|
When Your Friend Dies,
by Harold Ivan Smith. Augsburg,
2002.
This small book in the Hope and Healing Series, a suitable gift for one who is grieving, affords comfort to a person who has lost a friend. Some think that the loss of friends is minimal in comparison with the loss of a family member, but that is not necessarily true. Even at the Wake and funeral sometimes the family members can see no reason why the lost one’s friend is
grieving. “It is our loss, not his/hers. He/she was ONLY a friend!”. Wrong!
The author deals with areas of doubt, confusion, and even agony which comes when one loses a friend, and he offers ways to come to understanding and courage for those facing the loss. Even though some dictionaries may offer three pages of words on friendship, Smith laments the loss of such words as: friendable, friended,
friendstrong, friendness, and friendstead, as he notes that these words trigger spell check. (And it was so for me!) In various ways, Smith warns his readers. “Please do not forget to say your friend’s name in easy conversation. Do not let him/her be forgotten.”
He urges his readers to find ways to show gratitude for all the blessings the two have shared. “Visit the grave. Bring flowers and
yes, your tears. Remember your friend is more alive than he/she ever was.”
(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review.) Paperback, Kindle
|
Make the Christian Spirituality Bookstore your starting point for online shopping at Amazon.com. You can buy books, cds, videotapes,
software, appliances and many other products at discount prices. As Amazon.com affiliate, we are paid a small fee for purchases originating from our web site. Every little bit helps! http://shalomplace.com/books/index.html
|
St. Benedict the African: April 3. 1526 - 89.
His parents were slaves brought from Africa to Messina, Sicily. Freed at 18, Benedict did farm work for a wage and soon saved enough to buy a pair of oxen. He was very proud of those animals. In time, he joined a group of hermits around Palermo and was eventually recognized as their leader.
Because these hermits followed the Rule of Saint Francis, Pope Pius IV ordered them to join the First Order.
Benedict was eventually novice master and then guardian of the friars in Palermo—positions rarely held in those days by a brother. In fact, Benedict was forced to accept his election as guardian. And when his term
ended, he happily returned to his work in the friary kitchen.
Benedict corrected the friars with humility and charity. Once he corrected a novice and assigned him a penance only to learn that the novice was not the guilty party. Benedict immediately knelt down before the novice and asked his
pardon.
In later life, Benedict was not possessive of the few things he used. He never referred to them as “mine,” but always called them “ours.” His gifts for prayer and the guidance of souls earned him throughout Sicily a reputation for holiness. Following the example of Saint Francis, Benedict kept seven 40-day fasts
throughout the year; he also slept only a few hours each night.
After Benedict’s death, King Philip III of Spain paid for a special tomb for this holy friar. Canonized in 1807, he is honored as a patron saint by African Americans. The Liturgical Feast of Saint Benedict the African is April
4.
Calendar of Saints
|
|
Affliate Web Sites: Please give them a visit. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
