I just got back from singing at a Funeral at Church and was thinking a bit. I have been singing at Funerals as part of a Choir or a Cantor for more than 25 years now. The Funerals for family members or friends are the hardest and that is understandable. I have some personal connection with that person and feel loss as everyone else at the Funeral does. Over the years though, there have been a number of Funerals that I have sung at where I did not have that personal connection. I did not really know the person so I don't feel a sense of personal loss. I find that even at those Funerals, there are times when I have trouble singing because I feel sad. It's not a personal loss that I am feeling but I feel for the pain that the family is feeling. The Funeral that I sang at tonight was not someone that I knew personally but right at the beginning of the Funeral I could feel the pain of the Family as the wife and young daughter of the deceased placed the Funeral Pall over the casket. I was glad that this was a well attended Funeral as it does help when you see that the Family has a lot of support. There is nothing that feels worse than going to a Funeral where there is hardly anyone there to share the pain with the Family. I am glad that our Parish has many members that reach out to help Families in times like this.
