God's Mercy Awaits You E-Book

Patricia Marie Barnett

• Herausgeber: anna ruggieri
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Many women who experience post-abortion trauma and guilt feel doomed to suffer in silence. In God’s Mercy Awaits You, experienced pro-life counselor Sr. Patricia Marie Barnette accompanies women on a journey out of the darkness of shame and regret and into the light of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Sr. Barnette is as empathetic as she is knowledgeable, and she approaches this difficult topic with compassion and sensitivity.The book is also highly practical, filled with prayers, advice, and web and print resources that consider the issue from every perspective. If you or someone you know is living in pain caused by an abortion, God’s Mercy Awaits You is an invaluable resource to begin the process of healing.

Leseprobe

Praise for God’s Mercy Awaits You

“In God’s Mercy Awaits You, you will find wise and compassionate assistance in helping to heal an abortion loss. This book is also helpful to those who love someone who has had an abortion and is in need of healing, by helping them to understand the issues and providing resources.”

—Vicki Thorn, foundress of Project Rachel and executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing

“Many people associated with the Catholic Church, and with churches that are strongly evangelical in nature, are noted for their strongly pro-life stance. We should never forget, however, that the Church in its core structure is also strongly pro-healing and pro-mercy, reflecting the divine mercy of Jesus from the cross.

“Sister Patricia Marie Barnette beautifully portrays how that healing and mercy are at work for those seeking the Lord’s healing and peace. ‘Each day God continues to heal you’ is the wonderful message you will take from this insightful and uplifting book.”

—Most Reverend Robert J. Baker, S.T.D., Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama

“Many women live for years in isolation with the pain of a past abortion. God’s Mercy Awaits You is both the title and the message of a unique book by Sr. Patricia Marie Barnette, which draws on her extensive experience in post-abortion healing ministry. God’s Mercy Awaits You offers hope and practical encouragement to all those suffering from post-abortion pain. It also provides invaluable insights to friends, family members, and those involved in the Church’s Project Rachel ministry.”

—Marianne Luthin, Director, Pro-Life Office and Project Rachel, Archdiocese of Boston

“God’s Mercy Awaits You by Sr. Patricia Marie Barnette is a powerful gift to women who have had abortions and to their family members. Barnette combines the experiences of numerous women with spiritual truths and empirical research on the psychological implications of abortion to lead women to a place of mercy and peace. Many women experience religious conversions in the aftermath of an abortion or deepen their personal relationships with God, yet struggle with forgiving themselves. This amazing book provides deep compassionate understanding of the challenges women face after abortion, and offers gentle substantive guidance on the path to complete healing and renewed hope.”

—Priscilla K. Coleman, Ph.D., professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio

“Abortion can leave those who experience it with the belief that they have committed an unforgiveable sin, with no hope of peace and salvation. But God is Mercy himself and longs to heal us if we seek him out in sorrow.

“For almost three decades now, I have been working in the Entering Canaan Ministry, which is based on my own journey of healing with God. Originally developed with the Sisters of Life for women, it has since expanded with the help of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal to include retreats for men, siblings, and those who abort due to an adverse diagnosis. We have been blessed to see God at work in the lives of thousands of people as they come to know his love and mercy and learn the dynamics of healing.

“In God’s Mercy Awaits You, a book on abortion healing written by Patricia Marie Barnette, RGS, she shares her personal knowledge and experience of working with those seeking healing with a beautiful invitation into his heart through scripture passages, as well as practical psychological insights to help address the many psychological dynamics encountered on the healing journey.

“Although we are not our abortions, their impact is deep. However, through the loving mercy of God we are shown our dignity as his children and led to the fountain of his mercy where hope abides.

“God is waiting for you! Seek him out in the pages of this book and you will find he has always been there.”

—Theresa Bonopartis, Director, Lumina/Hope and Healing after Abortion; Co-Developer, Entering Canaan—A Sacramental Journey to an Inheritance of Mercy

God’s Mercy Awaits You

God’s Mercy Awaits You

Find Healing after Abortion

By Patricia Marie Barnette, RGS

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019952896

CIP data is available.

