Cremation does not mean God cannot or will not raise that person’s body on the last day.
Traditional burial gives a fuller witness to our hope in the resurrection, and the Church recommends it over cremation. However, God does not exclude someone from the future resurrection of the body simply because he or she was cremated. The sovereignty of God is independent of any human action.
This reality offers comfort particularly to individuals who have already chosen cremation for a friend or family member. Likewise, as this video describes, laying a loved one’s cremated remains to rest can bring personal healing, even many years later.
“Maybe people think that when they die, that’s it. But in the Catholic Church, we don’t believe that—we believe that our final destination is eternal rest in heaven. We’re striving to be with our heavenly Father.”
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