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Blessed are they that mourn...
When someone in our parish loses a loved one, we instinctively hurry to bring food to the home of the bereaved, to be present to the family, to help with their immediate needs and to assist in planning the funeral and burial. After the burial and the business of attending to urgent matters slow down, a new set of needs arise.
Something dies in a survivor, too. Part of the self is laid in a loved one's grave. If we speak of eternal life only for the dead, we have not said enough. We hold the hope mourners long to feel. What remains is to be brought to life again. A woman without a husband is no longer wife but widow. A man who buries his firstborn is robbed of his proud and tender sense of fatherhood. The search for a new identity, the struggle to accept oneself as a whole person in a strange new role is the work of grieving.
Grief support provides companionship on the long journey through the grief process. We pray with Scripture, share stories of our experiences and encourage each other. We provide an environment where it is safe, acceptable and encouraged to feel. We also share a meal, since so much of what Jesus did happened at Table. And yes, we cry. The Kleenex are on the house.
This group provides fellowship for the journey through loss and grief. Through the book study, Seasons of Hope, is aimed at understanding our grief. We meet from 6:30 - 8pm on the second and fourth Thursday's of the month in PLC309 following the 6:00pm Mass. Please bring your bible. Additionally, we meet on the third Thursday of the month at a local restaurant. Check the bulletin for monthly dinner details. All who have suffered a loss are welcome.
Contact: Jim Chase, 214.213.1443 or Dee Liscano, 972.727.3820