Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

“In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, "hoping against hope, believed" (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God” – Pope Francis

“Hoping against Hope! ” I am betting anyone who has ever suffered from a past abortion can relate to “hoping against hope." “Hope” is usually something they gave up long ago.

In our “Entering Canaan” ministry, Days of Prayer & Healing are the first thing someone would attend. Our goal for the day is single; to instill "hope of healing." To light the flame of "hope" into a soul so often plagued with despair, anxiety, and fear, and to be as Pope Francis said, “men and women who bring hope to others."

Often, people think this is a small goal, after all, we are speaking about an abortion experience, but it is from this foundation of hope that faith grows, little by little, bringing the person into a personal relationship with God there to learn true trust in Him and His mercy, allowing themselves to experience His forgiveness and love.

This new found trust then gives them the ability to honestly look at their abortion experience, while they cling to the mercy they have found, knowing they are loved, opening them to the tools they need, emotionally, spiritually, and even sometimes physically to heal. This “light of hope” paves the way on their journey of post abortion healing through the desert to “Entering Canaan” the Promised Land.

Traveling through this desert consists of many different experiences, from our “Hope & Healing” weekend retreat, which explores different obstacles of healing such as acknowledging our sin and the difference between shame vs. humility, to our monthly “Gatherings” groups where we  pray before the Eucharist meditating on a specific post abortion issue, and then share with one another. Our yearly “Mercy” retreat, is also a time to grow deeper in our faith and our healing as we renew ourselves in the Lord.

Hope, the foundation of healing and the instrument to keep faith alive, is evident all through our quest for wholeness and healing after our abortions and also our desire to see our children one day. Pope John Paul II tells us in the Gospel of Life, “The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life."

This “sure hope” is a comfort and a promise, enabling us to reclaim our children in the Lord.

“To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope!”  Pope Francis

May we each open up a horizon of hope and break through the heavy cloud of abortion, there to find Mercy Himself waiting for us!