The Gift of Peace: Personal Reflections

We used this book as one of our monthly Book Club selections. We had a wonderful discussion. For me the whole book is a commentary on what he says on the first page. He learned to "let go." the rest is all a way of living a CHristian life from this point of view; not be attached to anything but keep your eyes on God alone. Based on the Gospel of Jesus, this ability of "letting go" is the secret of Christian life; to allow God to work in us and through us require that we learn how to discern His will. Once we do this, we can live our lives without letting the storms determine the direction of our journey. Cardinal Bernardin learned this the hard way. I read the book in a couple of hours but had to go back again over and over to let the truth of his experience sink in my own heart. I particularly enjoyed the chapter titles: they used his own handwriting. It was his wish. I liked that he reclaimed beauty (handwriting) in a world that was being destroyed by the ugliness of his illness. easy read, thought provoking, life changing book.

The Gift of Peace could just as accurately been entitled, The Gift of Courage, or The Gift of Faith. In this short well-written book Cardinal Bernardin candidly talks about the horror of being falsely accused of sexually abusing a seminarian while serving as Archbishop of Cincinnati. When the accusation came out as nation-wide news, Bernardin was then the Archbishop of the Chicago diocese. In this book he describes how he handled this erroneous attack on his reputation and that of the Catholic Church. It is an uplifting beginning of the book and a welcome one considering the many true sexual scandals that the Church now faces. Bernardin courage was tested again when he was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer. Once again he rose to the challenge and put his faith and future in the hands of God. The Gift of Peace is a must read for anyone, religious or otherwise, who faces a problem that he or she thinks is beyond their capability to handle. It is a guide to inner peace written by someone who could truthfully say, "Been there done that."

I am Christian but not Roman Catholic so I was quite skeptical when a Priest recommended it during a fiends funeral service. The book is well written albeit from a Roman Catholic perspective yet applicable to all Christians. His life's journey is witness to the hope and peace a strong faith in God brings to the individual and also to those lives you touch. He may be a Catholic Cardinal but his wisdom transcends the denomination, i.e. you don't need to be ordained clergy to benefit from the compact book. I ordered two more for gifts and going to order more for more family and friends in the midst of this life's struggles.

This book is written in a very simple manner, yet discloses very personal feelings of Cardinal Bernardin. His struggles with the humiliation of being accused of child abuse and then his struggle with the knowledge of his terminal cancer was truly heart rending. One of the things that tickled me was that he honestly admits that during his daily prayers his mind would wander to tasks he had before him for the day - a problem I have myself! His thoughts on cancer and dying were very helpful to me as I have lost family members to this terrible disease. I would recommend this book not only to people that are dealing with cancer, but to family members as well.

It was a book club pick, I would not have chosen this one on my own (I did not want to spend time on the disgraceful headlines about priestly misconduct mentioned on the back cover-it was NOT about that-but if that is your interest, then definitely read this perspective). I'm grateful for my little book club, we take turns choosing the books, I LOVE AND RECCOMEND this book, I'll read again (rare occurrence) I would give this book all the stars in the sky, Alas, only 5 gold stars to present. God bless YOU!

I had to read this for a class and actually enjoyed it. Interesting read, not preachy, fast read.

I was told this was a good book for people of faith with a cancer diagnosis. I do not think it is for everybody because it does not have the good, "I survived cancer" ending. But it is great for all people of faith to see how even the most negative diagnosis can be handled with love and sensitivity to your fellow-man. How someone can take adversity and use it to do good for others. It also put a different perspective of the priest scandal - a priest who was unjustly accused, exonerated by his accuser and who truly offered his accuser forgiveness and blessings which he accepted.

This book is different for people who have experienced difficult lives, and those who have not. For those of us who have, the gentle Cardinal gave us new ways to evaluate our responses to emotional and physical pain. For people who have been spared life's worst, this is a detailed account of how a sincere Christian dealt with awful situations. Cardinal Bernardin becomes a man I would have liked to meet.

Inspirational and humble man, who shared with everyone how to find that inner peace. God bless Cardinal Bernstein

Wonderful personal reflections from a very holy man. An inspiration for all those who are suffering and dying from a terminal illness.