A sobering sign of the times, in this story out of Cleveland:

For people who are struggling to make ends meet, a sudden expense can be devastating, and there are times it can be catastrophic. A growing number of local people are finding themselves in this situation when a loved one dies.

With the cost of a funeral and burial upwards of $5,000, it is not surprising that more and more local families find themselves hard-pressed to provide what their deceased loved one wanted or requested.

“We were lost, and I didn’t know what to do,” said Krys Williams, whose son David was shot and killed in April in a downtown Cleveland parking lot.

“It was a horrible situation,” says her husband Dan Rinaldi. They could not afford a suitable Christian funeral and burial, but were rescued by a little known Catholic organization called the Callistian Guild.

“It makes us feel like we’re providing that high level of ministry and service that we’re really called to do,” says local funeral director Don Ferfolia, a member of the Callistian Guild of the Diocese of Cleveland.

He and other members of the Guild who were involved in David Williams’ funeral and burial provided everything to the family at no cost.

“People should know that they’re there to help,” says Krys Williams. “People like us that don’t have the money for a proper funeral or burial for their loved ones.”

Local funeral directors and cemeteries say they can’t remember a time when so many people were unable to pay for a funeral and burial.

“The numbers are increasing where not only individuals, but families have found themselves without the resources to bury their loved ones,” says Andrej Lah, director of Cleveland’s Catholic Cemeteries.

“That’s the reason for the Callistian Guild, to help those who may qualify for this service,” says Lah. “You have to be Catholic, you truly have to be unable to provide burial for your loved ones, or if someone is truly alone and there is no one left to provide that service.”

Find out more at the link.