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 circumstances can include broken and […]
Why Rachel’s Vineyard (Part VII): Healing of our Emotions
January 14, 2014 by
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 that we experience toward things […]
Why Rachel’s Vineyard (Part VI): Spiritual Flow of the Retreat
November 20, 2013 by
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 of God in the Sacrament […]
Why Rachel’s Vineyard (Part V): We are Social Beings
November 20, 2013 by
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. Some women find that they […]
Why Rachel’s Vineyard works (Part IV) — Not Talk Therapy
August 9, 2013 by
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 use an approach that is […]
Why Rachel’s Vineyard? (Part III) — Full use of our Five Senses
June 14, 2013 by
“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 smelling. Every piece of data […]
Why Rachel’s Vineyard? (Part II) — Why a retreat?
December 23, 2012 by
Why make a retreat? Many people today have never made a retreat, and some may not even know what a retreat is. In the book of the prophet Hosea, God speaks of how He will draw Israel back to Himself: “I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her […]