Offering solace and encouragement to those who grieve is a critical aspect of the church's ministry of mercy and love. To find your place within grief ministry and plan this important ministry from first response to spiritual guidance, there is no better mentor than Fr. Terence Curley. In this guide, Fr. Curley pays attention to all of the factors contributing to a grief minister's multifaceted work, including parish support and his or her own loss history. Symptoms of loss, trust, and hints for conversations with the grieving are topics touched by this detailed and sensitive guide. This book, a fully revised edition of Fr. Curley's earlier book The Ministry of Consolers, is a necessary tool for parishes, hospices, educational institutions, and all those attending to the bereaved.

Father Terence P. Curley, DMin, is a pastor, educator, and licensed mental health counselor with over twenty-five years of experience ministering to the grieving. He is a faculty member at St. John Seminary in Boston, has taught at Lesley University Graduate School for Counseling Psychology and Expressive Therapy in Cambridge, and has served as president of the board for the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved. He has written numerous publications specializing in the area of separation and loss, including Planning the Catholic Funeral, published by Liturgical Press.