Reclaiming Our Children

In Thanksgiving - Mercy Retreat

Another amazing gift from God in our yearly, "Mercy" retreat whose theme was "Sharing Our suffering with Christ".

As usual God will not be outdone.

Amazing talks by the women. Fr Fidelis was wonderful (thank you so much for your heart for us), and of course awesome music by Michael Corsini. 

Thank you Lord!

St Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

St Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who by conversion became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of love. You, who already
possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that some day
I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.”

 

God Never Tires of Forgiving Us!

Pope Francis on the Sacrament of Confession and God's forgiveness!

"Let us then remember always that God never tires of forgiving us."

 

However, once we are forgiven the sin is gone, even the sin of abortion! We may still suffer from the consequences of the sin and need continued healing, but we are forgiven and we need to claim that forgiveness.

Check out our brochure, "Bless Me Father!" on the Sacrament of Reconciliation!

Prayers for Retreat

This weekend we have our yearly "Mercy" Retreat - "Sharing in the Suffering of Christ"

We ask you to pray for us as we journey further into healing and relationship with Christ who died for our sins.

The True End of the Stigma of Abortion The Cross of Jesus Christ

I have been reflecting lately on the never ending quest for the end of the stigma of abortion. 

It is no secret that those in favor of abortion blame the stigma on countless different things; family, religion, society, anything but the mere fact that you have participated in the death of your very own child. They think if you talk about it, dance about it, blame it on others, deny the sin, refuse to admit it's adverse impact, etc. that somehow in time the stigma will be gone.

You cannot help but notice the anger and desperation in their acts. This wall of denial shields them from the truth of what they have done and attempts to justify and normalize it. Problem is after 45 years of supposed safe, legal abortion, it has not worked. Abortion is still as controversial if not more so, and the stigma has not lessened.

In some ways I think those post abortive on both sides of the issue are all looking to move from the stigma of what we did. Maybe because for so many it defines who they are in relation to themselves instead of being something they did.  That is one thing we have in common, however, not only is our approach totally different, so are the results.

I have come to realize that I truly have been freed from the stigma of abortion. While I never will think my abortion was a good thing or okay in any circumstance, I also am keenly aware that I do not feel shame anymore. Others “opinions” and judgments of me  have lost their power. It is hard to care what people think when you have been touched and freed by the mercy of God. It is not something you think, it is something you experience on a deeply personal level and no one can take it from you.

So how is this different? Instead of denying our sin we have acknowledged it and looked at the painful truth of what we have done. We have expressed our sorrow and repented. Like the prodigal son, we have returned to the Father whose mercy and forgiveness have embraced and loved us in spite of our terrible sin. Like the woman at the well, we have been amazed that Christ knows all we have done, and still offers His peace. The peace of Christ, the truth of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, that is what has freed us from the stigma of abortion.

Try as they might for as long as they might, sadly the pro abortion crowd will never be freed from stigma no matter what new tactics they try. Sure they may harden their hearts so they feel nothing but anger, but the stigma will still be there.

We are freed by Christ when we embrace on a spiritual level that which we rejected by sin, and open our hearts to embrace the truth which set us free.

Amazing Truth

Lent is a time when we are called to look at our sinfulness through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.
There is a temptation when we look at our sinfulness to get stuck there. We keep the focus on ourselves and beat ourselves up because of our misery. We get stuck in the “I cannot believe I had an abortion” mode. This, however, is false pride…why should we be so shocked that we can commit such a sin? Once we turn from the will of God any sin is possible.

During Lent, we are asked to move beyond that self focus, to focus on the passion of Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice for our sins, even our sin of abortion. It is a time to meditate on His great love for us. As we come to know this love, we do not sacrifice during lent only because we are told to, but instead, because we cannot help loving Him and wanting to return a sacrifice out of that love.

Today, take a few minutes to sit before a cross and repeat “Jesus died on the cross for my sins, even my sin of abortion”. It is an amazing truth of God's love for you!