When a woman goes to an abortion clinic, it is usually the end result of a whole string of circumstances in her life — in other words, it is not NORMALLY a “cold hearted decision to kill her baby” as some pro-lifers might be inclined to think. Some of these…
Joy on their faces
What is it like to meet with a group of women and men who have been through a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat? Joy on their faces — that is what I saw last week when our Kentucky Rachel’s Vineyard team had a little “reunion” meeting for our past retreatants. It was…
Why Rachel’s Vineyard (Part VII): Healing of our Emotions
The philosopher Aristotle and his greatest disciple, St. Thomas Aquinas, discerned that our human emotional life can be broken down into eleven basic emotions: Love, Desire and Joy are three emotions that we experience toward things that we perceive as good for us. Hatred, Aversion and Sadness are three emotions…
Why Rachel’s Vineyard (Part VI): Spiritual Flow of the Retreat
A spiritual retreat should have a certain “flow,” an orientation, in which the retreat moves toward a certain spiritual climax. Fr. Jean-Baptiste Rauzan (the founder of the Fathers of Mercy) said that in the parish missions of our community, the priests preach so as to bring people to the Mercy…
Why Rachel’s Vineyard (Part V): We are Social Beings
When a woman finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy, she often feels that she is alone, and must “deal with it” alone. Sometimes, the father of her baby tells her to “deal with it” or “get rid of it” – he leaves her to shoulder the burden of pregnancy alone.…
Why Rachel’s Vineyard works (Part IV) — Not Talk Therapy
Part IV: Not talk therapy: Many women (and men) who have suffered traumatic experiences have been in “talk therapy” for years, and while some may have benefited, a number of people have found that “talking it out” just doesn’t work for them. Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for healing after abortion…
Why Rachel’s Vineyard? (Part III) — Full use of our Five Senses
“Everything that we learn, we learn through the senses.” This basic principle of Aristotelian philosophy may seem to be too simple, but it is absolutely true. Every single thing that you and I know, we learned, at the most basic level, through seeing, or hearing, or touching, or tasting, or…