Catholic Approach to Widowhood, A

This book leads the reader through a series of brief but profound reflections on every imaginable emotion that a person can expect to experience following the loss of a loved one. Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew all too well and first hand the feelings and challenges that confront them, having gone through them all herself upon the death of Joseph when she was left to raise her young Son alone. "Our finite minds and fragile hearts are overwhelmed when a spouse dies, a child is killed, a co-worker suffers a fatal stroke, a neighbor's boy is missing in action," Bishop Robert F. Morneau states in his Foreword to the book. "Part of that reaction, for those who embrace the gift of faith, is to turn to Mary in prayer and meditation." And that is precisely what Roberta Charneski helps us do as she addresses Mary in the vignettes that she presents so vividly in this very beautiful work. As Father Alfred McBride, O.Praem., points out in his Preface: "Grieving does not end with the burial. There is still need for the care of a relative, friend, counselor or priest to walk with the bereaved until he or she has entered the mainstream of life again. We are reminded here that such grieving takes more time for many people than one might think."