National Infant loss Awareness

 October is National Respect life month and National Infant loss Awareness month. Please consider making a donation to ” Back In His Arms Again” a ministry that helps nearly 80 families a month in the Columbus area through infant loss. For more information please visit our NEW web site at www.backinhisarmsagain.com to learn more about our services and how you might be able to help or donate. We are most grateful for you response to this growing need in our community.
When making a donation. Go to our new web site…….hit the DONATE tab at the top and follow instructions!
God Bless,

Kambra Malone
President/CEO
Back in His Arms Again

614.906.3115
www.backinhisarmsagain.com

Mass and Blessing of Women Praying to Conceive

Signed copies of “Facing Infertility: A Catholic Approach,” as well as other resources for Catholic couples facing infertility, will be available at the Mass and Blessing of Women Praying to Conceive as we celebrate the 113th annual Feast of St. Gerard Majella. For more information on the events taking place during the novena, see http://www.saintlucy.net/feastpreparation.html.

If you or someone you know is struggling with infertility, please consider attending the Mass and Blessing of Women Praying to Conceive this Wednesday night at 7 pm.

Location:  St. Lucy’s Church, which houses the National Shrine of St. Gerard, in Newark, NJ.

 

 

The Struggle for Joy

 I ponder why joy is the struggle.

It is truly difficult to grasp…

amongst depression,

exhaustion,

acedia…

a daily battle to be fought.

Yet it is right within grasp…

within me.

I seek the joy, the satisfaction…in created things,

but because I stop and rest in them,

not raising my heart to You, the Creator,

my joy is short-lived…gone.

I am left empty…desolate.

When will I realize,

comprehend,

understand,

that You alone can satisfy…

fill the emptiness to overflowing.

That there is a tranquil joy

not of this world,

that can only be experienced by resting in You.

By embracing your loving will

at each moment

with equanimity,

tranquility,

peace.

These are your gifts of joy.

Even when my soul is heavy…weighed down

…dry…doesn’t understand,

I can accept and offer even this as gift…

as sacrifice…

as reparation.

And in exchange

You give me only joy…

tranquil joy.

My soul, oh my soul…

let it rest only in You.

{Theresa lives out her vocation as wife, mother to four (and two in Heaven), Classical homeschooler, Secular Carmelite, and part-time ultrasonographer in Pennsylvania.  She shares her fumbling writings at my desert heart when the Spirit nudges her.}

God Can Do Anything

A few weeks after our baby died, we took our other children to the beach in an attempt to relieve the heaviness of grief. Just for a few hours we wanted to forget the pain and do something normal and happy, and see our children’s faces light up with delight.

As they splashed in the lagoon and built sand castles, I wandered to the edge of the sea, and stood quietly by myself. I watched the waves rolling in one after another, breaking onto the shore and over my feet. The bright sunlight glinted off the water. A refreshing salty breeze lifted my hair.

For a long time I stared out at the horizon, oblivious to everything but the ocean. It was so vast and seemed unending. It was magnificent and powerful and beautiful. And while I stood there on the sand, I saw God:

All-knowing

All-loving

Almighty

and eternal.

I was a mere grain of sand standing before a God who is so enormous, He goes on and on forever, without end.  I am one tiny soul in the universe of creation but despite this, I was aware I was still important. God was looking at me, and He knew all about my grief.

My whole body throbbed with pain. I could do nothing about my suffering. But I knew that my all-consuming grief was nothing compared to God. All He had to do was blow one tiny breath, very gently over me, and I would be healed. God could do that. He can do anything.

God reached down, scooped me up, and wrapped me in Love. And hope washed through me. I prayed.

Of course, my grief didn’t vanish in a moment while I stood on that beach looking out at the waves. I wasn’t healed in an instant. But I began to hope. Whenever I was tempted to believe that nothing would ever defeat my grief, I thought of the never-ending ocean and I remembered…

God is the Creator of everything,

For He made all things from nothing:

He is the Holy One,

A Mystery Awesome and Wondrous,

The Supreme Being, the Supreme Spirit,

All-knowing, All-loving, Almighty and Eternal.

God can wipe away any pain. God can heal. God can do anything.

I blog at Sue Elvis Writes. Please feel welcome to visit and share more of my posts.