Reclaiming Our Children

The Joy of the Cross

Yes, you heard me right, “joy”. How can you experience “joy” in the cross, you may ask? That is easy; because it is there that our salvation was won.

OK, you may say, so Christ’s cross won our salvation, but it is very different when we are speaking of our own crosses.

No, in fact it is not different at all…it is a sharing of the suffering, a submerging in the act of total surrender that brings about our healing. A trust in the love and mercy we are told are there through Jesus Christ that will then fill our deep wounds with His love no matter what they are.

Naturally our human nature runs from the cross, we are afraid, we do not like the pain, we want to escape, but it is in freely climbing on the cross with Christ and believing in its redemption that we are freed from our pain and suffering.

As we celebrate Goof Friday embrace the cross, not only the cross of Jesus that we venerate today, but our own crosses, that unite us with Jesus, that they may be submerged in His suffering and death and bring us to the joy of the resurrection.

Jesus, we trust in You!

Divine Mercy Novena

Today begins the Divine Mercy Novena..I will be posting each day here throughout:

Divine Mercy Novena

Jesus further asked that this Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena of Chaplets to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday.  Say one chaplet each day following the novena intention. In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

"On each day of the novena you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls. By this novena I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Diary 1209, 796)

First Day
"Today bring to Me All Mankind, especially all sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges me."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Good Friday

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Making Up for Abortion

Refusing Forgiveness

“It would be better for that man if he had never been born."

Such were the words of Jesus about the person who was going to hand him over to be crucified.
Jesus said this because He knew Judas would not repent and seek out His mercy when he realized what he had done.

Jesus of course, was right. Judas, does not repent, but instead despairs and goes and hangs himself. He was so centered on self and his needs and wants when he handed Jesus over. I don’t think he had any idea of what he was doing or the amount of people it would impact. The enormity of his sin, once he carried it out, must have weighted so heavily on him.

In spite of being with Jesus for so long and seeing so many miracles, he still did not get it. He somehow did not believe God’s mercy was there for him too…perhaps because of Jesus words…perhaps he thought Jesus would not forgive him instead of realizing Jesus was speaking about his refusal to reach out for forgiveness.

Post abortion people know despair…the feeling of believing you are unforgivable. Some of us wallow in it for years, and even believe we are being humble for refusing forgiveness we “don’t deserve it.”

The truth is, we do not deserve it. It is freely given because of the love God has for us.
May we each appreciate the depths of this forgiveness and accept it thankfully instead of clinging to our own perceptions…may we offer our gratitude to Christ for the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have new life.

One lesson of Christ's passion has suddenly really hit home

Aleteia
March 20, 2016 Theresa Bonopartis

Forgiving the Parent Who Forced Me Into an Abortion
One lesson of Christ's passion has suddenly really hit home

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.—1 Timothy 1:16

For sure, patience is my most lacking virtue, and I suspect part of the reason is that I am always multitasking. I think it may be rooted in being a single parent — mother, father, breadwinner and at one point, a student. Now, in our technological age, the gadgetry keeps all of us multitasking, but I try to use it all as little as possible, because when I do, it adds to my sense of not being present in the here and now. It keeps me distractedly wondering where others may take me.
Because this is so, I have spent this Lent working on two Spiritual Works of Mercy I have struggled with, in the context of patience:
• To forgive offenses willingly
• To bear wrongs patiently

- See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/03/20/forgiving-the-parent-who-forced-me-into-an-abortion/#sthash.vg8yMBj1.dpuf

 

 

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.—1 Timothy 1:16

For sure, patience is my most lacking virtue, and I suspect part of the reason is that I am always multitasking. I think it may be rooted in being a single parent — mother, father, breadwinner and at one point, a student. Now, in our technological age, the gadgetry keeps all of us multitasking, but I try to use it all as little as possible, because when I do, it adds to my sense of not being present in the here and now. It keeps me distractedly wondering where others may take me.

Because this is so, I have spent this Lent working on two Spiritual Works of Mercy I have struggled with, in the context of patience:

• To forgive offenses willingly

• To bear wrongs patiently

- See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/03/20/forgiving-the-parent-who-forced-me-into-an-abortion/#sthash.vg8yMBj1.dpuf

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.—1 Timothy 1:16

For sure, patience is my most lacking virtue, and I suspect part of the reason is that I am always multitasking. I think it may be rooted in being a single parent — mother, father, breadwinner and at one point, a student. Now, in our technological age, the gadgetry keeps all of us multitasking, but I try to use it all as little as possible, because when I do, it adds to my sense of not being present in the here and now. It keeps me distractedly wondering where others may take me.

Because this is so, I have spent this Lent working on two Spiritual Works of Mercy I have struggled with, in the context of patience:

• To forgive offenses willingly

• To bear wrongs patiently

As one who has had an abortion and who works with post-abortive women, I know that for us there are so many people, and so much to forgive: boyfriends, wives, husbands, parents, friends and, of course, ourselves. Once God has forgiven us, we must do that.

