Light in the Darkness

Paul Turner is pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception  in Kansas City, Missouri and director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He holds a doctorate in sacred theology from Sant’ Anselmo in Rome.He is a former president of the North American Academy of Liturgy and a member of Societas Liturgica and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He serves as a facilitator for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. His publications include One Love: A Pastoral Guide to the Order of Celebrating Matrimony, Inseparable Love: A Commentary on The Order of Celebrating Matrimony in the Catholic Church, Glory in the Cross: Holy Week in the Third Edition of The Roman Missal, Let Us Pray: A Guide to the Rubrics of Sunday Mass, and Whose Mass Is It? Why People Care So Much about the Catholic Liturgy, all published by Liturgical Press. He is also a contributor to Give Us This Day.

Contents
 
Acknowledgments
Preface
 
1 Pastoral Care
  The Person Who Died
  Funeral Homes and Cemeteries
  The Obituary
  Planning the Ceremonies
  What We Are Doing
  Cremation
  The Absence of the Body
  The Three Stages
 
2 Rituals
  “The Last Rites”
  The Liturgical Environment
  The Wake
  Related Rites and Prayers
  The Funeral Mass
  The Rite of Committal
  Musical Selections
  The Role of Priests
 
3 Toolbox
  The Readings
  Sample Homilies
  Handouts for Mourners