**While cremation is definitely becoming more and more popular, it is actually something new to Catholic Christian tradition.**
I am learning here, too.
Hrmmm ...
I have buried many friends in the river on Carnival. That's how I was hoping to go myself. Particularly if I never marry or have kids, I don't see much point having my own plot in a cemetery somewhere, however beautiful.
Though, if I did ... I think I'd ask to be buried near my brother in Topeka who is all alone too.
bump for later
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1172238/posts
I'll repeat my comment from that discussion:
One of the more fascinating discoveries I made in doing family history research was reading the State report required when a 19th century cemetery was exhumed to make room for an Interstate highway interchange. Most of the graves contained nothing; only in a few was found a thin layer (less than a quarter of an inch, if I remember correctly) of grey dust---the very same "stuff" of cremains.
Whether by rapid oxidation and combustion (cremation) or slow oxidation and decay (burial), "dust art thou and to dust shalt thou return"