Parish memorial Masses, burial rites celebrated for more than 200 individuals as part of archdiocesan cemeteries initiative
SOUTHFIELD — Burying the dead is one of the seven corporal works of mercy in the Catholic Church, a final act of faith and a chance to entrust loved ones who have gone before to the embrace of God's love.
On Nov. 7, the cremated remains of more than 200 people were committed to their final resting place at four local Catholic cemeteries as part of Alba Ministries’ Gather Them Home program.
Alba — formerly Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services — began Gather Them Home more than a decade ago as an initiative for families to inter the cremated remains of loved ones on consecrated grounds, where they will be prayed over by staff and visitors.
This year, Alba partnered with parishes and funeral homes across the Archdiocese of Detroit, where memorial Masses were celebrated for the deceased before processing to local Catholic cemeteries for the committal rites.
“We really wanted to utilize the parishes as part of this program, inviting the families to bring their loved ones from their homes, back to the church, and experience the three rites of burial: the vigil, the Mass and the committal service,” Deanna Cortese, outreach director for Alba Ministries, told Detroit Catholic. “We had 13 parishes participate with Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, where families had the chance to commemorate their loved ones and have a service in the church.”
At St. Aidan Parish in Livonia, Fr. Jeffrey Day celebrated a memorial Mass for 11 individuals whose remains were lovingly placed in a casket during the service. In his homily, Fr. Day emphasized the importance of praying for the dead as one of the Church's great acts of mercy.
“There is a much deeper spiritual meaning to this. Today, we acknowledge Jesus is gathering our loved ones home in a mission of hope. That is his whole mission,” said Fr. Day, who also serves as chaplain to the Confraternity for Holy Souls, an association of the lay faithful dedicated to praying for the faithful departed.
It is right to grieve the loss of loved ones, Fr. Day said, but it is also right to express joy and thanks, knowing that Jesus has conquered sin and death.
“Jesus came and defeated sin and death on the cross, and Jesus would have still gone to the cross even if our loved ones were the only people who had ever been created out of love by God,” Fr. Day said. “Jesus did it for every person: for Leo, for Titus, for David, Liam, Maureen, John, Antoinette, Albert, Wesley, Phillip and Shirley. Jesus went to the cross with all of them in mind. Jesus went to the cross with all of us in mind, because what we see on the cross is just outstretched arms, gathering us all home.”
After Mass, a hearse carrying the 11 cremated remains led a procession from St. Aidan to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, where mourners from other parishes participating in the Gather Them Home initiative were gathered for the committal service.
There, Fr. Jeremy Schupbach of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington offered a few words of comfort before the remains were interred in the cemetery's All Souls Remembrance crypt.
“The souls we’re laying to rest today, we’re honoring them to the very end,” Fr. Schupbach said. “This will be one of the last great acts by which we honor the dignity of these lives. It’s a beautiful event, and I’m so grateful to all of you for being here and performing this great act of charity and service.”
At Holy Sepulchre, Nicola Duzak laid to rest the remains of her mother, Dr. Kathleen Duzak, who passed away last year, and her uncle, Gregory Duzak, who died in 1984.
“I was not only able to lay to rest my mother, but also her brother,” Duzak said. “And it was the most magnificent thing the way our archdiocese and the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery staff handled today. It was the most respectful, beautiful ceremony I could ever dream of.”
Duzek remembered being concerned about the cost of a funeral and burial when her mother passed away, until Fr. Matthew Kurt of St. Fabian Parish in Farmington Hills, who celebrated her mother's last rites, told her about the Gather Them Home program.
“This is the most special place. My whole family is here,” Duzek said. “All of the Duzaks are buried at Holy Sepulchre, but because I wasn't able to afford a plot, I've been trying to save for years and years. I'm a medical student and I'm still in school. And so this is the answer. I prayed and prayed. I did it, and God made it perfect. It was a perfect day.”
In addition to the archdiocesan-wide event in November, Alba Ministries hosts Masses and committal services year-round on the third Friday of each month as part of the Gather Them Home program at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield and Our Lady of Hope Cemetery in Brownstown Township, where families may bring their loved ones' cremated remains to be buried free of charge.
The program is meant to ease the pain of families' grief by assuring them of the Church's care and concern, Cortese said.
“We want to remove every obstacle that we can for families, whatever that may be,” she said.
