Hope and Healing After Abortion
‘In the Blessed Sacrament, You left us Your mercy; Your love deigned to arrange it so. That, going through life, suffering and toil, I might never doubt of Your goodness and Mercy” Diary 1748
Does a Mother Forget Her Baby?
I have often read articles on the healing of women who are post abortive. It is no surprise that most proclaim that there will be suffering you will carry for the rest of your life. Healing is a long process and often it is years before a woman moves past the pain, but the truth is, it is possible and she can!
It has been years since I felt the despair and pain I once felt from my abortion. Does that mean I am not sorry or that I have forgotten? Of course not, and, I would never want to forget, but remembering, even remembering with regret, does not mean that you cannot have joy in your life again.
Most importantly, I would never want to forget. That unborn child was my son, Joshua. Far from forgetting, I desire him to be part of my daily life.
It is true, I cannot hold him, physically see him, or watch him move through this life, but I can still reclaim him as my child on a spiritual level. I can make him part of my daily life through prayer, alive in Christ who gives me life, and I can meet him every day in the Eucharist as I receive Jesus, who, through His presence, unites us to heaven.
Does a mother forget her child? Thank God, never
“ I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope.” Pope John Paul II