ISBN-10: 0-8198-3159-X

ISBN-13: 978-0-8198-3160-6

Many manufacturers and sellers distinguish their products through the use of trademarks. Any trademarked designations that appear in this book are used in good faith but are not authorized by, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, Revised Edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, copyright © 1994, 1997 United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Excerpts from The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body In the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, copyright © 2014 by Bessel van der Kolk. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

“Via Crucis: The Way of the Cross” by Rev. Richard Veras, copyright © Magnificat. Used with permission.

Excerpts from Pope John Paul II’s magesterium texts © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Cittá del Vaticano. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Cover design by Rosanna Usselmann

Cover photo: istockphoto.com/© StudioM1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

“P” and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Copyright © 2020, Patricia Marie Barnette, RGS

Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Pauls Avenue, Boston, MA 02130-3491

eBook by ePubMATIC.com

www.pauline.org

Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

Contents

Foreword

Is This Book for You?

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 Encouragement for the Journey

CHAPTER 2 Aftereffects of Abortion

CHAPTER 3 Connecting with God

CHAPTER 4 Anger and Forgiveness

CHAPTER 5 Spiritual Relationship with Your Child

CHAPTER 6 Forgiveness of Self

CHAPTER 7 The Impact of Abortion on Relationships

CHAPTER 8 How Abortion Affects Men

CHAPTER 9 Live Your Life in Peace

Acknowledgments

APPENDIX 1 How to Look Up Passages in the Bible

APPENDIX 2 How to Pray with the Bible

APPENDIX 3 Web and Print Resources

This book is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe and to all the courageous women who have opened their hearts to walk the healing journey from darkness to the light of Christ.

Foreword

“In hope we were saved,” (Rom 8:24).

The cry from the heart of a woman who has suffered an abortion is, in our experience as Sisters of Life, invariably, “Is there hope for me?” It is an almost universal and often hesitant question. The one suffering holds her breath in fear, waiting for the answer. The answer comes in an instant, pouring out of the Father’s merciful and tender heart: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you . . . you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you,” (Is 43:1, 4). Is there hope? There is so much hope—for you, and for us all!

Through our Hope and Healing Mission, we Sisters of Life accompany hundreds of women each year along the path of hope toward healing from their abortion experiences. What a great privilege it is to be invited into the darkest places of another’s heart, and to see the Light of Christ dispel her deepest fear: that she is alone in her suffering. We have witnessed time and again that transformation occurs when a woman trusts enough to reach out for the hand of another and comes to know she is not only not alone, but loved in her sinfulness and suffering. What a stunning truth—this mysterious, glorious, unfathomable mercy of God!

In God’s Mercy Awaits You, Sister Patricia offers an introduction to this process and points us to Christ’s infinite mercy and love. She shares stories of women and men, whom she has accompanied over the years, who have found hope and healing after their abortions. She also explores different facets of the healing process itself. Sister uses Scripture so beautifully to illustrate and ground her words in the Truth that sets us free. And so, whether you have suffered the effects of abortion yourself or are supporting another seeking healing, this book may be a source of comfort and encouragement.

Each person’s journey is unique, and Jesus has a particular plan for your healing. Navigating with you through the pain, suffering, and grief that follow an abortion, and restoring you to a place of peace and calm, is his great desire. As Sister Patricia mentions, our identity does not lie in the choices we make or in the sins we commit, but in the fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are his beloved.

Many women find it helpful to attend a retreat, join a support group, or meet regularly with a priest, counselor, or other trusted advisor. God’s Mercy Awaits You is an aid both for those who have suffered an abortion, as well as for the friends, relatives, professionals, and others who minister to them.

My sincere prayer for you is that you will find within these pages a helpful resource—one of encouragement and guidance—as you embark on this journey, and that the Lord will grant you the grace of perseverance in seeking healing, peace, and wholeness. Everything is possible with God!

May God richly bless you, and may Christ, the Lord of Life, heal all that is broken and restore you to newness of life.

“Behold, I make all things new,” (Rev 21:5).

“I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly,” (Jn 10:10).

MOTHER AGNES MARY DONOVAN, SV

Superior General, Sisters of Life