Our Faithful Departed Where They Are and Why It Matters by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, the McGrath Institute for Church Life
There is a lonely phone box in the area where the tsunami hit Japan. This 'Phone on the Wind' has become a pilgrimage site for people to go and 'talk' to their departed loved ones, seeking comfort in their loss. Christians seek communion with the dead through Christ. This book guides readers in the best ways to do this, using examples from saints and from ordinary people. For example, Saint Monica had a strong devotion to the dead dure to her Northern African traditions.Saint Ambrose showed her how to give the food that she used to take to the dead to the hungry in their honour, and to pray for the dead to Christ in the Eucharist.
I feel slighly uncomfortable about praying for the dead because of the way that I was brought up, but this beautifully written book showed me how to look at it in a different light. I found it very helpful.
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