God’s Divine Mercy Provides Hope, Healing

Details: 29 April 2011

"My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from this fountain…Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul."

These words from the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (#1777) are a beautiful expression of God’s Divine Mercy, which we celebrate this Sunday. For those who suffer from a past abortion, however, God’s mercy can seem incomprehensible. Consequently, the Church provides a special outreach called Project Rachel to communicate God’s mercy and to facilitate healing for post-abortive women and men.

Project Rachel is comprised of specially trained clergy and professional counselors who provide individual, confidential counseling and reconciliation to women and men suffering from a past abortion. In Nebraska, Project Rachel can be accessed by calling 1-888-456-HOPE (4673). Information on Project Rachel and abortion’s emotional and spiritual aftermath is also available online at www.hopeafterabortion.com.

The name of this outreach comes from the Old Testament figure Rachel who "mourns her children" and "refuses to be consoled because her children are no more." Our Lord, however, tells Rachel to "cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward… There is hope for your future." (Jeremiah 31:15-17)

In his 2009 homily on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict XVI cautioned that "without the healing of souls, without the healing of man from within there can be no salvation for humanity. How essential then to the mission of the Church are the pastoral and apostolic activities that draw women and men burdened by the sin of abortion closer to God’s merciful heart. It is no exaggeration to say that the Church’s ministry of healing and reconciliation after abortion is at the heart of the Church’s mission at this time in her history."

Homily notes provided by the U.S. Bishops’ Pro Life Office for the third Sunday in Lent reminded us that "Jesus knows the weakness of the human heart. He knows that our fears – often arising from a lack of trust in God’s love and support – can lead us into grave sin. Fear, not cruelty, is the force that motivates the majority of abortions.

"Teens and young women are afraid to tell their parents about their pregnancy for fear of disappointing them, or fear of being rejected or punished. They fear not being able to complete their education and the loss of the future life they had planned.

"They fear that they lack the resources and maturity to care for a baby. They fear that an adoptive family may not love their child as they would. Some single fathers want to marry their pregnant girlfriend or at least support their child, but others fear that they’ll be stuck with the young pregnant woman they never planned on marrying and stuck paying child support for 18 years.

"Parents whose daughters are young or still dependent on them, fear the struggles their daughters may face in trying to raise a child alone; they fear that their daughters will be kept from reaching their full potential when their studies or career are sidetracked by an unplanned pregnancy. Some parents fear how their friends will react to the family’s "shame" of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

"And expectant parents whose unborn child has been diagnosed with a serious genetic condition, may fear that their child will suffer in life, that they won’t be capable of caring for a child with special needs, or that the emotional pain of carrying a child to term only to witness its death will be more than they can bear.

"But in every case, our Lord is ready to provide all the grace and help we need if we simply ask him for the courage and strength to act in ways that affirm the priceless gift of life. He willingly died for us. Why do we doubt that he’d help us through any crisis, that he’d bring people into our lives who can offer the support we need through difficult times?

"And should we fail to do the right thing, sacramental Confession is always available to us. There we come face to face with God’s Divine Mercy – Mercy that forgives our worst sins, removes our guilt and our shame, fills us instead with God’s grace."

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.