jankp's Full Review: Joseph Cardinal Bernardin - The Gift of Peace: Per...
Perhaps, the ultimate burden is death itself. It is often preceded by pain and suffering, sometimes extreme hardships. In my case it is primarily a question of a pervasive fatigue that seems to increase day by day, forcing me to spend much of the day and night lying down. But notice that Jesus did not promise to take away our burdens. He promised to help us carry them. And if we let go of ourselves--and our own resources--and allow the Lord to help us, we will be able to see death not as an enemy or a threat but as a friend.
These words come at the end of a chapter of The Gift of Peace. Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, the author of this book, was a good man and his book reflects him like a mirror. He talks about his frequent visits with his infirm mother being taken care of by nuns in the suburbs, even when he was dying from pancreatic cancer.
He helped to keep the missionaries going. I visited the place once looking for a place to volunteer and it's like he describes it, a beautiful place with friendly nuns who have fun activities for the residents. Joseph writes more of people he cared about than he does himself, such as his mother and the family of priests he belonged to. He cared for everyone he met, even strangers on his block while he was out walking.
His Writing Style
I can't remember ever shaking his hand, but I heard him speak many times at conferences and masses when I was a Catholic in Chicago. This memoir of his sounds just like he's speaking to you. He is honest, simple, caring and wise. Everything a good man and a good priest should be. His love for Chicago is quite evident on these pages. His dreams for the many religious communities in Chicago to be unified and not divisive are shared and offered to his readers. He challenges us to accept his dreams and is optimistic that we will.
It is evident what a busy man he was, exhausting me with the description of his daily life that included trips to conferences as a speaker or planner. He celebrated mass and other rituals, such as quiet time or prayer, with great devotion even in suffering. He took his role of priest and Cardinal as seriously and joyfully as Jesus Christ did, who he mentions quite often, and with as much suffering. His was a slow death over a year and he prepared for his death by writing this little book. That alone is reason to read this.
Why You Should Appreciate It
I'm not going to tell you that you should be a Catholic. Neither will Joseph. It's not that kind of book. All he wanted to do in writing the book is show us that we can forgive those who wrong us as he did a homosexual who accused him of misconduct and who dropped the false charge when Joseph met with him and forgave him. He wanted to be 'a gift of peace' to all people and the Catholic Church was merely his teacher and vehicle to do that. I've gone on from being Catholic, but I do believe Joseph encompassed all religions because he was a good man who taught many others to be just as good, no matter what their religion. I think you'll appreciate that as much as I do.
You may, though, more appreciate an earlier work of his: A Moral Vision For America, if the subject of dying is morbid to you. Biographies have also been written on Joseph by such as Eugene Kennedy.
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin s gentle leadership throughout his life of ministerial service had made him an internationally beloved figure, but the words...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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