Reclaiming Our Children

The Fruit of the Heart

"Being apostles of mercy means touching and soothing the wounds that today afflict the bodies and souls of many of our brothers and sisters.”

“Curing these wounds, we profess Jesus, we make him present and alive; we allow others, who touch his mercy with their own hands, to recognize him as ‘Lord and God.’” -Pope Francis (DM Sunday 4.16)

The Fruit of the Heart

Saint Faustina Kowalska's diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, tells of words spoken to her by Christ: that were instrumental in my journey to healing.

“Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than asked. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. “

I know that this is true. This unfathomable encounter with Mercy changes us forever and calls us to action.

In the words of Pope Francis “Mission is not fruit of a program or agenda. Rather it is the fruit of hearts who themselves have known Divine Mercy.”

 I can't  help but reflect on the fruit of my heart that has been blessed, in spite of my terrible sinfulness, to know intimately the Divine Mercy of God.

With the realization of the great gift of healing I was given by God, and the freedom it bestowed on me from shame, guilt, anxiety and a host of other issues, came the desire to make known the availability of His mercy for others suffering as I had. I knew that mercy was there, not just for me, but for everyone.

And so, the Entering Canaan Ministry was born with the support of the Sisters of Life, based on my healing experience.  As the Israelites made their way to the Promised Land God promised he would always be with them as they faced the many battles they needed to go through reach their destination. So too, with healing from abortion.

Using the challenges I faced in my own healing journey and the means I used to work through them both spiritually and psychologically, the ministry was formed. It is as multi faceted as life itself, not done in one swift swoop but as with the Israelites, through a journey of suffering and healing into the heart of Christ who reveals His love, mercy and forgiveness and aides us along the way. Through trust in this tangible Mercy which He freely gives, we find the courage to continue each time we are tempted to quit or give up hope. We are called to believe even when all belief seems impossible.

This experience of personal healing called us to pave a way for others who were suffering because we knew the graces were there for each of them as well. It has been amazing to watch His mercy touch countless souls over the years and heal them to the core of their being as Entering Canaan continues to grow across the country and the world.

Of course, “Entering Canaan” is not the only ministry to do this, but God’s mercy is the same in each. That "fruit of the heart" which has known Mercy intimately, and then shares it with others who know through personal experience, the hope of healing given through Christ.

Entering Canaan was named to be a “journey” into the Promised Land. A road to the merciful love of Christ which would free those who came to us, not only from their sin of abortion, but bring them to a lasting relationship with Christ, the only true healer.

 As companions on this journey, I always see our role as loving them into the arms of Jesus. We work in the heart of Jesus which is the heart of the ministry. We dwell and act in that heart which is then, by His grace, reflected to those we serve. We invite them to take the risk and step out in faith promising to be with them the entire way, no matter how long it takes. We value their individual journey and the healing they need. We pray that they could depend on us to be there for them as they face their demons of abortion and learn the very real dynamics of post abortion stress helping them to move through the pain to an understanding of the love of God while giving them the tools they need to heal. Of course, this includes sending them to priests and professional counselors, as we see the need, but we’re always there, encouraging and supporting them.

 I know what it is like to step out on that journey. I often say, “if you want to know what hell is like, ask someone who is post abortive”. They know what hell is like. They live in it each and every day. There is constant pain, depression, struggles to temptations of all kinds: despair, drugs, sex, violence; the list goes on and on. That complete darkness, loneliness, feeling abandoned, unloved and lovable; feeling unforgivable, no worth and even worse, feeling evil and alienated from life in spite of what you have made it look like to others. Feeling like there is no way back and being doomed to hell forever. Such is the post abortive world for those who suffer.

Through the invitation to this journey, we step into this world with them.  We ask them to take a huge risk, to step out into the darkness with a promise of hope. A promise that God is there loving them and listening to their pleas. They may not able to hear Him or feel Him but we do, and we will keep telling them what He is saying until they are able to hear Him themselves.

It can be a huge risk for those who may have felt abandoned by the people who supposedly loved them. But it is a beautiful journey whose promise is fulfilled when traveled the way God intended, full of many emotions, ups and downs, often times consuming, but eventually leading to the love and mercy that saves us from our sins.

