I need advice from people who are Catholic

[Kyouken]

Here's the situation:

My mother's boyfriend's mom passed away last night. We're having some sort of memorial service rather than a funeral. I plan on going to the memorial service, however my mother felt the need to tell me that his family was raised Catholic. I'm not sure how much any member of his family has studied into Catholicism. I do know that my mom's boyfriend isn't into any of it at all. If I had to 'label' (for lack of a better word) him, I'd say he's an atheist.

The reason I need advice is because I'm not Catholic; I have no idea what kind of procedures (again, for lack of a better word) that his family may do, and I do not wish to offend them. The only reason I'm even asking for advice is because my mom mentioned it to me.

So, my question is this:
Is there anything I should(n't) do?
Like I said before, I'm only asking this because my mom mentioned it to me.

 

[zeroturbulence]

Very sorry for your mom's loss. Don't worry, they won't require you to do anything. Just relax and enjoy the beautiful memorial service which will be performed by a catholic priest. If they offer communion/eucharist you aren't supposed to get in line and take it if you aren't a confirmed catholic, but don't worry no one will judge you for not getting in line. Many catholics don't take it sometimes because they were not able to go to confession beforehand. We believe the bread becomes Jesus' body according to the scriptures: "Take this and eat it; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26).

 

[Kyouken]

Thanks, zeroturbulence.
Good advice; this is exactly the sort of thing I was lookin' for

 

[zeroturbulence]

You're very welcome. And by the way I don't agree with the church only allowing confirmed catholics to take communion. I think any christian should be allowed as long as they repented/confessed to Jesus shortly before taking it. The idea is that you shouldn't take it if you still have unforgiven sin, but it doesn't actually say that you have to be sinless in order to eat it in the bible. God bless.

 

[Belldandy]

Very sorry for your mom's loss. Don't worry, they won't require you to do anything. Just relax and enjoy the beautiful memorial service which will be performed by a catholic priest. If they offer communion/eucharist you aren't supposed to get in line and take it if you aren't a confirmed catholic, but don't worry no one will judge you for not getting in line. Many catholics don't take it sometimes because they were not able to go to confession beforehand. We believe the bread becomes Jesus' body according to the scriptures: "Take this and eat it; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26).

Exactly. If you have not yet gone to the service, good luck. No one will be staring at or judging you, and these services are often beautiful and comforting. I went to one for one of our parish priests and everyone is there to remember the person, not make others feel uncomfortable.