This past month has been mixed with the heartbreak of miscarrying our daughter, Cora, and the joy of knowing that she is with Jesus. Thank you to everyone who has wrapped us up in prayer. Oddly enough, the miscarriage portrait that I created just a few weeks before we knew we were pregnant/miscarried now serves as a reminder to me that Jesus is holding our Cora in his arms. I pray it brings you or a friend consolation & peace.
Here are some sentiments that have been especially thought provoking and comforting to me during this time. I hope that 1 or 2 of them will resonate with you or a loved one going through the heartbreak of miscarriage or infant loss.
♥️ A message from a friend: "Your baby will always be able to pray for you in a way no one else knows how."
♥️ A quote: "When I found out I was pregnant with you, I was so excited to teach you about Jesus. Now, Jesus is teaching you about me."
♥️ A quote: "We would always choose God's will if we could see the big picture of His plan."
♥️ A quote: St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to a couple that had a miscarriage. In response to their question, “What is going to happen to my child? The child didn’t get baptized,” St. Bernard said, “Your faith spoke for this child. Baptism for this child was only delayed by time. Your faith suffices. The waters of your womb — were they not the waters of life for this child? Look at your tears. Are they not like the waters of baptism? Do not fear this. God’s ability to love is greater than our fears. Surrender everything to God.”
♥️ A message from a friend: "I had this image in my head of your sweet little Cora reaching down from Jesus' arms to take you by the hand and pull you close to Him. You are so loved in such a big way!"
♥️ “Love and sacrifice are closely linked, like the sun and the light. We cannot love without suffering & we cannot suffer without love” - St. Gianna (from Molly Z.)
♥️ St. Gregory of Nyssa: “Well, your child may have departed from you, but he has gone to Christ the Lord. For you his eyes have been shut, but they are opened to the eternal light: he is gone from your table, but is now added to the table of angels. The plant was uprooted from here, but planted in paradise. From the earthly kingdom he was transferred to the heavenly kingdom. You see what was exchanged for what. Are you sad because you no longer see the beauty of the face of your child? But this happens, because you do not see the real beauty of the soul with which he rejoices in the heavenly feast. How beautiful indeed is the eye that sees God! How sweet indeed is the mouth that is adorned with divine melodies!”
♥️ My vocation is to get my kids to heaven. One if the few comforts to me is that two if mine are already there, praying for me to join them." (from Mandy)
♥️ "Yes, to think that the first face my little one saw when he/she opened their eyes was our Lord and eternally happy gave and still makes my heart full of joy, hope and love."
♥️ The Baptism quote spoke to me. Thank you for sharing! It helps me to think that my babies were needed and have a specific purpose not only here on Earth but in God’s Heavenly Kingdom that nobody else could fulfill. (from Emily W.)
Here are some ways you can help a loved one who is grieving the loss of a child:
🎀 Have a Mass said for her baby
🎀 Send her a spiritual bouquet of prayers
🎀 Call to let her know you are praying for her
🎀 Send her a handmade card letting her know you are thinking of her
🎀 Send a bouquet of flowers
🎀 Treat her to brunch when she is ready
🎀 Make a donation to a charity in her baby's memory
🎀 Make & send her a meal
🎀 Offer to clean her home while she rests
🎀 Send her a Jesus & baby print or ornament to keep in her home
Here is an amazing page of resources from Holy Heroes that encompasses a lot of practical concerns such as naming the baby, burial process, and explaining miscarriage to siblings. 