This is why I love the saying, “Take up the Joyful Call of Mercy.” This joyful call found at the foot of the cross where we surrender our misery in trust, and allow Christ to fill our deep wounds. 

This joyful embrace, that uses our worst sin to bring us back to Him and our own aborted children to teach us of Christ’s love and mercy.

Many for the first time, learn they are loved and so are able to begin to trust in God and His love for them. We strive to be a sign of God’s love for them.  Abortion is not who they are, but something they did. Each soul entrusted to us is unique and valuable

We are all sinners in need of His mercy. We can never make up for our abortions, but the beautiful thing is we do not have to because He already has.

I have learned the journey does not end in this life. It can sometimes be very difficult doing this work. There are many spiritual battles and attacks, but it is through this same fruit of the heart ,  this intimate exchange with God, that I persevere. It is mine to cling to, to trust, to grow into deeper union with, and to continue to spread the message of redemption. 

The book of Joshua (21:43:45), tells of the end of the journey.

"And so the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to their fathers he would give them. Once they had conquered and occupied it, the Lord gave them peace on every side, just as He had promised their fathers.

Not one of their enemies could withstand then; the Lord brought all their enemies under their power. Not a single promise that the Lord made to the House of Israel was broken; every one was fulfilled."

Jesus we trust in you!

 

You Can Call me Post Abortive

“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.”  ― St. John Paul II

You can call me post abortive. I don’t mind. I am secure enough in both my healing and my relationship with God to know that my abortion is something I did, not who I am, but I am a woman living “post” an abortion experience.

Abortion does not define me. I know I am a child of God. I know He loves me and forgives me, and I have dignity and worth, yet, it certainly is the one thing that has impacted my life more than any other.

I am living “post abortion”, and that major life event has influenced many other aspects of life like no other. Sometimes it still does, even in the present moment, and that is okay. I trust in His perfect will.

Does that mean I am not healed? No. It just means it is a wound that I will carry with me to heaven. A wound that still sometimes gets in the way of how I think and act in the present, making me pause to be sure my reactions are not from the trauma of abortion I experienced in the past.

God accepts me where I am in every moment. In the good moments and the bad. In the joys, the sorrows, and in the sufferings, He allows me to experience. One striking aspect for me is the deep pain of abandonment reflecting my abortion experience of being kicked out of my family because I was pregnant. A time when I needed them most

Perhaps God allows this so I will never forget my need of Him or that He never abandoned me but is always there waiting for me in that place of pain when it comes up. Can He take it away? Of course He can. But if it is His will for me to have it pop up now and again, I trust it is for my good. A reminder that I am healed because of Him and what He has done, not anything I have or can do. A dependence on Him and His will, and even a place of our deepest intimacy.

For many of us who have experienced abortion dependence can be a difficult feat. Lost in the trauma of our experiences many women come out of it not wanting to have to need anyone, even God. But that is not healing, that is self-reliance, instead of depending on the One who saves us. The One who experienced total abandonment on the cross so that we can find Him there in the nothingness of our own abandonment.

In the end, it is important to recognize that the trauma of abortion is something that will probably stay with you all your life to some degree. That does not mean you do not have dignity or worth any more than meditating on the Passion of Christ or looking at His wounds takes away His dignity.

We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.”  ― Pope John Paul II

Yes, I am not the sum of my weakness and failures, including my abortion but it is certainly in the equation that brings me to the sum of the Father’s love for me so I can become the image of Jesus.

Sometimes that image may be on the cross, wounded and bloody the place of His total abandonment and the place of our redemption.

Scrupulosity, Mercy & Healing from Abortion

There is a beautiful Eucharist Prayer in our faith that says this: “God of love and mercy, You are always ready to forgive, we are sinners and You invite us to trust in Your mercy.” He does not force us, He tells us it is there for us and extends an invitation. It is up to us if we accept it or not.

Mary had been to confession multiple times before she came to our “Entering Canaan” post abortion ministry retreat, she often shared, “I have confessed my abortion so many times, but I just do not feel forgiven.” It is not unusual for someone who has been involved in an abortion to voice those feelings despite having gone to confession. They do not feel the forgiveness, or the “mercy” of God. In fact, more often than not, an abortion will be confessed over and over again.

