Guidelines: Funerals, Burials, Celebrations of Life

A Message for the Family,

We Christians find bright rays of hope even in the midst of our darkest times. We believe that death is not only an end, but also a beginning.  Our loved one has passed from this present, temporary life to a perfect, permanent one. She or he who knew God in faith on earth now sees the Lord face-to-face in heaven.  While death separates’ us, we will one day be reunited with all  those we love in a “dwelling provided for us  God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made by hands but to last forever” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

We, the Christian Family at St. Columba, sympathize with you in your loss and we offer you the hand of compassion and love in this difficult time. The Church offers you its warm embrace, through its family, of which you are a part, through its Holy Liturgies and customs.  We will do all that we can to help and hold. 

As Joseph Chaplin states in his book Through Death to Life …“When a Catholic dies , the Church celebrates a particular set of liturgical rites to help us through the immediate days of our grieving to express our belief in eternal life, and to help us pray
for the one who has died. These rites are organized into what is called the Order of Christian Funerals, which contains all the liturgical prayers, scripture, readings, and blessings for use when a loved one has died. 

For the wake or vigil service,  funeral, final commendation (prayer of farewell), and the rite of committal (which we celebrate at the place and time of the burial, entombment, or cremation). 

Together through the Church's prayer and traditions we embrace you and look forward to helping you. Many find the planning and implementation of a funeral overwhelming. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you need. 

Be gentle with yourself and your family.  You are in our prayers!

In Christ’s love and peace,

Fr. Aidan J. McAleenan, Pastor

Guidelines For A Funeral At St. Columba

1.  Upon the death of a loved one, the family should contact the Parish Priest as soon as possible.

2.  We recommend that you use Catholic Cemeteries of the East Bay, whenever possible, or a mortuary service that is familiar with Catholic rituals.

Fax: +1.925.946.9034
Phone: +1.855.481.4081

Pleasanton, CA 94588
4457 Willow Road, Suite 100
Catholic Cemeteries of the East Bay

3.  Fr. Aidan McAleenan is the pastor at St. Columba and his contact details are as follows:
cell phone +1.50.248.8355   |   Office direct line +1510.550.4026   |  General parish line +1.510.654.7600
and or email [email protected]

Early contact affords me an opportunity to offer prayers, condolences and encouragement to you and
your family and at the same time arrange for us to meet and discuss the liturgical rites plus any concerns
or questions you might have about the celebration.

4. If your family wishes to have a priest other than those on the pastoral staff at St. Columba preside at the funeral, they must receive permission from me as pastoral leader of this community. Visiting priest(s) must contact the pastor before making arrangements with the family and get permission to preside.  In addition priests/deacons who are from another Arch/Diocese/religious order must provide a “Letter of Suitability” from the competent religious authority before the celebration.

5.  No arrangements for cremation, funeral or burial should be finalized until the relatives have discussed
them with the pastoral staff.

6.  The funeral of any deceased member of the faithful should normally be celebrated in the church of that person’s proper parish. However, any member of the faithful, or those in charge of the deceased person’s funeral, may choose another church; this requires the consent of whoever is in charge of that church and a notification to the proper parish priest of the deceased. 

7.  The family should be prepared to arrange the following for the Order of  Christian Funeral Mass with the priest:

1. The name and birthdate of the deceased.
2. The date of death.
3. The name, address and telephone of person(s) making the arrangements.
4. The name, address and telephone number of the mortuary.
5. Identify the family participants in the Liturgy;

• Placing of the Christian symbols – Pall, Cross, Book of the Gospels
• Choice of Christian Hymns that are part of the Roman Catholic and or African American Gospel tradition.

6. Scripture selections

• First Reading – The Old Testament
• Responsorial Psalms
• Second Reading – The New Testament
• Gospel

7. Prayers of the faithful:  It is always good to personalize these prayers.  e.g.. If someone died of a long illness due to cancer for example.  Then you could pray for the specific medical staff, care givers and family who helped by name.  These prayers are usually proclaimed by the family of the deceased.  One person can read them or this could be an opportunity to have many family members involved by proclaiming a few prayers each.
8. Presentation of the Gifts

1. Words of Remembrance:  should be planned ahead of time and written in double spaced text with one
2. full page being the maximum. The family can feel very emotional when reading such a text. If you need
3. to pause, the ability to resume reading is facilitated by placing a finger at the stopping place.
10. The Eucharist continues in the usual manor. At St. Columba communicants line up beginning from the back of the church. Ushers will direct the faithful.
11. PowerPoint Presentation.

• The presentation about the loved one should not be longer than 5 minutes.  (That usually means no more than two songs long.  The songs should be appropriate for a church setting and so should the content of the photos.
• Any use of PowerPoint must be approved prior to the funeral and should be tested one day before the funeral for compatibility with our Windows based computer system.)
• All media, dvd disk, thumb drive, and or emailed presentations are acceptable.
• Only the church Windows based computer can be used for this presentation.

• Music/Musicians

• Contact the Music Director at St. Columba even if you are anticipating using outside sources.

• All songs, soloists and music of any kind must be cleared with St. Columba Music Director prior to funeral.
• The sound engineer is provided by the Church, any outside sources has to be cleared by the Music Director and the Pastor.

Flowers/plants and other symbols of love should be placed in the sanctuary at the pastoral staff’s discretion
so as not to impede the Rites of the Church.

All Repasts should be planned and cleared with Janell Hampton, our parish manager.

Please see the schedule of Offerings and Repast fees below.

The church earnestly recommends that all cremains be placed in consecrated ground or other appropriate location. Refer to Canon Law: 1176.3

Once a year our church offers a grief support group. Please contact our parish staff to schedule a meeting. 

In Christ’s love and peace,

Fr. Aidan J. McAleenan
Pastor