The Journey of Loss and Grief

When Jesus’ friend Lazarus dies, the Gospel of John tells us that “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). We experience many losses in our lives and the death of someone we love is just one of them. We also lose relationships, roles, bodily functions, and communities. Grief is a normal response to loss, yet grief is chaotic and hard, so much so that we want to avoid it. But grief is the only way through loss. How can we better understand the journey of grief and how to take it in a faithful way? How does God call us to grieve and, finally, from our grief?

Friday, November 22, 8:30 AM – 1 PM

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Kathleen A. Cahalan is professor of practical theology at Saint John’s University School of Theology and Seminary and director of the Collegeville Institute Seminars. She is coauthor of Christian Practical Wisdom (Eerdmans, 2016), co-editor of Calling All Years Good: Christian Vocation across Life’s Seasons (Eerdmans, 2017) Calling in Today’s World: Voices from Eight Faith Perspectives (Eerdmans, 2016), and co-editor of Opening the Field of Practical Theology (Rowman and Littlefield, 2014), and author of Introducing the Practice of Ministry (Liturgical Press, 2010). She has also authored books for a broad church-audience, including Living Your Discipleship: Seven Ways to Express Your Deepest Calling, co-authored with Laura Kelly Fanucci (Twenty-Third, 2015) and The Stories We Live (Eerdmans, 2016).