>It sounds like a nice song but why put it to Danny Boy...

If it helps, think of it as rather being put to the
London derriere.

>There was a feeling among liturgists that this was getting out of hand >and sometimes lasting over an hour and getting into matters that just >didn't fit into a funeral Mass,

Pardon my cynicism, but I'm as Catholic and trained in it as Joe,
and I'll counter with some liturgists wanting to not have to work
that extra hour for their $200.00 honorarium lest they be late
for a golf date, or not have the Church tied up the extra time.

It's not unusual to have two hour fal-de-ral for a holiday at
some ordinary parishes or to weave an extra hour of stuff
when both the liturgist and the congregation cares to.

I've found that the 'average' liturgist finds a way to avoid doing
something when it requires extra thought or effort on his part...
mostly they sound like they're phoning it in.

Course this is the guy who probably couldn't show up to
give the departed Last Rites either, unless they had the
good grace to snuff it on 'his' day at the hospital.