As human beings, so much of what we believe is based on our feelings which very often may not reflect truth. Being forgiven and “feeling” forgiven are two very different things. Part of the problem is being unable to forgive yourself, the other, I believe, is an inability to accept that walking into a confessional and telling a priest about your abortion, and then receiving a penance of three or three thousand Hail Mary’s ,will somehow equate to forgiveness for participating in the death of your own child. It just seems way too easy, and it is.

We can never make up for our abortions, and three or three thousand Hail Mary’s is not going to do it. Neither is speaking out, working in ministry or praying in front of clinics, (which does not mean any of these should not be done, or make any of them bad). There is only one thing that atones for the sin of abortion (or for that matter, any sin), and that is the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the healing we receive through His gift of mercy freely given to us.

 Mary Ellen says it this way, “At first “mercy” was just a word, an idea, which in my mind vaguely was synonymous with compassion and forgiveness. I heard it in the prayers and blessings at the Gatherings I attended. But, I heard it constantly. Every piece of writing from the “Entering Canaan” post abortion ministry echoed the word Mercy. Over the years, without my knowing it, the word Mercy became for me a kind of mantra, something to hold onto in the dark. It began to work on me without my knowing it.”

“Something to hold onto in the dark”, avoid of feelings. A trusting, and a knowing, a choosing to believe in this mercy we have been invited to trust in. Believing that somehow our “feelings” are a gage of our forgiveness can be misleading. Someone can go on a retreat and feel totally forgiven because they are experiencing a spiritual high, however, as the days go on and the old familiar tapes of despair begin to play again the stinking thinking of abortion can once again begin. “Oh, He healed everyone else on that weekend but not me. My sin must be worse, or He loves and forgave her but not me.” The truth however, is that if you went to confession and received forgiveness, you are forgiven!

 As Mary Ellen says so well, “I am learning Mercy, because it is a process and a journey into the kind of deep love and forgiveness of myself — and others — that I can only begin to grasp. From my beginning, almost neutral experience with Mercy as a simple word, it has evolved in my life experience as a tangible and effective tool, an action verb that I have learned can more quickly than I ever imagined, bring a swift conclusion to the obsessive dark voice that would grind my spirit with self-recrimination and unbelief. Be gone Satan!” “Mercy is a way of life, and it is life changing. Now whenever darkness calls, I choose Mercy and life.”

Dream a Little Dream

 

 I had a dream that I was in a room or a church that was full of people singing a hymn. I didn’t know the words but the melody was familiar. Because of my comfort with the music, I was able to learn the words easily and soon found I was singing along with the rest of the congregation.  Then, the telephone rang and my dream was over.  It was one of the Sisters calling to tell me about our next group “Gathering” for post abortion healing. This connection after my dream left me thinking about the last three years.

  The “Entering Canaan”  ministry was the vehicle that changed my life from despair to hope.  This hope constantly amazes and sustains me.  It keeps me from going back to that dark place that was home to me for such a long time.

After the birth of each of my sons, I experienced post-partum depression. It was especially bad after the birth of my second child. For almost three years, post-partum depression crippled me, leaving me barely able to function as a wife and mother. It was a very trying time in our family that put a serious strain on my marriage, but, gradually, I came to see the light at the end of that dark tunnel. 

By January of 1979, I found myself in a better place than I thought was possible.  My spirits were lifting and I was beginning to feel like the old me again, then, I became pregnant. My husband was sure that I would develop post-partum depression again, so he threatened to leave me unless I terminated the pregnancy.  There were serious misgivings on my part. I truly believed that abortion was murder but he believed that it was just a “clump of cells”.  I never told him I believed abortion was very wrong because the nagging fear of being left to raise my children alone was stronger than my fear of having an abortion. 

We consulted with the obstetrician, who convinced us that abortion would be the simplest solution. In my desperation, I believed him and aborted my child in March of 1979.  The obstetrician was wrong.  The depression I sought to avoid was soon worse than ever before, and added to that was the guilt and shame over having had an abortion.  I soon became so overwhelmed, depressed and suicidal that the psychiatrist I went to suggested hospitalization.  I was admitted to a psychiatric unit of a major New York hospital for three months.  Therapy, antidepressants, shock treatment and anti-psychotic drugs followed.  None of it worked but somehow I functioned after being released from the hospital. 

