Facing the holidays after the loss of a loved one can feel challenging for so many reasons. As we prepare to head into the Christmas season, it can be helpful to know that you’re not alone if you find this time a difficult one. … More Hope for the Holidays
Remember there is no time like the present. When we find the ‘what ifs’ creeping in, use that opportunity thank the person now in your heart. Write them a letter telling them how much you appreciated everything they did for you. Have a Mass said for them. You can do acts of service in their name. … More If I Had Only Known: Grieving the Moments We Took for Granted
Sorrow is not a punishment, nor is it a state of being (as I used to believe) but sorrow allows the soul to remove or eradicate that which has kept us prisoner. When Jesus carried his cross, He fell three times, but each time he got back up. When he was nailed to the cross, He could not escape. His sorrow was great. But without being crucified He would never have had the resurrection, and the greatest story on earth could have never been told. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son.” (John 3:16) … More Lessons I’ve Learned in Grief
As I have grown in faith, and in grief, I have come to realize that part of taking up one’s cross is acknowledging its heaviness in your own life. … More Comparison: The Thief of Grief
As someone who spent many years of my life as a Protestant, I have found that there are three things that the Catholic Church offers that bring me tremendous peace despite my trials and sufferings. … More Three ways that our Catholic faith helps us to find peace in our suffering
We live in a culture that measures progress by how quickly we have moved on. Grief doesn’t work in this way. It is not linear. This moment of sadness doesn’t mean that you are going backward. It is a reminder that love lives on. … More I Should Be Over This By Now
Grief is a scar that we forever carry. The healing is different for each person. You wouldn’t tell a person who broke their leg, “It’s been a week, get up and walk now.” Yet, we place that unrealistic expectation on ourselves in the healing process of grief. If your grief still feels like an open wound, it’s not time to get to work cleaning out their clothes, you need more healing first. … More Grief Healing: Deciding When to Sort Through Their Items
She knows what it’s like to ache for someone you love. She’s held a suffering child in her arms. She’s waited in uncertainty. She’s stood by while people she loved were misunderstood, mistreated, crucified—literally. She has stood in the space between hope and heartbreak—and not run from it. … More Our Lady of Sorrows: A Ministry of Presence
Most of the time we try to fill this void with someone else. We think our spouse will step up, or expect our friends to call or text and say the perfect thing. When they don’t, we can feel even more alone.
So what can we do? Are we just destined to feel sad, lonely, and emotionally abandoned? That is up to us. Instead of merely waiting for others to support you, here are some steps that you can take to support yourself. … More Suffering Alone: Strategies for Self-Comfort
Close your eyes to all that affrights you and trust in the Wounds of Christ, Who received them for your sake, and you will find rest. Till the horse ceases looking at the well, for fear of falling in it, it will draw no water from it and; so, the more hopeless you feel of a remedy for your troubles, because you know not where to look nor what to do for one, the more hopeful is your state. … More To Console a Young Lady in Great Affliction