Saint Joseph and Friends: Our Lenten Helpers

by Theresa Cavicchio

As the feast of Saint Joseph arrives, several weeks of Lent have passed. At this point, our Lenten efforts toward prayer, fasting, and almsgiving may be beginning to pale. Now could be the perfect time to focus on some sterling qualities of Jesus’ earthly father as they relate to these traditional Lenten practices. We may find therein some fresh ideas to carry us spiritually through the remainder of Lent.

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Resentment and Forgiveness When Dealing With Miscarriage and Infertility

Margalita Poletunow, LPCMH

is not unusual for a woman to experience a variety of negative emotions about her body when being unable to become pregnant or carry a baby to term. Her mind will be bombarded with thoughts and emotions trying to understand her current situation. However, two particular
feelings can lurk and can easily weigh her down and make her heart heavy.

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Saint Katharine Drexel: The Heavenly Worth of Earthly Wealth

by Theresa Cavicchio

The rarified atmosphere of center city Philadelphia was the privileged milieu into which Katharine Drexel (1858 – 1955) came into the world. The second child of wealthy financier Francis Drexel and Hannah Langstroth, sadly, Katharine and her sister Elizabeth suffered the loss of their mother in Katharine’s fifth week of life.

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Words matter to a mother whose unborn child died by miscarriage!

by Margalita Poletunow, MA, LPC, LPCMH

During pregnancy, certain medical issues beyond the woman’s control can lead to the death of the child before it is born. The baby will die, for example, if a woman has a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or an ectopic pregnancy to mention a few.

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The Presentation of the Lord: A Feast Spanning the Stages of Life

by Theresa Cavicchio

“The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the Savior … Jesus is recognized as the long-expected Messiah, the ‘light to the nations’ and the ‘glory of Israel,’ but also ‘a sign that is spoken against.’ The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces Christ’s perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had ‘prepared in the presence of all peoples’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 529).

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Miscarriage, Infertility and the Christmas Season

by Margalita Poletunow, LPCMH

From the beginning of Advent and throughout the Christmas season, a woman facing infertility challenges or who has experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth may be filled with sadness and sorrow. At a time when all around her is brimming with excitement and joy, she may be bracing herself to swim against the waves of loneliness and a sense of emptiness. While family and friends may expect her to display the same seasonal euphoria as others around her, her heart may be aching over a desire that is unfulfilled or a baby that has died too soon.

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The Perfect Christmas Gift

by Susan Tassone

It’s not too late to take a tip on Christmas gift-giving from two Doctors of the Church: St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Teresa of Avila. Help a soul in purgatory reach heaven on December 25. And — marking the eight days of the Octave of Christmas — keep giving, keep helping, through January 1.

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Women and Miscarriage

                                                                                                         Photo by Danie Franco on Unsplash

Margalita Poletunow, MA, LPC, LPCMH

From an early age, most women are dreaming of having a family one day. From the
time of their puberty, they have been told that God has designed their bodies to carry and birth a baby. Imagine years later when that woman is married, bubbling with excitement when she becomes pregnant, only to hear from her medical provider the most heartbreaking news: there is no heartbeat! You are having a miscarriage!

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