Do you have a stack of funeral memorial prayer cards?

Did you know there is a Catholic tradition of handing out prayer cards at funerals? They depict Jesus, Mary, or one of the saints on one side and a prayer, name of the deceased with the date of death, or rather, birth into eternal life.

This tradition can be traced back to 1700s in the Netherlands. Family members and anyone attending the funeral would take the prayer card and place it in their bible or prayer book to remind them to pray for the deceased. An older generation would be able to pull out many holy cards from family and friends who were important in their lives. They would be able to tell stories about family and friends to the next generation. It’s a great way to learn about family history.

The earliest holy cards for funerals favored an image of the suffering Christ and most of them began with the words of St. Ambrose, “We have loved him during life, let us not abandon him, until we have conducted him by our prayers into the house of the Lord.” Holy cards these days can have any religious image. More recent cards include Mary, St. Joseph and St. Francis.

We see holy cards for other important events in our lives. For example, a newly ordained priest has a holy card made with a prayer on one side and a holy image on the other. It’s to remind the faithful to pray for him and his ministry. There was a time when it was a common practice to get a holy card made after a child’s first communion. It was to mark this special event but also to remind the child of the great gift they had been given and to always be faithful to God. It was also a reminder to the parents to pray for the spiritual upbringing of their child.

Today, at least here in North Dakota, it is more common to just have a booklet with the deceased’s obituary. Although this is very nice and helpful for those attending the funeral to be reminded or learn something new about the person who has just died, we as Catholics need to be reminded to pray for the soul of the dearly departed, not just on the day of the funeral but for the rest of our lives.

The Church continually remembers in prayer all those who have died. In the month of November, the Church especially remembers and prays for the souls who have died. Nov. 2, All Souls Day, is a day set aside as a commemoration of all who have died, and Masses are offered for them. Since we as Catholics are called to remember our dearly departed loved ones through prayer and Mass intentions all year, funeral holy cards can help us to remember this. They guide our prayer as we entrust our loved ones to God.