In December of that same year, around the time that my baby would have been born, my husband, died of a heart attack.  It was almost eight months since he had threatened to leave me unless I terminated my pregnancy.  Now he was gone, my unborn baby was gone, and I was left alone to raise our two children who were three and eight years old.  I was certain God was punishing me for what I had done. 

For the next 22 years I raised my two young sons using some very unorthodox methods.  I self-medicated with alcohol. I was angry and I yelled a lot.  Depression was always rearing its ugly head, and I isolated myself from both family and personal relationships.  Alcohol became my only friend.

Finally eight years ago, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I asked God to help me stop drinking for one day and at the end of that day, I thanked Him for the strength to have made it through. Every day after that, I did the same thing and each day, His help was unfailing.  It still is. But there was one complication of abstaining from alcohol, the self-medicating for my ongoing depression was no longer an option.  Two years after I stopped drinking (the “terrible twos”), I again started obsessing about the abortion and sought psychiatric help.  No one understood the depth of my feelings.  My psychiatrist prescribed various medications, partial hospitalizations (four times) and in-hospital treatment when I became suicidal.  Nothing helped.  I thought the bottom line was that I was an aberration and a chronic depressive.  I planned another suicide attempt.  It seemed to be the only solution.

Getting ready for the end, I started going through my personal belongings.  The last piece of paper in the first box of papers I went through was an old newspaper clipping from the Catholic New York.  The heading read “Sisters of Life Aid in Post-Abortion Healing”.  I couldn’t remember how I had received this clipping but there it was.  There was a telephone number too and I called and asked the Sister who answered if they still had the post-abortion healing days described in the clipping.  She said yes and that there was one planned for September, just two weeks away.  Did I want to attend?

I was 60 years old when I “Entered Canaan”.  I attended that day of hope and healing, a one-day retreat dealing with post-abortion syndrome.  I knew I had arrived there by means of a miracle, and when I was experiencing the day, I kept pinching myself to see if I was awake.  There were 13 women there, all of whom had abortions, and three Sisters of Life, loving us, affirming us, ministering to us, feeding us -- spiritually and physically. 

Learning that I was not alone in my struggles was the immediate benefit.  But so many other graces have become evident in my life since that first meeting.  I am learning that God has forgiven me and, more importantly, to forgive myself for the abortion. The learning process is slow but, just like my dream, the melody is now familiar, giving me the comfort to learn and sing the words, “Jesus I trust in You.” 

In Memory of Mary Salo

Putting the brakes on in "A Freewheelin Time"

 

Reprint- With all the news on the Bob Dylan movie, "A Complete Unknown" it is good to note their relationship died not long after an abortion ( I did read the book after)...post from 2008

 

Suze Rotolo, former girlfriend of Bob Dylan has written a book about what it was like to fall in love with Bob Dylan, and Greenwich Village in the 60's. Although I have not read the book I have read a couple of reviews, where this self proclaimed liberal shares the difficulty of dealing with is rise to fame and the break up of their relationship after 4 years.

 

"During their turbulent, four-year relationship, Rotolo deeply loved Dylan, who was 20 when they met. She was there when classic songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" were new. She looked on with pride, then fear, as celebrity transformed him and other women pursued him. The author finally decided it was time for her to leave and become her own person. But not before an abortion and emotional breakdown shattered her."

 

From the review she seems to attribute the emotional breakdown to the breakup, I would venture to say the abortion played a huge part in the breakup itself....http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-rotolo2-2008may02,0,795835.story?track=rss

or in this review "The Post's Kyle Smith reports that Rotolo - the girl on the cover of album classic "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" - writes mournfully in her upcoming memoir, "A Freewheelin' Time," about her abortion and her emotional breakdown during their protracted split." http://www.nypost.com/seven/02102008/gossip/pagesix/dylan_girls_painful_memories_677243.h

 

I pray there has been some healing for both of them...

