A risk of keeping the ashes of loved ones at home

Unless one seeks to do so as a means of denying the resurrection of the dead, the Church tolerates the cremation of the dead, but insists that their ashes be buried or entombed in a mausoleum out of respect for the dead and the body that was the temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2301 and the Code of Canon Law, c. 1176 § 3).

Despite this insistence, many Catholic families choose to keep their loved one's ashes in an urn on the mantlepiece on in some other place in the home. Unfortunately, Catholics are not alone in this rather recent practice.

Tragic news comes out of Franklin, Tennessee that demonstrates another good reason why the ashes of the dead should be buried or entombed:

Joel Tuck arrived at his Franklin, Tennessee home on Monday to find that his back door was wide open and it's glass window had been broken. 

Two flat-screen TVs, several checkbooks and a bottle of liquor were stolen. But it was when Tuck realized a pink purse was missing that his heart dropped. 

The pink purse belonged to his daughter Whitney, who died in 2005 at the age of 19 after losing her battle with leukemia. Her ashes were kept in a box inside the purse, which had been her favorite. 

Franklin police arrested Jwyanza Weaver and Christopher Gengler in connection to the burglary. They are currently in custody.

Both men are convicted felons and Weaver was on probation at the time of his arrest, according to the Tennessean.

According to police, the two men drove to a gas station after burglarizing the home. It was there that Gengler threw away the pink purse into a trash can [more].

As of last evening, Miss Tuck's ashes have not been recovered. Please pray for the Tuck family and for all those who grieve the loss their loved ones. Pray, also, for the souls of the dead.