A Microcosm of the Macrocosm: Crafting a Funeral Mass Homily that Confirms, Consoles and Converts in An African Context

Abstract

Among human conditions for people of various ethnic, social, religious, spiritual and cultural backgrounds, the reality
and inevitability of death are sometimes very difficult to face. The pain of grief can sometimes lead to loss of faith, the meaning of
life and the value of community. These moments of unbelief, despair and brokenness can sometimes turn a Christian community into a community enslaved by the captivity of negativity. The Catholic Church, in celebrating a Funeral Mass, offers a possible way to turn unbelief into optimism, brokenness into healing and negativity into positivity. The article refers to the homiletic moment during a Funeral Mass as an exposition on the reality of death as past, present and future to both the deceased and those grieving. It argues that a Funeral Mass homily is a microcosm of the macrocosm – an exposition of grief as pointing and related to the celebration of Funeral Mass liturgy, the human condition and daily Christian living.