Reprint- With all the news on the Bob Dylan movie, "A Complete Unknown" it is good to note their relationship died not long after an abortion ( I did read the book after)...post from 2008

 

Suze Rotolo, former girlfriend of Bob Dylan has written a book about what it was like to fall in love with Bob Dylan, and Greenwich Village in the 60's. Although I have not read the book I have read a couple of reviews, where this self proclaimed liberal shares the difficulty of dealing with is rise to fame and the break up of their relationship after 4 years.

 

"During their turbulent, four-year relationship, Rotolo deeply loved Dylan, who was 20 when they met. She was there when classic songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" were new. She looked on with pride, then fear, as celebrity transformed him and other women pursued him. The author finally decided it was time for her to leave and become her own person. But not before an abortion and emotional breakdown shattered her."

 

From the review she seems to attribute the emotional breakdown to the breakup, I would venture to say the abortion played a huge part in the breakup itself....http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-rotolo2-2008may02,0,795835.story?track=rss

or in this review "The Post's Kyle Smith reports that Rotolo - the girl on the cover of album classic "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" - writes mournfully in her upcoming memoir, "A Freewheelin' Time," about her abortion and her emotional breakdown during their protracted split." http://www.nypost.com/seven/02102008/gossip/pagesix/dylan_girls_painful_memories_677243.h

 

I pray there has been some healing for both of them...

I will not apologize for my post abortive faith!

Reprint from 2019

 

If only the Church would leave women alone, there would be no guilt after abortion. Men, too, could send their babies to their deaths and not give it a second thought. All would be well in Abortionland.

Or so pro-abortion activists would have us believe. Are they right? Of course not.

Defenders of abortion refuse to publicly acknowledge the terrible guilt men and women suffer after aborting their children. This is a logical extension of their illogical refusal to acknowledge that abortion is the destruction of human life.

They are playing a game of smoke and mirrors.  One need not even be "religiously inclined" to see that abortion is not a religious issue, it’s a human-rights issue. 

I know about the guilt problem firsthand. After having an abortion as a teenager, I suffered emotionally and began down a long, destructive road. I picked a spouse who had an alcohol problem. I did not think I deserved to be loved or treated well by anyone. The marriage ended, and I struggled through single parenthood, raising two sons on my own, with no support.

My faith not only got me through, but I also raised two great guys who lead fulfilling and productive lives. As far as I know, no one calls single parenthood a “religious issue.”

Oftentimes, we post-abortive people of faith feel we have to apologize for our faith. I, for one, refuse to apologize for the role my faith has played in my life, whether it comes to healing after abortion or any other issue. My faith is not a problem that instills guilt in me. It is a gift that brings me life.

My mom suffered with Alzheimer’s Disease for many years. It was a great trial for those of us who cared for her. She was gone long before she physically died, and it was very painful to watch a woman who never had a single hair out of place walk out of the bathroom with lipstick all over her face. It would have been easy to despair. It was heart-wrenching to lose her to such a humiliating disease, but it was my faith that got me through those times. As far as I know, no one says Alzheimer’s Disease is a “religious issue.”

There is no doubt my faith has seen me through some hard times and some joyous times. It is part of who I am, but it is not why I suffered psychologically after my abortion. I suffered because I took the life of my unborn child.

Recently, a student from the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism asked me if I felt guilt after my abortion because I had returned to church. I replied, “No, it was not on my return to church that made me feel guilty.  I felt guilt over killing my unborn child. I felt guilt because I saw my dead son lying on the bed beside me as a result of a saline abortion.”

Most post-abortive women and men come back to church, or to faith for the first time, because they are filled with guilt and shame and are searching for peace. It is there that they find it, God’s mercy.

Most women do not see their aborted child. They are shielded from the horror, but they know just the same what has happened.

How is it that those who are pro-abortion think religious faith can instill guilt, while participating in the death of an innocent child has no such power?

How is it that they decry deaths from illegal abortions in other countries, but stay silent when women die here?

How is it they refuse to acknowledge the pain countless women experience after abortion, yet are more than willing to acknowledge emotional stress before abortion?

Why is the pain of guilt never a religious issue before abortion, but always an issue after an abortion, when the result is not what pro-abortion activists would like?

No, it is not my Catholic faith that made me feel guilt and shame and all the other emotions I lived with for years. It was my innate call to motherhood. My humanness.

