ESCONDIDO — Noreen McInnes, director of the diocesan Office for Liturgy and Spirituality, will speak on the subject of pastoral care for the aging and dying, and sign copies of her book “Keep at It, Riley!”
The event will take place at 10 a.m., Sunday, Jan. 15, in the patio room at Resurrection Parish in Escondido.
Published by New City Press last St. Patrick’s Day, McInnes’ book is subtitled “Accompanying my Father through Death into Life.”
The book’s title comes from McInnes’ unofficial family motto, a motivational phrase used by her father and grandfather to encourage perseverance in the midst of trials. It was an attitude that she saw her father live out during his final months.
McInnes, who holds a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctor of Ministry from The Catholic University of America, describes her book as the “story of how Catholic faith accompanied my family through the sickness and death of my elderly parents.”
She uses her own experiences to reflect on the Catholic Church’s teachings about the dignity of life, the pastoral care of the sick, and the power of the sacraments. She also weaves in stories about the challenges previous generations of her family faced in Ireland and as immigrants in Pennsylvania, along with prayers and accounts from the lives of Irish saints.
