De waardering van angst en schuld in de katholieke uitvaartliturgie

Abstract

In this contribution we tried to make clear that a funeral liturgy must deal with feelings of fear and guilt, which are connected to the passing away of someone dear to us. After Vatican II, funeral liturgy in general has become focused upon the thought, that everyone will arise with Christ. The idea of punishment in hell is now less spoken of in the prayers than in the pre-Vatican liturgy. It seems as if the attention for feelings of fear and guilt has disappeared. On the basis of certain actual examples and of an analysis of the sequence Dies irae, this contribution tried to positively assess fear and guilt, that is caused by the death of a dear one. In the Dies irae, these feelings were given a legitimate place. Also, the organisation of the images of God in the pre-Vatican liturgy placed the fear of God as mysterium tremens into a larger context whereby this fear was purified, leading to a more redemptive and liberating experience of God as mysterium fascinans. The modern reception of the Dies irae, however, seems to contradict the dynamic which lies in the hymn and the liturgy. This contribution should be seen as a plea for a contemporary way in which words and rituals facilitate the expression of feelings of fear and guilt and give them a place in an intense awareness of the mystery of the triune God.