Facing the holiday season after the loss of a child can feel challenging for so many reasons. As we prepare to head into the holidays, knowing you are not alone in your feelings can be so helpful. Here are a few ideas to help you navigate this time of year as you are grieving.
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The Third Sword of Sorrow – The Loss of Jesus for Three Days in Jerusalem
Sometimes, we undergo suffering that does not seem to us to have a purpose. We may be left with many unanswered questions about our painful experiences, and the greatest one may simply be “why?” Why did I have to go through that? What was the reason for it? Let’s reflect on what our Blessed Mother did when she was faced with this type of suffering.
The Second Sword of Sorrow – The Flight to Egypt
So soon after Simeon’s prophecy did Mary come to understand just what life as the mother of Jesus would be like!
The First Sword of Sorrow – The Prophecy of Simeon
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so thatContinue reading “The First Sword of Sorrow – The Prophecy of Simeon”
The Gift of Lent
I did not grow up with the practice of Lent. I spent most of my life as a Protestant, my family having left the Catholic Church shortly after I made my First Communion. The message that I got about Lent and other penitential practices that Catholics did was that they were trying to earn theirContinue reading “The Gift of Lent”
Praying With Our Lady of Sorrows: Meditations for Grieving Mothers
I have written here about Our Lady of Sorrows and how she has affected me as a grieving mother. It was through this title that I really felt that Our Blessed Mother made herself known to me in a very personal way. It has deepened my relationship with her tremendously. Out of that devotion hasContinue reading “Praying With Our Lady of Sorrows: Meditations for Grieving Mothers”
Five ways to help a friend who is grieving the loss of a child
Grief is a lonely process. Because it is a difficult subject – one that others are uncomfortable talking or hearing about – the grief that surrounds the loss of a child can be especially isolating. It leaves us feeling as if we have been picked up and dropped onto another world – unable to interactContinue reading “Five ways to help a friend who is grieving the loss of a child”
On chocolate chips and trusting God
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. – Psalm 147:3 Nine years ago, with three young boys under the age of five at home, my husband and I learned that we were expecting twins. Halfway through the pregnancy, however, we learned that our identical twin daughters were affected by something called Twin-to-Twin TransfusionContinue reading “On chocolate chips and trusting God”
Our Lady of Sorrows
I am still getting to know Mary. Since I was Protestant for most of my life, Mary did not play a big role in my understanding of how God relates to us. She gave birth to Jesus, and then she really didn’t come into the picture very much after that, except for a few instancesContinue reading “Our Lady of Sorrows”
Jesus Wept
The story of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead has become one of my favorite parts of the Bible, revealing so much about the character of God and the heart of Jesus toward people who are suffering and grieving. Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.Continue reading “Jesus Wept”