The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is administered to the dying as well as to those who are gravely ill or about to undergo a serious operation that puts the person at serious risk of death. This sacrament of mercy and healing offers prayers for the recovery, but its primary intention is to give spiritual strength and calm the soul of the one suffering from illness. Traditionally, this sacrament was referred to as Extreme Unction or Last Rites. One should not wait until death is imminent, however, to receive Last Rites.
The sacrament can be repeated, but only in certain instances. One can be anointed multiple times due to different illnesses. One can also be anointed a second time for the same illness if there is a significant change for the worse in the illness.
HOW TO SCHEDULE ANOINTING/LAST RITES FOR LOVED ONE IN A HOSPITAL: If your loved one is in a hospital, please request a Catholic priest at the nurse's station of the hospital. All the hospitals in the Fresno Metro area have a Catholic priest on-call to administer Last Rites/Anointings.
HOW TO SCHEDULE ANOINTING/LAST RITES FOR LOVED ONE AT HOME/NURSING FACILITY: If your loved one is a registered parishioner and is at home or lives within the OLPH parish boundaries, please contact the parish office.
HOW TO SCHEDULE AN ANOINTING OF THE SICK FOR UPCOMING SURGERY: To schedule an anointing of the sick due to an upcoming surgery that puts the person in grave danger, please call the parish office as soon as possible prior to your surgery.
General Information
From the staff at OLPH, please accept our heartfelt prayers and sympathy as you remember the life of your loved one, and know that we are ready to assist you in preparing for and celebrating a funeral liturgy. For Catholics, death is not the end of life, but the fulfillment of new birth begun at Baptism and the eternal reward of being at home with the Lord. While those left behind grieve the death of a loved one, Jesus has promised “they shall be comforted.”--Matthew 5:4.
Please carefully read the guidelines below. If you are working with a funeral home or mortuary, please contact the funeral home/mortuary first to inform them that you would like to have your loved one’s funeral mass at OLPH, allowing the funeral home and OLPH to communicate. Please be aware that OLPH cannot confirm the Mass schedule until the funeral home contacts us. If you are not working with a funeral home, please call the parish office directly to discuss the funeral process.
All funerals in the Catholic Church are conducted according to the Order of Christian Funerals. Catholic Funeral Rites include:
Important notes of consideration OLPH is no longer renting Notre Dame Hall to the public for family gatherings/events. Eulogies, poems, and words of remembrance are not permitted in the church to maintain the sacredness of the funeral liturgy and are best suited at the family gathering after the Mass, at the Rite of committal (Graveside), or at the funeral home. No gift bearers are needed as the gifts for Holy Communion will be present at the altar. Viewings, vigil services and rosaries are to take place in the funeral home and cannot be accommodated in our church due to the impacted church schedule.
Funeral Offering/Fees
If you are working with a funeral home, the fees are paid to the funeral home or to OLPH directly if you are not working with a funeral home.
Funeral or Memorial Mass | $250 offering + $200 musician fee (Note: Music is optional. Clergy for Vigil/Rosary at funeral home and/or Graveside service is included ) |
Graveside service only (without funeral mass) | $250 offering |
Chapel service | $250 offering |
Music For the Funeral Liturgy
Music is integral to the funeral rites. It allows the community to express convictions and feelings that words alone may fail to convey. It has the power to console and uplift the mourners and to strengthen the unity of the assembly in faith and love. The texts of the songs chosen for a particular celebration should express the paschal mystery of our Lord’s suffering, death, and triumph over death and should be closely related to the readings from Scripture.
For this reason, OLPH provides a carefully curated outline of musical pieces for the funeral rites performed at our parish. They are chosen and prepared with great care in order to ensure the proper spiritual support and consolation needed for all the participants. The goal of our parish is to evoke a spirit of hope in Christ’s victory over death and in the Christian’s share of that victory. Our music ministry is honored to provide this service and create an ambiance of prayer and reverence for your family. You can preview the music selections for our funeral masses here. Feel free to email jerry@olphclovis.org with any music related questions.
Readings for the Funeral Liturgy
Depending on which priest will be celebrating the funeral mass, we invite the family to choose a first reading (typically from the Old Testament; please choose from C1-C7 if outside of Easter Time), a second reading from the New Testament (Section E), as well as a Gospel reading (Section G) for our lector to read (total of three readings, one from each category). See reading choices in English here and in Spanish here. If you do not wish to make any of the reading selections, you may leave this up to the celebrant. Please inform the parish office of your selections at least three business days prior to the funeral/memorial mass by emailing office@olphclovis.org.
We require a lector from OLPH to read at our funeral masses so that the readings align with liturgical guidelines. If a family member is a lector at another Catholic parish and would like to read, you may email the parish office a letter from their pastor that verifies that he or she is a lector in good standing.
Flowers and Memorabilia
Flowers may be delivered to OLPH one hour prior to the start of the funeral Mass. Flowers and memorabilia can be placed at the entrance of the church. No flowers are permitted at the altar (barring a funeral mass with cremains; see below), so as not to obscure the altar and block passage of ministers in the sanctuary.
Cultural Traditions, Military Honors or additional requests
OLPH requests that military honors and additional requests (dove release, words of remembrance, mariachi band performance, etc.) are to be done at the Graveside service after the funeral mass and not on the OLPH grounds. Feel free to email office@olphclovis.org if you have any questions.
Funeral Mass with Cremains
The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they came. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the cremains, the manner in which they are carried, and the final disposition. For the funeral Mass, a table will be provided for your loved one’s cremains and one flower arrangement may be placed at the foot of the table. You may bring one picture of your loved one which will be displayed next to the urn.
The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium as soon as possible after the funeral Mass so that the deceased may participate in the Paschal Mystery of Christ (death, burial & resurrection on the Last Day). The practice of scattering cremains or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative of the deceased is not the reverent disposition the Church requires and is prohibited by the Catholic Church.
After the Funeral Liturgy
Praying for the faithful departed is a spiritual work of mercy. With the help of loved ones left behind, souls can attain the glory God has prepared for them from the foundation of the world. In addition to prayer, offering a Mass is a beautiful way to pray for our loved ones. Mass intentions may be offered in person at the OLPH office.
OLPH Contact Information
Should you have any questions, please email office@olphclovis.org or call the parish office. We are happy to assist.