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Summary
- The 1928 Book of Common Prayer’s prayer for all who mourn asks God to “deal graciously” with them, “that, casting every care on thee, they may know the consolation of thy love.”
- Short prayers cover the first days after a death, the funeral, the months that follow, anniversaries, the death of a child and a friend’s loss.
- In the US, 988 takes calls and texts from anyone thinking of ending their life; Samaritans answer free on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland.
- Medicare-certified hospices in the US must offer bereavement support to the family for up to a year after a patient dies.
- Catholics and Orthodox pray for the dead; most Protestant churches do not, and the Reformed Westminster Larger Catechism rules it out.
- Grief is not a lack of faith: Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35), and Paul contrasts Christian sorrow with sorrow that has “no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (2 Samuel 12:23; 1 Kings 19:4, 7; Psalm 34:18; 88:18; Ecclesiastes 3:4; Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 5:4; John 11:25, 35; Romans 8:26; 12:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14; Revelation 21:4). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- The Book of Common Prayer (1928, Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America). “The Order for the Burial of the Dead.” https://www.episcopalnet.org/1928bcp/burial.html
- The Book of Common Prayer (1928). “At the Burial of a Child.” https://www.episcopalnet.org/1928bcp/burialchild.html
- De Concilio, J. A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, No. 2 (Baltimore Catechism), imprimatur 1885. “For the Faithful Departed.” Project Gutenberg eBook no. 14552. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14552
- Varni, James A. Treasury of Indulgenced Prayers, 1944, part XI, “For the Faithful Departed” (the “grant unto them” wording). https://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-674.shtml
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Paragraph 1032. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2N.HTM
- Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. “Memorial Service.” https://www.goarch.org/-/the-memorial-service
- Westminster Larger Catechism (1648), question 183. https://thewestminsterstandard.org/westminster-larger-catechism/
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/
- Samaritans. “Contact us.” https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
- Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 418.64(d)(1), “Bereavement counseling” (hospice conditions of participation). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-418/subpart-C/section-418.64
