NIGHT PRAYER from the Office of the Dead — Bernard Seif

A centuries-old cycle of fear and death spans China, Europe, and America, and it falls upon the shoulders of a simple Christian monk and his companions to break that spell. Sixteenth Century France bursts into life for Twenty-first Century Brother Francis O'Neil through ancient parchments that have mysteriously come into his hands in China -- along with their dangerous legacy.

The clinical psychologist and doctor of Chinese medicine devoted his existence to studying the lives of his monastic founders, Jane de Chantal and Francis de Sales, both revered as models of spiritual friendship. Jane de Chantal was a wife, mother, widow, and foundress who was extricated from her difficult life by the empowerment of a French bishop, Francis de Sales. De Sales had no time for unhealthy religion and offered Jane de Chantal a spirituality that was gentle but strong.

Two of the main characters in Night Prayer, are based on historical fact. The rest of this monastic mystery materializes out of the lives of the personalities met in the earlier five individually-complete books in the Office of the Dead series. The addition of numerous pictures in this volume adds a whole new dimension to this capstone presentation for the series.