Reclaiming Our Children

St. Faustina & Post Abortion Healing

 Prayer to St. Faustina

O Jesus, who filled Saint Faustina with profound veneration for the boundless mercy, deign, if it be, Your holy will, to grant me through her intercession, the grace for which I fervently pray. May sins render me unworthy for Your mercy, but be mindful of St. Faustina’s sacrifice and self-denial, and reward her virtues by granting the petition, which, with childlike trust, I present, to You through her intercession.

St. Faustina pray for us.

 

If I had to name one thing that was most instrumental in my healing from abortion, it would be the Devotion to Divine Mercy. Anyone who has read my testimony knows the role Divine Mercy has played in my life.  It was during hours of praying, “Jesus, I trust in You,” that God chose to bring me onto His cross and fill me with His forgiveness and love. A personal crucifixion that brought not the pain we see as we gaze at the cross, but a flood of love that washed away my sin, and so, St. Faustina, of course, holds a very special place in my heart.

This minster of mercy changed my life and brought me hope. A person so full of despair who thought there was no forgiveness for her, was made to come to believe that, in fact, God desired my healing and forgiveness. While I lived with the condemnation of abortion, Faustina, in her diary, spoke to me of Jesus’ great desire to heal me through His mercy. “Divine Mercy In My Soul," spoke to my soul.

Today, in the course of a long conversation, the Lord said to me, How very much I desire the salvation of souls! My dearest secretary, write that I want to pour out My divine life into human souls and sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace. The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust in My mercy.

How could anyone refuse?

This devotion is still a major part of my life and I am sure it always will. It is the sure hope that allows me to do this work because all my confidence is in His Mercy for every soul.  The words, “Jesus, I trust in You,” are my life line - a confirmation that no matter what things look like, what life is handing out, or what I am feeling, I only have to continue to trust. I may only be able to do it for a minute, or perhaps just a second, but second by second it takes me through the trials of this life.

His work in my healing, knowing what He has done for me in freeing me from the anxiety, fear, panic, depression, etc. of my abortion, gives me great confidence in Him for all life brings because I know what He has done for me and no one can take that away. It resides in a quiet place of my heart, there guarded from all the outside world may bring. It is the place that allows me to do this work and sets my heart on fire to let others know of His love, mercy, and forgiveness. I believe in His Mercy because I know it is true! Jesus Christ freed me from the hell of abortion because He is Mercy!

I will end this post with the quote I use to end my testimony talk. It is a quote that I believe speaks to the heart of any sinner, but especially to those who have experienced abortion. It is a  quote that truly brings to life the fact that He who is Mercy Himself is bigger than any sin we may commit.

"[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 they ask. 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. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice..." (Diary, 1146)

Jesus, I trust in You!

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Retreat Day for Siblings

“I probably would not even be here if you did not have that abortion.” These are sentiments expressed by many siblings of aborted babies, sentiments that bring up a host of feelings. Guilt for being alive, yet grateful for the gift of life.  Love of their parents, yet disappointment and anger over the abortion. Questions of whether they were wanted, desperation to understand, and most often than not, a loneliness born out of the thought that they are isolated in their feelings.

Would my name be the same? Where do I go with all of these feelings?

Providing a safe place for those who suffer from sibling survivor guilt is very crucial. A place just for them, where they can express all of their feelings without fear. Fear of being judged because of feelings they have, fear of others judging their parent who they love, and fear of hurting those who are already suffering because of an abortion.

At Luminas “Entering Canaan Day of Prayer and Healing for Siblings” they are free to do just that. It has provided a safe refuge for siblings from across the country as they share their feelings, and work through some of the issues surrounding their lost brother or sister. A place where they are free to be themselves and find out they are not alone as they experience the retreat with others who have also suffered this loss.

As one sibling shared:” At the Lumina retreat, I made peace with my siblings. In fact, I’ve sensed them as a benevolent presence in my life, as people whose souls were sent by God to our family and who are still linked to us. ..  I am thankful to Lumina for helping me to connect to them in a more spiritual way.  A lot of people have lost siblings to abortion and we need to be aware of our invisible family on the other side.  For me, it’s a comforting thought that no matter how broken my earthly family is, I still have more family members to relate to, somewhere!  And, while I may never  understand God’s will, that doesn’t seem to matter so much as the love that can still possibly exist between me and my siblings, born and unborn.” – IR

Or another: “For the first time in my life I was in the presence of other siblings who cold totally relate to my pain/issues. It gave me the confidence to keep sharing my pain/story in the hopes that others can also receive the healing and connections I was blessed by.” Renee

On October 21, 2017 Lumina will be having a retreat day for siblings…for further information please call 877-486-4621 or email [email protected]

St Therese & Getting Stuck in Healing

We have all experienced the feeling of being stuck in our healing journey. That place where you feel no movement, or, at times, even feel you are moving in the wrong direction.

We want to see and feel a steady progress and get discouraged when healing is not as quick as we think it ought to be. We manipulate and control events and prayers in the hope of moving forward to where we think we should be. We are inpatient and want it now!

We are unable to see that the perception of moving backwards is often a test too see if in fact we have progressed, and that it challenges us even further in healing the wound and in growing in love.

It is in times like these that we can learn from the saints, who did not concern themselves with where they were, but only with following Christ trusting Him to have them exactly where He wanted them to be, giving them the healing they needed, in His time not theirs.

They understood that they were helpless, and needed God for any movement towards heaven. They knew they were incapable of perfection but by His grace.

One of my favorite examples of this was in the simplicity of St Therese of the Child Jesus, who said:

"I wanted to find an elevator which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection. I searched then in the Scripture, for some sign of this elevator, the object of my desires and I read these words coming from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: 'Whoever is a little one let him come to me.' The elevator which must raise me to heaven is your arms, O Jesus, and for this I have no need to grow up, but rather I have to remain little and become this more and more,"

As we celebrate the feast day of this simple saint, I will remind myself to throw myself into His arms as she did, to let go of my healing, trusting He continues to work in me. To stay out of His way,  surrendering to His unconditional love .

St Therese, pray for us!