The church strongly prefers that cremation takes place after the full Funeral Liturgy where the body is present. “This is the body once washed in baptism, anointed with the oil of salvation, and fed with the bread of life.” The Church’s belief in the sacredness of life and the resurrection of the dead encourages us to celebrate the funeral liturgies with the body present while affirming the value of human life. As Catholics we celebrate our funeral liturgies, because they recall Christ’s victory over death. With His victory, comes our promise of eternal life.
If it is not possible for the body to be present at the Funeral Mass, permission has been granted by the Catholic Church which provides for the celebration of the Funeral Mass with the cremated remains of the body present in church. Since it is the ‘earthly remains’ and not the body of the deceased that is present, there are slight adaptations in the liturgy. In some diocese, local permission is needed for the cremated remains of the body to be present at Mass.