Each year on Mother's Day, my heart goes out to those who struggle with this holiday. Inspired by this column on "How to Widen Our Hearts On Mother's Day," I've gathered prayers from readers into a litany to be prayed at church or at home - to remember all the mothers. Feel free to adapt for use within your parish or congregation. Please simply credit the source: Copyright © 2019 Laura Kelly Fanucci, MotheringSpirit.com. Response: Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. For women who long to be mothers.For all who desire to be married and raise a family.For all who are experiencing infertility. For all who are waiting to adopt or foster a child. For mothers who have lost a baby.For all who have suffered a miscarriage.For all who lost a child to stillbirth or SIDS. For all whose baby died after birth. For mothers whose children have died.For all whose children died in infancy, childhood, or adolescence.For all who mourn their young adult or adult children.For all whose … [Read more...] about a prayer for mother’s day
community
why you have to go to church
Why do you have to go to church, my child? I thought I wasn’t going to have to answer that question for a few more years. Maybe even a decade before you started stomping around with teenage eye rolls of disgust when I ask you to get dressed on Sunday morning, and not in those ratty jeans with the holes in the knees, either. But here we are today, already five minutes late and you’re standing at the back door whining in protest, your stubborn feet kicking the mud-caked shoes you refuse to put on so we can scramble into the car. Do you want my answer? Ok. This is why you have to go to church. . . . It’s good for you to go to church. Here’s part of what church means: faith, prayer, ritual, music, beauty, and community. Experts agree those are good things for growing kids, healthy like tall glasses of milk and long nights of sleep. But I don’t need an expert to tell me what I see on Sunday mornings. You leafing carefully through the hymnal pages, pointing when you find … [Read more...] about why you have to go to church
what to do next: supporting couples through infertility
I never expected this. Since those words swam in my head every single month that we were waiting for a baby, I should not be surprised that infertility continues to shape my life in unexpected ways. But this post? More people have read it - and are continuing to share it - than have read anything on my blog in the four years since I started writing it. The comments on that post are only a sliver of the stories shared with me through email, on Facebook, and in person. I'm floored by how many people are yearning to hear that they are seen. So many couples are suffering the invisibility of infertility. And so many of them wish their churches would speak a word of peace to them in their pain. What can each of us do, whether we've struggled with infertility or not, to support the couples suffering around us? Watch your assumptions. That young couple you see? Don't assume they're wrapped up in their careers and are choosing to delay parenthood. That older couple you see? … [Read more...] about what to do next: supporting couples through infertility
dear couple in the pew: i see you {infertility & invisibility}
Dear couple in the pew across from us: I see the way you grip each other's hands when you notice us. I see the way you try not to cry while you watch our kids. I see the way you kiss her forehead quietly; I see the way you lean your head on his shoulder, blinking back tears. I see the way both of you stare straight ahead, willing yourselves not to think about it. I see you. While my husband and I are trying to corral the Mass chaos of three small kids, your eyes catch mine and then quickly look away. Turning from the sight of someone who has what you want. Anything to keep from dwelling on what a young, growing family means to you. I see you at the grocery store, too. At the park. At the restaurant. At the work party, the neighborhood potluck, the family reunion. But somehow it feels even more painful when I see you at church. Maybe it's because I know you'll have to watch our motley crew for a whole hour, not just one quick turn down the store's aisle or a … [Read more...] about dear couple in the pew: i see you {infertility & invisibility}
