A Short Span of Days: Meditation and Care for the Dying Patient, Family and Care-Giver

David M. Kelly is a teaching assistant at Brock University in St.
Catharines.

In A Short Span of Days Freeman offers a short series of talks proposing
the ancient tradition of meditation as a viable aid to the dying. His
talks, followed by periods of questions and answers, focus on the
positive property of meditation not only for the dying individual, but
also for the family and those caring for the dying. According to
Freeman, a Benedictine monk, meditation is simple and easily available;
moreover, he contends that it is highly effective as a spiritual aid to
those about to pass beyond death’s door.

This book is beautifully written. Its language is warm, soothing, and
comprehensible. While he writes primarily from the Roman Catholic
position, Freeman maintains an entirely ecumenical spirit, blissfully
free from the boundaries of denominational restriction. The book is,
therefore, appropriate for readers beyond the Catholic—or, for that
matter, even the Christian—communion. Freeman’s concern is for
people, not church affiliations.

Pastors (especially hospital chaplains) and seminarians will find the
book extremely useful, particularly as a reference for the dying.
Doubtless many will appreciate Freeman’s brevity and simplicity of
thought. In summary, an entirely practical and positive endeavor
presented in the highest tradition of the O.S.B.