Since Newman was a famous convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism it should be no surprise that the poem is about the prayer of a dying man as he faces his own mortality, God's judgment and (interestingly) purgatory.
Let me quote from what the Angel sings almost at the end:
Angels, to whom the willing task is given,
Shall tend, and nurse, and lull thee, as thou liest;
And Masses on the earth and prayers in heaven,
Shall aid thee at the Throne of the most Highest.
So, a few thoughts about this, and about purgatory...
1. It completely undermines the work of Christ as sufficient for salvation. The Book of Hebrews is clear - His sacrifice is enough; we don't need Masses on earth or prayers in heaven.
2. The Bible is not clear about what happens to those who die before Jesus returns and the Last Judgment - we are 'asleep', but what does that mean? As early as Tertullian most of the Church Fathers had some pretty funny ideas about what happened after death. (I don't think there is anything there to justify purgatory but there are common place references to some form of remembering the dead which I find disturbing and confusing.) Having just finished the book of Revelation I'd rather stick with the few things Scripture is clear about and leave the rest up to God.
3. Our society and culture doesn't like tackling the issue of death head on anymore. We'd rather not think about what happens when we die. We are all the poorer for that.
2 comments:
Hey I was nearly singing in that concert!
Yes, what a lot of nonsense that purgatory stuff is, an attack on our assurance of salvation and worse, an undermining of the things that Scripture makes plain. Thankfully most of that choral poop is in Latin.
If you turn up to Messiah, however, you will be treated to pure gospel in song!
This reminds me... I still haven't read those copies of The Divine Comedy that my friends bought for my birthday 4 or 5 years ago.
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