Chapter 11

Post-Abortion Healing

It’s normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion. It can form a hole in one’s heart, a hole so deep that sometimes it seems nothing can fill the emptiness, according to Project Rachel. These organizations are ready to help those individuals in need of healing.

Rachel’s Hope

(San Diego)

Esperanza de Raquel

Post-abortion/miscarriage healing in Spanish, in San Diego and the Imperial Valley

Deeper Still

(Fallbrook)

Post-traumatic suffering is the untold story of abortion. The very real and devastating phenomenon of post-abortion syndrome is starting to be more widely recognized. Countless women and men suffer serious psychological and spiritual consequences post-abortion, typically in silence and solitude. Please know that you are not alone in your pain and that we are here to help.

Help & Healing

  • Rachel’s Hope is a ministry of the Church that offers after-abortion healing and reconciliation for Catholic women (or Catholic-friendly women). Trained lay leaders provide care in English and Spanish for those suffering in the aftermath of abortion. In addition to referring for Sacramental Reconciliation, the ministry provides services, including support groups, retreats and referrals to licensed mental health professionals. Call (858) 581-3022 or email rachels_hope@juno.com.
  • Esperanza de Raquel ofrece retiros para ayudar a mujeres y hombres que se han visto involucrados o afectados por el aborto. A través de reflexión sacramentos y oración, los participantes tienen oportunidad de sanar y volver a tener esperanza. Si tu vida ha sido afectada por la vergüenza, pena, y dolor de haber perdido un hijo a consecuencia del aborto, te invitamos a vivir este retiro. Informes:  (858) 952-2394
  • Your Abortion Experience is a confidential space for those who are touched by abortion, whether the experience happened recently or years ago. This website is a refuge for those who wish to tell their story and begin the process of healing.
  • God’s Mercy Awaits You: Find Healing After Abortion, by Sr. Patricia Marie Barnett, RGS, helps women and men find healing and reconciliation after an abortion.
  • Project Rachel: It’s normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion. It can form a hole in one’s heart, a hole so deep that sometimes it seems nothing can fill the emptiness. You are not alone.
  • Deeper Still Fallbrook offers retreats to help women and men find healing and lasting freedom from wounded hearts.
  • Click here for more grief support resources.

Ministry Resources

  • Creating a Safe Space to Heal was developed in consultation with a group of professors, therapists, and peer counselors to answer questions like, How can I help those who suffered from reproductive loss? How can I be a safe place? How can I better understand someone’s response after an abortion and what the healing process might look like?

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About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pulido’s coat of arms is divided into four quarters with wavy horizontal lines from top to bottom. The blue and white lines represent the Blessed Virgin Mary. They also suggest water, which alludes to Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and to the waters of baptism. The red and gold lines represent the Holy Spirit and fire. The colors also can be seen as referring to the Blood that (along with water) poured from Jesus’ side at His crucifixion, as well as to the bread (gold) and wine (red) transformed into the Eucharist. At the center is a roundel featuring a symbolic representation of the “mandatum” (washing of the feet), which he believes exemplifies service to all humanity. The roundel’s outer edge is a line composed of small humps; it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Yakima, where Bishop Pulido served as a priest before being named a bishop.

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pham’s coat of arms depicts a red boat on a blue ocean, which is crisscrossed by diagonal lines suggesting a fisherman’s net. This symbolizes his ministry as a “fisher of men,” as well as how his own father had been a fisherman. The boat is also a symbol of the Church, which is often referred to as the “barque of Peter.” At the center of the sail is a red beehive (a symbol of the bishop’s baptismal patron saint, St. John Chrysostom, who was known as a “honey-tongued” preacher). The beehive is surrounded by two green palm branches (an ancient symbol of martyrdom; the bishop’s ancestors were among Vietnam’s first martyrs). The eight red tongues of fire around the boat are a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a representation of the diversity of ethnic and cultural communities. The red of the boat, the beehive and the tongues of fire allude to the blood of the martyrs.

About the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms combines symbols that reflect Bishop Bejarano’s spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows four wavy vertical lines on a gold background. These represent flowing waters. This alludes to his chosen motto and also symbolizes the graces that come from the Divine life to quench our thirst for God. The upper third of the shield is red because it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, of which the Bishop’s patron saint, Raymond Nonnatus, was a member. The central symbol resembles a monstrance because St. Raymond is often depicted holding one. The Eucharist is Bishop Bejarano’s inspiration for his vocation. It was through the Eucharist that he received his call to the priesthood at age seven and which keeps his faith and his ministry going. It represents the call to offer oneself as a living sacrifice. The monstrance is flanked on either side by an image of the Sacred Heart, alluding to the mercy of God and echoing the idea of a sacrificial offering of oneself united to the sacrifice of Christ, and of a rose for Our Lady. It is an allusion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and highlights the bishop’s Hispanic heritage.

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