Books about Viaticum from Amazon.com

This new edition of Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum is commended to the Roman Catholic Church and its ministers who care for the sick and dying by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops..
Price: $12.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Forword by Steve Kerr Five-time NBA Champion

In 1997, I was fortunate enough to live out every basketball player’s dream. With five seconds left in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, I took a pass from Michael Jordan and knocked down a wide-open jump shot to beat the Utah Jazz and win the championship. I can remember everything about the moment: Phil Jackson drawing up the play in the timeout; Michael Jordan telling me he was going to pass the ball to me; watching the ball in midair after I released it, everything seemingly frozen in time. But what I remember most vividly, and what will stay in my mind forever, is the roar of the crowd as the ball swished through the hoop. 20,000 fans at the United Center created a din that night that still gives me goose bumps just thinking about the moment.

But what if the fans hadn’t been there? What if nobody cared about basketball and no one bothered to watch it on TV or attend the games in person? My ‘moment’ wouldn’t have been such a big deal. I would have made the shot, high-fived my teammates and gone home. No glory, no fame, not much excitement. Just the same feeling your average pickup basketball player feels making a shot down at the YMCA on a Sunday afternoon.

Fans are the lifeblood of college and professional sports. Without the fans, there would be no games. It’s the intensity of the fans—the passions and the fire—that makes sports so entertaining and so fun. Some of my best memories as a sports fan are watching two teams in which I had no interest battling for a game in a sold out, frenzied arena. I cared about the outcome only because of the amazing atmosphere that the fans had created.

Unfortunately, it’s also that passion and intensity that can create some horrible moments for fans and athletes alike. In 1988 when I was a senior at the University of Arizona, I was verbally assaulted before a game by fans in the Arizona State University student sections who stood and mocked me about the death of my father, who had been killed in a terrorist attack in Beirut four years before.

I was so shocked and sickened that I sat through the rest of the warm-up session, crying on the bench as my teammates consoled me. The story became public, and a week or so later I received an unsigned letter from one of the students who had been mocking me. The writer of the letter apologized, but tried to justify his actions saying, "Do you know how painful it’s been to see Arizona athletes being so cocky after beating us over the years?"

I know as a fan how painful it can be when your team loses.

I remember crying when my beloved Dodgers lost the World

Series two years in a row to Reggie Jackson’s Yankees in the late ’70s. My son Nick is the biggest Cubs fan on earth (boy is he in for some pain), and I watch him cry when they lose a big game. I feel for him, but I’m also reminded of how awesome sports are. The passion they elicit among fans is incredible, and that passion provides for so much entertainment. It makes for civic pride, the camaraderie amongst friends, for pride in one’s alma mater. It makes for inspiration, determination and effort. How many kids out there are inspired to do great things after watching a frenzied crowd cheer on an athlete, or a team?

But I don’t care how painful a win or a loss can be. It’s still just that—a game that is either won or lost. And it’s important for every fan to remember to keep that perspective. Yes, we love sports and we want our teams to win, but not at the expense of our care for each other as human beings. I believe that the vast majority of sports fans do understand that perspective. My hope is that those who don’t will eventually get it. Cheer hard, with passion, and hope your team wins. But if they lose, always remember that it’s just a game..
Price: $14.30 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick plays a significant role in the lives of many throughout the Church, but confusion over the sacrament can result in individuals not receiving this important comfort from the Church. Understanding Sacramental Healing: Anointing and Viaticum explores the rich history of the sacrament and addresses the changes that have occurred since the Second Vatican Council by providing a theological basis for the history and pastoral practice of the sacrament of the sick. Father John Kasza offers a cohesive and concise synthesis of the disciplines of theology, canon law, medicine, anthropology, and liturgy geared toward assisting the practitioner in using the ritual to the fullest extent possible. He also builds a greater appreciation of the sacrament and its part in the Church's role as healer in today's society. By recognizing the theological tradition of the sacrament of the sick, Understanding Sacramental Healing: Anointing and Viaticum becomes an incisive reflection on the current state of the sacrament that will bring all-priest sand ministers of care-to a greater understanding of the sacrament. The author examines:

The liturgical development of the sacrament in light of the Second Vatican Council
The practical implementation of the sacrament in both parish and diocesan venues in the 40 years since the close of the Council
The nature of illness, how illness affects someone, and how the Church responds to those suffering from an illness
The criteria for the reception of the sacrament and how its use may be broadened..
Price: $19.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Curtis Zimmerman has a "Masters in Life" from the School of Hard Knocks. I received my Ph.D. only because I could throw a curve ball. Neither of us were the sharpest pencils in the box. We were, however, tenacious We wouldn’t quit and we were like junk yard dogs in pursuit of success. Curtis became one of America’s most respected mimes, entertaining million on television, at Universal Studios, and on Carnival cruise lines. I finished my Ph.D. (Thank God) at Oregon State and have lectured to more than 2 million students from 1500 campuses in every state in America.

"Never give up. Never ever give up," said Jim Valvano. Never give up on yourself, your campus, city, state, nation, or world. Never give up. Maya Angelou has stated, "A cynical young person is almost the saddest sight to see because it means that he or she has gone from knowing nothing to believing in nothing."

You must believe in yourself, in your potential, in your ability to change, and do great things.

This is a book about hope and possibilities. We want you to know that it is also tempered with realism. Some of you may breeze through some of the chapters because you already have the subject wired..
Price: $14.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]