Funeral Wishes, Funeral Liturgies, Funeral Music

If you are reading this, and haven't already done so, I urge you to make your wishes known to someone who is in a position to see to it that your desires are accomplished, (and if you are a member of a liturgical denom, check with TPTB to insure that the are appropriate, or at least judged so  now. Thinks change.)

At my old parish we often encountered lapsed, apostate or functionally pagan survivors who really didn't care that Aunt Millicent was a daily communicant, they weren't going to put up with any of that priestly mumbo jumbo, nice flowers and some jokey family reminiscence at a funeral parlor would do, well, okay, ya call yourself reverend or father? no mind, you can come along and say some words if ya want.

Wait, what's this going to cost us?

This despite the fact that my parish put a great deal of effort into funerals and never took a fee for a parishioner's or a parishioner's dear ones obsequies.

Cardinal Egan's send-off will, I presume take his stated wishes into account.

One final point: Asked what he would like played at his own funeral, Egan answered:

I didn't expect that question, and let me tell you what I would do if I had the opportunity. And, I would say that if it ever were possible for me to choose what it would be, it would be the Perosi Requiem. I don't know what'll happen, but if they did have the Perosi Requiem, it would be wonderful.

As far as much of Perosi's output is concerned, IMO, Catholic ceremonial was deprived 
unceremoniously of it in the wake of the Changes, in a baby and bathwater kinda way.

(The "Changes"? the Bride of Christ going through menopause? Hmmmm, may have to explore that idea, picking my way through the minefield of sacrilege that is Ecclesialogical metaphor....)