Regardless, the point is that it's somewhat disputed and not clear from Revelation when the soul actually leaves the body at death, so the rule of thumb is that it's permitted to perform Last Rites conditionally until rigor mortis (i.e. putrefaction).  I think rigor mortis was set up as a more obvious criterion that can be easily tested, since without lab tests it's hard to know when putrefaction has begin.

I comment here as I work for a funeral home, albeit as an unlicensed assistant.  My degree was in Animal Science (which did involve some training about and experience with biological systems and deceased matter) rather than Mortuary Science.


Rigor mortis and putrefaction are different phenomena and have a distinct order in the post-mortem process (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putrefaction ).  They also occur a few or several days apart.  The timing of when the different stages postmortem appear can be affected by environmental conditions, the condition of parts of the body premortem (poor circulation for example), and any trauma associated with death.  In my experience it is usually not that difficult to determine when putrefaction has begun and we always hope to bring a deceased into our professional care before it does.

Of course, I have no idea, but I once met a trad (young man and father of 10) who told me he had ”cancelled all his insurances.”

He said they were all a scam.

I didn’t press him on the issue, because it wasn’t any of my business, but I sensed that he thought there was something immoral about insurance (like how some people object to stock market speculation). 

Personally, I tend to lean in the opposite direction (ie., i’d wonder whether not carrying health or auto insurance was moral, and would feel a bit naked without homeowners or life insurance), but maybe there’s other/stronger reasons he had which I’ve not considered?

My father died when I was 13. Thank God he had insurance. My mother was able to pay off the house and his funeral. I know a young man who refuses to carry insurance. He believes that God will take care of his wife and 4 year old if anything happens to him. He's a farmer. Hopefully he lives a long life because the only way his wife would be able to keep the farm if he dies would be to marry again immediately. 

Would paypal friends and family be better, do they have similar fees?

I've heard of folks using GiveSendGo instead of GoFundMe.  Does anyone here know how much lower their fees are?  

Life insurance is important but we shouldn't pass judgement because there are many factors to consider.  One such:

"Due to the added risk health problems create for insurers, some pre-existing conditions can raise your premium or even disqualify you entirely from certain types of life insurance. A few common examples of pre-existing conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and asthma."

Whatever the situation, I was so touched by the beautiful photo of your family and the story of your brave son and God's providence in providing for Last Rites as well as your resignation to His Divine Will.

You are an inspiration to us all!

Prayers for the souls of your mother and husband and may God bless you and your beautiful family.

Miser Pecattor,

Thank you also for the nice post. It is my prayer that we can step up and be bearers of the Light of Christ in these dark times. I see the Hand of God at work in so many details of this situation. I suspect God is trying to bring about many conversions through my husband’s death.