Liturgical celebrations view sickness in light of the suffering of Christ, that is, not simply as an unfortunate incident in the course of earthly existence but rather as an event which transcends the physical and biological order. For Christ turns suffering and sickness into a phase of salvation and transforms them into an act of love. These studies of ancient and modern liturgies demonstrate the new vision which Christ and the Church have of death as the culmination of one form of existence and the beginning of a new life. Thus the churches attend the body of the Christian as 'the temple of the Holy Spirit' (1 Cor 3: 16; 6:19). The reader can find here historical liturgies that celebrate the restoration of the sick person’s solidarity with other people and the world. Almost all the liturgies commented on this book show an integration of the finitude embodied in death and temporality with an affirmation of the eschatological world.