In fact, it was my faith that saved me.  God helped me heal and be whole again.

Why would I ever apologize for that?

*******

 

Trusting God’s Mercy for Unborn Children

An oldie and beyond goodie..another gem from Dave:

Trusting God’s Mercy for Unborn Children

Posted on September 22, 1997 by EI

By David C. Reardon, Ph.D.

Editor’s Note: In previous issues of The Post-Abortion Review(Spring 1995 and Fall 1995) we examined the role of despair in driving women and men toward choosing abortion and then in holding them back from healing after an abortion. I have been reminded by readers that I had promised at that time to provide a third installment dealing with the issue of how we can have Scriptural confidence in the belief that aborted children are not deprived the joy of Heaven.

Aborted children have been deprived of baptism. They never had the opportunity to know or accept Christ as their Lord. How sure can we be that they are really in Heaven? Though seldom discussed, this is a theological question that is extremely important to the parents of aborted children and to pro-lifers in general. The answer to this question will shape how we view ourselves, others, and our priorities in the pro-life movement.

As previously discussed in this series of articles, a history of abortion can be a major stumbling block for women and men who turn back to God. At first, Satan will seek to deprive women and men the peace of God’s forgiveness by aggravating their fear that God cannot forgive them.. If this temptation to despair fails, Satan will attack the repentant parent’s peace of mind with the fear that even if God can forgive them, their aborted and unbaptized children have been deprived of Heaven.

This fear that unbaptized infants will be denied Heaven is also used by Satan to build a wall of separation and prejudice between pro-lifers and women and men with a history of abortion. Not a few Christians have coldly turned their backs on women and men who have had abortions, believing that by their sins they have forever deprived God of the souls of their unborn children. Such Christians do not wish these parents ill, but they cannot quite bring themselves to offer them comfort, either. Their hearts are simply so burdened with dismay over the “lost souls” of aborted children that they have no sympathy left over for their guilty parents. It is important for such believers to open their hearts to the possibility, or even the convincing evidence that God has saved the unborn victims of abortion.

A greater faith among believers in God’s salvation of aborted babies is important for two reasons. First, once all members of Christ’s Body accept that aborted babies “live in the arms of Christ,” the lingering sense of anger and resentment toward those who have aborted will finally be dissipated. Second, as the dead are entrusted to God’s providence, there will be a renewed concern for the living–for those women and men who suffer the guilt of abortion. It is then that our efforts to promote post-abortion healing will not only be easier, they will also be more compelling.

The Issue: The Necessity of Baptism

The question of salvation for the unborn arises from an interpretation of Christ’s solemn pronouncement to Nicodemus that “no one can enter into God’s kingdom without being begotten of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). The necessity of baptism is further supported by Christ’s statement, “The man who believes in it [the good news] and accepts baptism will be saved; the man who refuses to believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Note, however, that condemnation is pronounced for those who refuseto believe. Nothing is said regarding those who have not had the opportunity to believe. Indeed, we are also told that no one will be judged guilty simply because of his or her ignorance (John 9:41).

What are we to make of this, then? Baptism by water is clearly the way God has given the Church for bringing new members into His Body. When it can be done, it ought to be done. However, God’s mercy is not limited by human failings, nor are His means limited by the physical reality which defines human interaction. Indeed, it is clear in Scripture that God has at least one other way of bringing sanctifying grace to those who have died without having the opportunity to receive baptism by water.

The most obvious example of unbaptized persons who were saved is that of the Old Testament saints, including the patriarchs, the prophets, and untold others. For the sake of these departed, Christ went in death to preach to them “in prison” (1 Peter 3:19) so that they “might live in the spirit in the eyes of God” (1 Peter 4:6). Yet another example is shown in the good thief, who followed Jesus into Paradise (Luke 23:42-44) without the benefit of baptism by water.

