Thomas Richard Heath O.P.

                                        Thomas Richard Heath O.P.

                                           By T.K. Kraft, O.P.

                                Published by  Province of St. Joseph,

                                                    2010, 156 pp.

         

          For the past few years, I’ve always heard references regarding “Father Tom’s Kids.”  I vaguely understood that this term referred to the students in our Kenyan Vicariate, that were looking for sponsors.  But I never knew who Father Tom was.  Consequently, I was happy to hear that a book had been written about Father Tom.

           Thomas Richard Heath O.P. is an excellent little book.  It is beautiful.  I know you can’t judge a book by its cover, but this cover definitely attracts you.  It is a full page, colored picture of a relaxing Father Tom.  The pictures inside the book are numerous and artfully arranged, too.  They are “eye candy.”

          Luckily, Father Tom was a prolific writer.  He kept journals, correspondence, wrote books, articles, and poems.  There were plenty of materials, for the author, Father Kraft, to draw from.  Fr. Kraft covers Father Tom’s life from childhood to his death.  The account is quite personal as we see the world thru Father Tom’s lenses.  As we readers progress through the pages of this book, we find ourselves automatically “liking” Father Tom.  How could you not?  He was inspirational, peaceful, amicable, generous…Read this one impression:  page 113.

          He was a very unique person of enormous love, generosity,

          kind, joyful, compassionate, faithful to his religious commit-

          ment, and a strong-willed mind…He was a very sincere

          and honest person is his words and action, that you

          could never cheat him...  Sr. Marcella Auma, FSA

       What a good testimony!  Thomas Richard Heath O.P. is an easy read and a story everyone will appreciate, especially those in the Province of Saint Joseph, and its Vicariate.  Now, we are able to understand our Kenyan connection, who Father Tom’s Kids are, and who exactly this man, this priest, this Dominican friar was.

To purchase this book  send $ 20 to:                                              

Province of St. Joseph                        

141 E. Sixty-fifth Street                       

New York, NY 10021-6618                 

Make check out to: Dominican Foundation                        

On Memo Line=Heath Book