- See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/03/20/forgiving-the-parent-who-forced-me-into-an-abortion/#sthash.vg8yMBj1.dpuf

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.—1 Timothy 1:16

For sure, patience is my most lacking virtue, and I suspect part of the reason is that I am always multitasking. I think it may be rooted in being a single parent — mother, father, breadwinner and at one point, a student. Now, in our technological age, the gadgetry keeps all of us multitasking, but I try to use it all as little as possible, because when I do, it adds to my sense of not being present in the here and now. It keeps me distractedly wondering where others may take me.

Because this is so, I have spent this Lent working on two Spiritual Works of Mercy I have struggled with, in the context of patience:

• To forgive offenses willingly

• To bear wrongs patiently

As one who has had an abortion and who works with post-abortive women, I know that for us there are so many people, and so much to forgive: boyfriends, wives, husbands, parents, friends and, of course, ourselves. Once God has forgiven us, we must do that.

- See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/03/20/forgiving-the-parent-who-forced-me-into-an-abortion/#sthash.vg8yMBj1.dpuf

 

 

 

 

 

Forgiving the Parent Who Forced Me Into an Abortion

One lesson of Christ's passion has suddenly really hit home

- See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/03/20/forgiving-the-parent-who-forced-me-into-an-abortion/#sthash.vg8yMBj1.dpuf

St Joseph, pray for us!

As a single parent, I always entrusted by children to St. Joseph, to protect them as he protected Jesus and Mary since they did not have a dad active in their lives.  

In my room at home, I also have a small fetal model in the arms of my statue of St Joseph to symbolize my aborted son Joshua, safe within his arms along with the baby Jesus.

Sometimes, I do not think of St Joseph as often as I used to, now that my sons are grown men, but I still do believe that he is watching over them... all three of them.

There is a quiet peacefulness in my heart regarding St. Joseph, an advocate in healing and a gentle source of comfort, knowing he is our protector.

As we celebrate his feast day today, may we thank God for the gift of this humble man, who by his trustful surrender, accepted Mary as his wife and nurtured and protected the child Jesus as he does each of us today.

Queen of Peace!

An Exchange with God

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”(Isaiah 65:17)

The name of the "Entering Canaan" ministry came to me in prayer one day before the Blessed Sacrament. You can read about it here. At first, I was baffled by it, but after reading about the Israelites journey into the Promise Land it made perfect sense. It was a tough journey for them as the one to healing is for those who have experienced abortion, but God promises he will never abandonus as He leads us into the Promised Land, we just need to trust.

Many readings throughout lent speak to this journey through the desert. Today Fr Barron has a lenten reflection on this; "God is much more interested in your future than in your past. Why worry excessively about what came before? Why obsess over your past sins? We have a God who “makes all things new,” and in that we find hope." He concludes his meditation by saying: "What I want you to know right here and right now is that there is a way out, a way forward, a path opening up in the desert. You might be miseria (in misery) but standing right in front of you is Misericordia (mercy). So, go."

Having had that in mind while writing the retreat, one of the things I wanted to do during our Medjugorje "Mercy" retreat was to make that a message to those who came, and so, we had an "Exchange with God".

Each person was given a wooden heart to write the name of their babies on. These hearts then accompanied them on the journey to the top of Cross Mountain. Anyone who has climbed this mountain knows it is not easy...the trip up and down took about 4 hours for our entire group. When we reached the top we had a service where we left out hearts at the foot of the Cross and then Father Conrad Osterhaut, CFR, gave a talk on the scripture of Isaiah 65:17.

Father Conrad then blessed small replicas of the cross to give to each person representing this exchange with God as a reminder that our children are in His care, we are healed by the sacrifice of the Cross followed by the resurrection.

It is hard to describe the many graces we all received during this trip. No words can ever do justice to
the amazing mercy of God and the gifts He bestowed upon us...sinners wh0 participated in the death of their children. But that is Mercy Himself, loving us, forgiving us, transforming us,making all things new!

IPP & Stigma again

"With a recent amendment to the Spanish abortion law which requires parental consent for 16-17 year olds, it seems that politicians are out of touch with young people." IPP

 

IPP is once again at it trying to do away with abortion stigma with another new initiative "Youth Against Abortion Stigma".

It is so sad that these young girls are swept away in Planned Parenthood rhetoric, believing they have young women's welfare at heart, when those of us who went before them know it is about abortion and only abortion.

I wish they would take a moment to think about why PP is not spending the time or resources to help those women to choose to have their children. Why is it just abortion they spend millions on if they truly care about women? The answer obviously is that they make big money off of abortion. It is their god.

In the end, although my heart breaks for these girls, and I know we will see many in the aftermath of abortion, I do not worry about the stigma thing. All the money in the world, all the attempts at brain washing etc will never be able to replace the deep seeded heart of a mother to care for and nurture her children. Stigma will not go away unless all our hearts become so cold and dead we are not capable of love.