In fact, early Christians generally recognized that martyrs who died for the faith before they have the opportunity to be baptized are reborn in a baptism by blood rather than water.(1) Baptism by either water or blood was recognized as having the same efficacy and the same source. This view was defended by the prominent Christian apologist Tertullian around 203 A.D., who wrote:

We have one and only one Baptism in accord with the Gospel (Eph. 4:4-6)…. [But there is] a second font, one with the former [water]: namely, that of blood, of which the Lord says: “I am to be baptized with a baptism” (Luke 12:50, Mark 10:38-39), when He had already been baptized [by water]. For He had come through water and blood, as John wrote (1 John 5:6), so that He might be baptized with water and glorified with blood. He sent out these two Baptisms from the wound in His pierced side (John 19:34), that we might in like manner be called by water and chosen by blood, and so that they who believed in His blood might be washed by the water. If they might be washed in the water, they must necessarily be so by blood. This is the Baptism which replaces that of the fountain, when it has not been received, and restores it when it has been lost.(2) [Italics added.]

Tertullian’s argument that baptism by blood can be a substitute for baptism by water is further supported by the fact that Christ offered the sons of Zebedee the baptism of suffering as one with the cup of salvation (Mark 10:38-39). Furthermore, Scripture tells us that before Christ’s death, John’s baptism by water was only a baptism of repentance (Acts 19:4, Luke 3:3). It was only after Christ’s baptism in blood that the baptism of water was raised up to become a baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, John 16:7).

Clearly, then, the understanding that God has a means to save those who through no fault of their own have been denied the opportunity of baptism by water is not novel. Indeed, it is revealed by Scripture. Therefore, if we are to properly interpret Christ’s insistence on baptism by water, we must admit that it is a binding command on the living, while recognizing that this precept does not preclude God from offering some other spiritual means of rebirth for those who die without this opportunity. What this way is has not been fully revealed. On the other hand, since it is a spiritual baptism which is outside the responsibilities of believers on earth, it is not something about which we need to know the details. It is enough for us to know that it is possible. Once this truth is recognized, we can then confidently trust God’s mercy and justice.

God’s Special Love for Children

We know as part of our revealed faith that God desires the salvation of all (1 Tim. 2:4, Rom. 8:32) and that His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136). Though all are stained by original sin, all whom Christ claims for Himself will live in Him (1 Cor. 15:22-23). That Christ should not claim the unborn as His own is unimaginable, contrary to both reason and revelation. Furthermore, Paul teaches that God’s mercy and providence extend even to the unborn, who have done neither good nor evil (Rom. 9:11), and Christ himself repeatedly expressed His special love of infants and children.

And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them, and said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:15-16).

See how Jesus describes Heaven; it is filled with infants such as these! And are not His words a warning against those who would forbid these children entry into His heavenly kingdom? And look at yet another occasion:

[The disciples asked Jesus:] “Who is of greatest importance in the kingdom of God?” He called a little child over and stood him in their midst and said: “I assure you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God…. See that you never despise one of these little ones. I assure you, their angels in Heaven constantly behold my heavenly Father’s face…. Just so, it is no part of your heavenly Father’s plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief” (Matt. 18:1-2, 10, 14).

Other renderings of this last line are that none of these little ones should ever “perish” or be “lost.” These passages suggest a promise of universal salvation for the innocents, for (1) they are numbered among those of greatest importance in God’s kingdom, (2) their angels pray for them before the Father, and (3) the Father wills that none of them should be lost. Notice also that the small child standing before Christ, to whom He pointed as an example, was unbaptized.

Reason, too, demands our acknowledgment of God’s saving grace for the unborn. Christ’s love is so great that He died to bring salvation to sinners who deserve nothing (Romans 5:6-9). Yet, if He would save sinners like us, would He not do at least as much, if not more, for the unborn who have not sinned?(3) Of course He would. Those who doubt it must defend the absurd notion that God’s judgments are less merciful than human judgments.

 

the rest: http://afterabortion.org/1997/trusting-gods-mercy-for-unborn-children/

God with Us

St Therese Christmas Miracle

On December 14th Fr Justin Cinnante, O'Carm, directed an Entering Canaan Advent retreat day on "St Therese's Christmas Miracle"

For those of you unfamiliar with the miracle which she stated was life changing, I am posting the content:

When I got home to Les Buissonnets from Midnight Mass, I knew that I should find my shoes standing at the fireplace, filled with presents, as I had always done since I was little, so you can see I was still treated as a baby.

