Title: From Time to Eternity and Back: A Priest's Successful Struggle with Cancer  Author: Joseph M. Champlin  ISBN: 0-8189-0962-5  Paperback: viii + 117 pp.  Price: $12.95 + shipping  To Order call: 1 800-343-ALBA (2522) Please have your Master, Visa or American Express card ready. To order online click here.

There is probably nothing in the world more devastating than the totally unexpected news that you are suffering from an incurable cancer. And that is all the more true when you have always been at the top of your game, full of energy and enthusiasm and in excellent physical health. But like life itself, good health is an unmerited gift to be treasured, used and acknowledged with gratitude. The reflections in these pages take us on a journey with the author from time to eternity and back as we agonize with him, are buoyed up with hope, then cast into despair, all the while asking ourselves many of the questions he had to ask himself. Why? Why me? Why now? What is God trying to say to me? Will I be able to handle this? Where do I turn for strength when I have no strength to turn? What really matters in life? We learn to appreciate with him the little things: a restful night, a tasty meal after days of not being able to keep anything down, a prayerful celebration of the Eucharist, time with friends, the genuine concern of others, the knowledge that God loves us and is with us through it all.

 

Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin, Rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York, needs no introduction to those who love and respect him for his pastoral contributions over the years to the Church in the United States. Regular columnist for The Priest magazine and a popular author of over 50 works with more than 20 million copies in circulation, he is likewise well known for his other writings, media presentations and many lectures here and abroad (two million miles of travel) which have earned him the admiration of clergy and laypeople everywhere. Alba House is proud to have published his revised and updated edition of The Marginal Catholic in 2001 and is especially pleased to be able to make available this very personal and profoundly moving testament to his deep faith. Reviews "Living through a cancer diagnosis: Fr. Joseph M. Champlin, long-time author, now Syracuse NY Cathedral rector got some unexpected news from the doctor. A healthy, active 70-year old priest -- sports-oriented all his life -- had a rare form of bone cancer. For someone who had spent his life guiding the faithful, a number of questions immediately jumped into his mind. Will I be able to handle this? What is God saying to me? His very personal and moving story is recounted in From Time to Eternity and Back: A Priest's Successful Struggle with Cancer. Amazed at the outpouring of support and love, Champlin (whose radio program in Syracuse ends with "You've tried everything else. So why not try God?") uses his experiences to show that God is with us through it all. A fantastic, intensely private story of the struggles, sadness and joy of one man battling one disease." --Crux of the News, May 3, 2004 "The reflections in these pages take us on a journey with the author as we agonize with him, are buoyed up with hope, then cast into despair, all the while asking ourselves many of the questions he had to ask himself. Why? Why me? Why now? What is God trying to say to me? Will I be able to handle this? We learn to appreciate all the little things in life, but especially the knowledge that God loves us and is with us through it all." --Bookviews of Theological Book Service, May 2004 "An inspiring account of coping with a rare form of bone-marrow cancer. For this 70-year-old rector of the Syracuse cathedral and a frequent contributor to St. Anthony Messenger, the diagnosis brought him up short. The book gives a great deal of medical information (maybe too much), but also reflects on the ultimate questions that the 'big C' poses for anyone." --St. Anthony Messenger, August 2004 Top of Page