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.

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