Father used to love to see how happy I was and hear my cries of delight as I took each surprise packet from my magic shoes, and his pleasure made me happier still. But the time had come for Jesus to cure me of my childishness; even the innocent joys of childhood were to go. He allowed Father to feel cross this year, instead of spoiling me, and as I was going upstairs, I heard him saying: “Therese ought to have outgrown all this sort of thing, and I hope this will be the last time.” This cut me to the quick, and Céline, who knew how very sensitive I was, whispered to me: “Don’t come down again just yet; you’ll only go and cry if you open your presents now in front of Father.”

But I was not the same Thérèse any more; Jesus had changed me completely. I held back my tears, and trying to stop my heart from beating so fast, I ran down into the dining room. I picked up the shoes and unwrapped my presents joyfully, looking all the while as happy as a queen. Father did not look cross anymore now and entered into the fun of it, while Céline thought she must have been dreaming. But this was no dream. Thérèse had gotten back forever the strength of mind she had lost at four and a half.

So how does this tie into healing from abortion? sometimes abortion canmake us selfcentered and self occupied. We are so caught up in the trauma of the abortion and the hurts weexperience that we are unable to see beyond ourselves.  while it is important and cruicial to look at our abortion experience, it is so we can learn from it. so we can identify the hurts, the people we need to forgive, our personal abortion connectors, so that we canmove through life without thisexperience impacting all that we do.

St Therese's Christmas miracle helped her to stop focusing on herself and her emotions after the trauma of losing her mother. She acquired the strength she needed to move beyond the hurts and give herself to God and others in love. This is not aneasy task and can take time, but God longs to free us. This does not mean we will never feel tempted to fall into past behaviors, but it doesmean we are aware of what is taking place and we are able to change  our responses to certain situations.

Jesus longs to free us  -

 

 

The Birth of Mercy

 

Being Post Abortive in the Advent and Christmas Seasons

I can still remember it as if it were yesterday, making Christmas stockings for my nieces and nephews the Christmas immediately following my abortion. That was over 40 years ago, yet I remember those stockings vividly; the materials, the graphics, the pain of sewing them together as I thought of my son who would be missing from the Christmas celebration.

That agonizing pain did not leave as the years went on, although I must admit, I went into such deep denial, I was not aware that my lack of joy was a result of my abortion. Society did not acknowledge my pain and grief, and so, in order to survive, I pressed them into the recesses of my mind, and like everyone else, denied their existence.

Over the years, no matter what my situation in life, Christmas was a time of turmoil, a dreaded event, even with the birth of other children. Many Christmas eves were spent crying, as I set up toys, not really understanding why I was feeling the way I was. This was supposed to be a time filled with joyful expectation, but I was anything but joyful.

When I finally found someone to help me through my healing process, I began to see the reason for my sadness and everything began to make sense. My “no” to life became magnified by Mary’s “yes”.  I also was all too aware of the absence of toys that would never be brought by Santa and placed under our tree for my aborted son. The emptiness of the space at the family holiday table seemed to scream at me. There was no room for the birth of Jesus in the stable of my heart. It was deadened because of my sin.

In time, through counseling, prayer and a great spiritual director, I learned to take my eyes off of the “me” in Christmas, and instead turn my gaze to “Him”, Jesus Christ. As healing came, I meditated on the mystery of the Incarnation instead of my abortion, and instead of focusing on what was missing in human terms, I turned my gaze to the spiritual, Mercy Himself!

Instead of a dreaded holiday, Christmas became the opening chapter of the means of my salvation. God come to earth as an infant to take our sins, even my sin of abortion, upon Himself so that we may be saved. Mercy Himself was born and through His life, death and resurrection the gates of heaven were opened to repentant sinners

There have been over 53 million abortions in the United States since 1973. As the Catholic Bishops call for increased outreach to those post abortive, let us be ever mindful of the countless women and men who have not yet found healing and with St Faustina proclaim to them, “How great is the Mercy of God contained in the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God!”! 

Jesus we trust in you!

“In this way God shows that He is merciful towards humanity, and filled with love for us. He is God-with-us: do you believe this?” Pope Francis

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Know someone suffering from a past abortion. This book of meditations, "The Journey to HealingThrough Divine Mercy", is a healing balm for those struggling with a past abortion.