Prices and Information on Cremation Services

In direct cremation the body is cremated shortly after death as soon as the proper authorization for cremation documents are obtained from the attending physician and the County Medical Examiner.  San Jose Funeral Home cannot determine the actual time frame for obtaining the clearance for cremation because it is beyond our control how fast the authorizing parties will respond.  It may take several days. The body is usually not embalmed since no visitation is involved. If cremation with services is requested, then the body is usually embalmed since it will be exposed to public view. The cremated remains are placed in an urn or other container of your choice. At present  we are using Memorial Pines Crematory where they provide a family viewing room for the family to identify the remains as they are taken into the crematory if the family so desires.  No viewing  is permitted in any other crematory.  The cremated remains can be kept in the home, buried or placed in a crypt or niche in a cemetery, or buried or scattered in an appropriate location. Direct cremation usually costs less than the "traditional," full-service funeral. Costs include the funeral home's basic services fee, as well as transportation and care of the body. A crematory fee is included. There also will be a charge for an urn or other container in case you want to replace the temporary urn provided by the crematory. The cost of a cemetery plot or niche is incurred only if the remains are buried or entombed.

Funeral providers who offer cremations with services before cremating should offer to provide rental of a casket for use in the services instead of the family having to purchase a casket.

The following is our present price schedule for cremation services:

             DIRECT CREMATION: -------------------------------$750.00  (Total Cost)
 

CREMATION WITH SERVICES---(ONE DAY)---$1650.00  (all services held in one day--the day of your choice)

  CREMATION WITH SERVICES---(TWO DAY)---$2725.00  (visitation held from 3 PM to 8 PM the day of your choice and Church or Temple services the following day)

INFORMATION

Cremation For Catholics?

Many Catholics today still believe that the Church forbids cremation. This was true, for a variety of reasons, prior to Vatican II. The Judaic roots of Christian tradition carried a long-standing prohibition of cremation as a reaction to equally long-standing attempts to annihilate Jewish existence and memory.

Although cremation was a common practice among Greeks and Romans, at least for the very poor, Christians moved away from the practice out of:

• faith in the Resurrection of the body;
• reverence for the body as a member of the Body of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit;
• a strong reaction to persecutors' use of burning bodies as a taunt against belief in the Resurrection.

The practice of the early Church came to be crystallized in the 1917 Code of Canon Law which strictly forbade cremation except when grave public necessity required rapid disposition of bodies, as in times of plague or natural disaster. The Church went so far as to deny Christian burial rites to anyone choosing cremation.

The reforms of the Second Vatican Council touched all areas in the life of the Church, including funeral and burial rites. The first document to be promulgated by Pope Paul VI, after the Council began, stated: "The rite for the burial of the dead should evidence more clearly the paschal character of Christian death; and should correspond more closely to the circumstances and traditions found in various regions." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, #81, December 1963) An instruction of the Holy Office related specifically to cremation modified the Church's position to allow cremation to be requested for any sound reason (Piam et Constantem, May 1963). Only if the request were motivated by denial of Christian dogma, hatred of the Catholic Church or a sectarian spirit, would there be any problem with the Church.

This position has now been codified in the Revised Code of Canon Law: "The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burial be retained; but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching." (The Code of Canon Law, 1985, #1176.3)

When Cremation is Allowed

While the Church still prefers burial or entombment, after the manner of Christ's own burial, out of respect for the human body and belief in the Resurrection, cremation may be chosen for "sufficient reason." Here are some general considerations to keep in mind when facing the question of cremation:

• Cremation may be requested for hygienic, economic or other reasons of a public or private nature. Some examples would be: transfer of the remains to a distant place, possible avoidance of considerable expense, national tradition or custom, a severe psychological or pathological fear of burial in the ground or a tomb.
• The selection of cremation must have been the specific choice of the individual before death.
• Cremation, however, may also be requested by the family of the deceased for what also might be determined good and/or pastoral reasons that can be accommodated. (An obvious instance would be the case of a family's desire to transfer the remains to a distant place.)
• According to current Archdiocesan Guidelines, the priest, whose responsibility it is to perform the funeral, must determine that the reasons for choosing cremation are within those recognized by the Church.
• When cremation is seen as an acceptable alternative to the normal manner of Catholic burial, the various elements of the funeral rite should be conducted in the usual way and, normally, with the body present.
• The ordinary practice of Christian burial includes the Vigil Service, the celebration of the Funeral Mass at the Church, and the Rite of Final Commendation at the cemetery.
• Although all the elements of the Funeral Rite have importance, priority should be given to the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy with the body of the deceased present.
• In March 1997 the Vatican granted the dioceses of the United States an indult - that is, an exception for pastoral reasons - to permit the cremated remains of the body to be present at the Funeral Mass. The decision as to whether or not to implement this indult in a particular diocese is left to the individual bishop of that diocese.

The following is a beautiful poem and good reason why cremated remains should be buried:

Cremation Burial

Scatter me not to restless winds,
Nor toss my ashes to the sea
Remember now those years gone by..... 
When loving gifts I gave to thee.
Remember now the happy times 
The family ties we shared.
Don't leave my resting place unmarked 
As though you never cared.
Deny me not one final gift
For all who come to see 
A single lasting proof that says.....
I loved and you loved me.

D.J. Kramer

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