the reign of Pope Francis. When the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) publishes a statement, designed to clarify the proper language to use in praise of the Virgin Mary, faithful Catholics—who in the past would have carefully heeded such a cautionary note from the Vatican’s top doctrinal body—see the document as an offense against piety and a betrayal of the perennial tradition.

By Joseph Pronechen, National Catholic Register - Despite its enormous significance, skipping a funeral Mass and instead opting for a graveside service or ‘celebration of life’ for a loved one has become increasingly common among U.S. Catholics... Death awaits at the end of every human life, and this profound event is also the entry point to the final judgment by Jesus that will determine the permanent destination of every human soul: heaven or hell. ...