Those of my generation may remember the 'Bless me, Father' books from the 1970s. A young priest, Fr Neil, tells of his adventures with his elderly parish priest, Fr Duddleswell, played by Arthur Lowe in the TV series. There is a lot of nonsense in the books, but from time to time there are moments of insight. One such came to mind recently:
"The trouble with Protestant theologians, Father Neil, is they have no imagination. 'Tis their mistaken opinion that the bereaved like to think of their loved ones being taken immediately to Paradise."My reaction must have put me among the Protestants. "When you lose someone you love," Father Duddleswell explained, "you experience the overpowering need to comfort them. 'Tis hard indeed to picture the dead as blissfully content while you are still shattered and torn by the losing of them. There must be attunement betwixt living and dead, you follow? The Church's teaching on Purgatory takes account of this."
I would not normally think of the (fictional) Fr Duddleswell as a reliable theologian, and it is certainly not safe to build doctrine on our emotional needs. It seems to me, however, that there is real pastoral insight in this passage.
This morning the Radio 4 "Sunday" programme reminded me that there was a strong movement to provide prayers for the dead in the Church of England following the First World War. Before that time, the official services of the Church of England did not provide such prayers, and to this day there are widely divergent views among Anglicans about whether it is appropriate to pray for the dead. Catholic teaching and practice has always encouraged us to pray for the dead. That helps me now. I am convinced it will help me even more when the time comes for me to go to God.
