the sacramental absolution of the Sacrament of Penance. Rather, it is a series of prayers to God that the person's soul will not have to suffer the temporal punishment in purgatory due for sins which were forgiven during the person's life. During the absolution, the Libera me, Domine is sung while the priest incenses the coffin and sprinkles it with holy water. The prayer for absolution is said by the priest, and then the In paradisum is sung while the body is carried from the church. Ceremony by the graveside After the absolution, the body is carried to the grave. The tomb or burial plot is then blessed, if it has not been blessed previously. A grave newly dug in an already consecrated cemetery is considered blessed, and requires no further consecration. However, a mausoleum erected above ground or even a brick chamber beneath the surface is regarded as needing blessing when used for the first time. This blessing is short and consists only of a single prayer after which the body is again sprinkled with holy water and incensed. Apart from this, the service at the graveside is very brief. In the Tridentine tradition, the priest intones the antiphon "I am the Resurrection and the Life", after which the coffin is lowered into the grave and the Canticle Benedictus is recited or sung. Then the antiphon is repeated again, the Lord's Prayer is said silently, while the coffin is again sprinkled with holy water. Finally, after one or two brief responses, the following ancient prayer is said: Grant this mercy, O Lord, we beseech Thee, to Thy servant departed, that he may not receive in punishment the requital of his deeds who in desire did keep Thy will, and as the true faith here united him to the company of the faithful, so may Thy mercy unite him above to the choirs of angels. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The final petition made by the priest is "May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace." At that point, the graveside ceremony and the burial is complete. In the post-Vatican II rite, the prayers are different. Burial fees In principle, there was no fee for Christian burial. According to Canon Law, any faithful could be buried by the priest for free; and this has been confirmed by several