Daytime Prayer: From the Office of the Dead — Bernard Seif

Spirituality and medicine are the worlds Brother Francis and his Canadian protégé, Andre, set out to explore in the vast country of India. They spend time in the region of the Dalai Lama, north India, then retreat to south India, and live at the innovative Christian ashram of the late Benedictine monk Bede Griffiths. Treating the sick and visiting medical clinics mortar together the two main regional experiences of their journey along with the friendship of the two main characters.Abbot Francis lets Pennsylvania and his responsibilities at the Salesian Monastery fade into the background of his mind for a while, but something unsettling is happening among the members of his little community. Disappearing personal articles in the monastery, stories that are just a little too hard to swallow, and a man living with the small community of monks and nuns who is trying out his vocation there, have everyone very much unsettled. Clinical psychology, natural medicine, and East-West dialogue saturate every aspect of this complete monastic mystery. Many of the characters in the three earlier complete adventures in this Office of the Dead series continue to develop in wisdom, age, and grace through their experiences in Daytime Prayer.