Funeral

The process for composting a body was first introduced by the Seattle-based company Recompose. A dead body is broken down through a process known as Natural Organic Reduction by placing the body in a reusable vessel, covering it with wood chips and aerating it, which creates an environment for microbes and essential bacteria. The body, over a span of about 30 days, is fully transformed into soil.

Your thoughts: Last week, NCR posted a piece by Don Clemmer on the role of eulogies at Catholic funerals in the Chicago Archdiocese. The revised guidelines were released by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich in November. 

The Chicago document doesn't exactly break new ground in its recommendations, but it does put heavy stipulations on how a eulogy can be given. This rule draws a firm line through a sensitive pastoral context, in which grieving families are processing their loss and navigating how to say goodbye. 

Perspective: I was the only Daughter of St. Paul sister who could come to a recent funeral of a benefactor and friend of our community, and I was the first to arrive.