Christ Our God, Healer of Souls and Bodies – Patient

Description

Booklet to be given to the patient with icon dyptich in the centerfold.  By Fr. Tim Kennedy.

Review by V. Rev. Dr. Stelyios Muksuris, PhD
Protopresbyter, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (Metropolis of Pittsburgh) and Professor and Chair of Liturgical Theology and Languages, Byzantine Catholic Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA

Incarnating ourselves into the reality of the other’s pain and suffering, in order to comfort, make whole, and save, defines the mystery of God’s love in Jesus Christ. And it defines the ministry entrusted to all who constitute the ministerial and royal priesthood of the Church, in which love is the chief aim. Fr. Timothy Kennedy, a Byzantine Catholic priest whom I am proud to call my former student at seminary and now colleague, has produced a long-awaited manual that addresses, both theologically and practically, the need to effectively minister to the ill and dying.

Fr. Timothy has actually composed two invaluable volumes for us: the chaplain’s handbook and the patient’s guide, to assist the latter in heartfelt prayer and helpful meditation. Written in a compassionate tone that is at once reflective of the Eastern Christian (Byzantine Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) perspective on sin, illness, and death, the author dives into the spiritual riches of the Eastern Christian Tradition, bringing to light numerous relevant scriptural and patristic references to be used as meditative and discussion prompts during the pastoral visitation. At the end of the day, the desired outcome for the suffering patient is to realize that he or she is never alone as they carry their cross, but rather that the suffering and risen Christ— and by extension, the Church in her fullness, represented by the chaplain, priest, or volunteer—enters into their suffering with them and graces them with divine strength, patience, and the preservation of their God-given dignity.

I commend Fr. Kennedy for gifting us this cherished and well overdue resource. Most especially though I thank God for his fine example of commitment and love to God and his fellow human being. We are all better off because of people like him, who have made love their true aim in life.

40 pages with color images.  $10.00.