Scatter ashes on the Mountain – Memorial Service – Grisons – Prättigau – The grain of wheat must die, otherwise it will remain alone!
Would you like to scatter the ashes of a loved one in the mountains, in the vast silence of the Alps, in the light of heaven and the peace of nature? Funeral speaker Abbot Reding from the Nigredo Monastery conducts ceremonies in the Prättigau region of Graubünden with respect, compassion, and deep dignity.
The mountains of Graubünden offer sacred places where earth and sky meet — on the slopes between Küblis, St. Antönien, and Klosters, on meadows kissed by the wind or beside clear mountain streams. There, an ash-scattering ceremony becomes a moment of stillness and transformation, a farewell carried by wind and light.
In the rhythm of these high valleys — where snow, sun, and seasons weave their eternal circle — we sense that death, too, is part of life’s renewal. Just as the grain of wheat must fall into the earth to bring forth new life, so does every soul return to the greater whole.
Words of Gratitude
Dear Funeral Speaker Father Reding,
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the dignified farewell ceremony you held for my little sister. On that deeply emotional day, I felt very close to her. May you be blessed for what you do.
B. R. (85)
Prayer at the Scattering of Ashes
The grain of wheat must die, or it will remain alone. One life depends on another — none can stand apart. Mystery of faith: in death there is life.
So the Lord gave His life,
offering Himself like bread.
Whoever takes this bread
proclaims His death and His life.
Mystery of faith: in death there is life.Whoever celebrates this mystery
must themselves become as bread —
to be broken, to be shared,
to heal the world’s deep need.
Mystery of faith: in death there is life.As bread for many people,
the Lord has chosen us —
to live for one another,
for love alone endures.
Mystery of faith: in death there is life.
This prayer reminds us that to give is to live — and that letting go is not an ending, but an act of love returning to its source.
Meditation – The Spring Wind
The spring wind moves through empty avenues,
strange are the things it carries.
It has swayed where tears once fell,
and touched the hair of those in grief.It shakes down blossoms of acacia trees,
it cools the limbs once burning with breath.
It glides through a flute as a sobbing cry,
it flies past twilight’s fading sky.It slips in silence through whispering rooms,
and dims the shimmer of a late lamp’s bloom.
The spring wind moves through barren ways —
strange are the things it carries.Through smooth and empty avenues
its breath drives pale shadows.
And the scent that drifts upon its wing —
from where it came since yesterday’s spring.
The Place – Prättigau, Graubünden
The Prättigau Valley lies in the heart of Graubünden, framed by the mighty peaks of the Rhaetian Alps. It is a place of luminous air, pure silence, and far-reaching horizons. Here, the light touches the mountains like a benediction, and the spirit finds peace in the rhythm of wind, stone, and snow.
In this sacred stillness, the act of scattering ashes becomes a gesture of love — a release into freedom, a return to the elements. The wind carries the ashes across the ridges and meadows, and what remains is peace.
Guidance and Accompaniment
Abbot Reding from the Nigredo Monastery accompanies families and individuals in preparing and conducting funeral and ash-scattering ceremonies in the Swiss Alps. With mindfulness and empathy, he helps turn farewell into a moment of transformation —
not an ending, but a completion.
The grain of wheat must die, or it will remain alone.