While I Breathe, I Hope

Richard R. Gaillardetz (1958-2023), held the Joseph Chair of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. He published numerous articles and authored or edited twelve books, including An Unfinished Council: Vatican II, Pope Francis, and the Renewal of Catholicism and Keys to the Council: Unlocking the Teaching of Vatican II (co-authored with Catherine Clifford), both published by Liturgical Press. He was a contributor to Give Us This Day. Gaillardetz was a delegate on the US Catholic-Methodist Ecumenical Dialogue and served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America between 2013 and 2014.

• ContentsForeword   ixPreface   xvThe Cancer Journey Begins   1Into the Heart of the Paschal Mystery   7Facing a Terminal Diagnosis   11Cancer, Theodicy, and the Mystery of Divine Providence   15Gratitude   23The Blessings and Vexations of Embodiment   31Marking Time   37How to Inhabit Time   43Praying My Way into Advent   55Christmas and Epiphany: Seeking the Christ Child   73The Logistics of Dying   79A Difficult Remembrance   85Notes from a Caribbean Cruise   93 The Consolations of Married Life While Grappling with Cancer   101Death, the Clinging Ego, and . . . Purgatory?   107The Interplay of Grief and Gratitude   115Friendship   121The Church   133True Christian Hope and the Dark Night   145Giving Away My Death   155I’m Not Dead Yet!   167From Christian Baptism to the Christian Funeral   175The Consoling, Grace-filled Power of Music   185A Meal Befitting the Children of God   195O Love, I Rest My Weary Soul in Thee   203Epilogue   209

“Rick did not write because he was directed to do so by another. He wrote as a free act of love, opening the door of his mind and heart, offering insight to all of us living in the shadow of death, preparing us to make passage through dying and death to the new life for which we hope.”from Foreword by Michael Downey