Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Human bling-bling



Now when your spouse or loved one dies, you can have them made into jewelery, and flash your new-found bling in public. No kidding. A Swiss company named Algordanza will take human ashes and turn them into diamonds. Never mind the sacredness of the human body. There are reports that Christians are their best customers.

Oh, in case you didn't already know, after the cremation process, when the body has been torched for two hours at temperatures of up to 2100 degrees F, what remains is bone fragments, not ashes. These bone fragments are sifted, collected and then pulverized in a device that uses a rotating and grinding mechanism to produce what we call ashes. It's no wonder the Catholic Church was against cremation for so many centuries (until the 1960's fell upon us).

13 comments:

Michele said...

umm yeah. ok. when we pass, we'd like all our bones intact and in the ground thank you very much! not sitting on someones finger as an adornment, yuck!

Adrienne said...

That is just gross.

You have a meme waiting for you on my blog (scroll down) - but only if you want to do it:) Noooooooo pressure. Really...

Smiley said...

can i ask what you think of Catholics who prefer cremation cause it is cheaper?

paramedicgirl said...

Smiley, I am all for spending less on funerals. I believe the Catholic Church has always frowned upon lavish, decorated funerals. One of my former priests did not want any flowers at his funeral because of this, and he even frowned upon the way people decorated his church for funerals, and when he died, the people in our parish decorated the church with flowers anyway. They said it was "for the people."

I have often told my family as much as I love flowers, they cannot be in the church at my funeral. I would much rather have my family and friends have a Mass said for my soul! Just a pine box and a Requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form will do for me.

Now, about cremation - I don't care what the cost is or isn't; the body is sacred because it is created by God, and it should be treated as such. Cremation has always been forbidden until recent times and the tradition of the Church is what I always prefer over any modern innovations.

Shirley said...

Looks like we want the same kind of funeral; for me, a cheap pine box and the same Mass you want. Can't believe people would do such a silly thing as to turn bodies into jewelry.

Joe of St. Thérèse said...

I know that at the Last Judgment we'll get our bodies back, but something has never set right to me about cremation. I have a paper in my wallet God forbid anything happen that says my funeral must be done according to the rite of 62 and not focused upon me.

Smiley said...

I have a paper in my wallet that says that if I am in an accident and at a hospital I want the sacrament of extremeunction.
Maybe paramedic girl could help me here, but i think that Catholic priests are no longer allowed to visit patients without express permission of the patient. I find this tremendously wrong.

Tom in Vegas said...

What??? Is this "Jewelry by the Nazis?" Looks like Josef Mengele inspired these folks.

paramedicgirl said...

smiley, let me ask my priest that tomorrow. He is the chaplain at one of our hospitals. I think that the person has to have filled out a religion preference as Catholic on the hospital admin form in order for the priest to be able to visit them.

ignorant redneck said...

On the other hand--if times get hard, you can always pawn Gramma along with her antiques and heirlooms.

What a stupid idea. I'd rather be left out for the crows and coyotes!

X said...

I found a site that sells rosaries with hollow crosses (note that they do not supply them with crucifixes!) that can be filled with 1 tsp. of ashes. Comes complete with funnel.
Prices are upward of $200.

I emailed them to tell them that Catholics (who typically pray the rosary) must be buried or entombed whether they are cremated or not. Of course I did not receive a response.

paramedicgirl said...

Angela, that is great that you spelled out the teachings of our church to them. I'm not surprised you were ignored, either.

X said...

The idea of dragging someone ashes around in a rosary - or a necklace pendant which is also available - just creeps me out no end. I mean - WHY??? When I was in Vancouver I didn't even go and visit my mom's remains (never have in 11 years actually) as I feel that I am closer to her at Mass and especially during Holy Communion. St. Therese of Lisieux taught me that lesson.