HTML Preview Naming Cermony English page number 3.
C EREMONY(OF(N AMING(AND(C OMMENDATION(FOR(AN(I NFANT(W HO(D IED(BEFORE(B IRTH(|"3 (
1. In times of death and grief the Christian turns to the Lord and the Church for
consolation and strength. This is especially true when a child dies before birth.
2. “In its pastoral ministry to the bereaved the Christian community is challenged
in a particular way by the death of an infant or child. The bewilderment and pain
that death causes can be overwhelming in this situation, especially for the parents
and the brothers and sisters of the deceased child. The community seeks to offer
support and consolation to the family during and after the time of the funeral
rites” (Order of Christian Funerals, 238).
3. This ministry to the bereaved includes sacramental assistance: “[f]uneral rites
may be celebrated for children whose parents intended them to be baptized but
who died before baptism…” (Order of Christian Funerals, 237). However, the
liturgical expression of assistance in grief is not limited to the funeral. The Book
of Blessings offers a Blessing of Parents after a Miscarriage, which is intended
“to assist the parents in their grief and console them with the blessing of God”
(Book of Blessings, 279).
4. This ceremony is not intended to take the place of the above rituals, but
pastoral experience has shown that an additional blessing is often desirable for
ministry to those who have lost a child before birth. The opportunity for parents
to name their deceased child before the Church’s representative, as they would
have done in Baptism, allows them to take comfort in their child’s identity being
known to and cared for by the Lord and the Church.
5. The minister should be attentive to the needs of the parents and other family
members, and to this end the introduction to the Order of Christian Funerals,
Part II: Funeral Rites For Children will be helpful.
6. If the deceased child has surviving brothers or sisters, it may be especially
appropriate for them to serve as acolytes, readers, or musicians, if they are of a
suitable age.
7. This ceremony may be used by a Priest or a Deacon, and also by a layperson,
who follows the prayers and actions designated for a lay minister.