'Dear Friends' April 2011
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Week of April 4,
2011
Prayer Requests
Talking to Your Children about Death
Dear Friends:
It’s
difficult, if not impossible, to explain death in words that
children will understand when we don’t even really understand it
 ourselves.
Still, it’s important to take the time to talk to your
children. These are some points to keep in mind:
--It’s easier to talk to your children about death
before your parent is near death. And it is easier to talk about
death in general, or the death of someone who isn’t too close to the
family, than to talk about the death of a loved one. You might
prepare your child by bringing up the subject after an elderly
parishioner or neighbor has died.
--You can use books to prepare your child.
Local Catholic bookstores will have age-appropriate books for
children about death. (For example Your Grieving Child by
Bill Dodds (Our Sunday Visitor) and Water Bugs and Dragonflies,
by Doris Stickney (Pilgrim Press).)
--You’re upset, too. It isn’t just your parent’s
approaching death that can be upsetting to your child; it’s seeing
you so upset as well. Don’t gloss over or hide your feelings, but be
aware that your child is picking up on them. . . .
This is the beginning of our newest
Topic and it's the subject for the
April edition of
Catholic Caregivers.
We've also posted new Bulletin Briefs and Prayers of
Intercession for April on CatholicCaregivers.com
- - -
As we've mentioned
before, here are two resources for Lent:
--Creighton University has daily reflections
here.
--And the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops has the readings for daily Mass
here.
- - -
Again
this week
we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues! All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends"
letters
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
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Week of April 11,
2011
Prayer Requests
'Unforgivable' You
Dear Friends:
We'll start this week's letter with a quiz. Which is
hardest? 1. Asking someone for forgiveness. 2. Accepting
forgiveness from someone. 3. Forgiving someone. 4. Forgiving
 yourself.
Not even close is it? For most of us, it's number 4.
That may be especially so for caregivers.
Why? Because caregiving can be so complicated,
demanding and drawn out.
--It's easy for you to focus on something
you did but
shouldn't have done.
--Or on something you should have done, and
did, but didn't do as well as you wanted to.
--Or, if you did do it as well as you
wanted to -- let's call it X -- then you
didn't do Y and Z. Those other things you wish you had
done, think you should have done, and feel guilty,
guilty, guilty for not doing.
Small wonder
Guilt remains one of the
favorite Topics here on
YourAgingParent.com.
Our Heavenly Father, who knows you better than you know
yourself and who knows your particular circumstances
better than you know them, is a God of love, mercy
and forgiveness.
He didn't ask you to be a perfect
caregiver. He didn't expect you to be one.
He asked you, despite your failings and
your weakness, to help take care of his beloved son or
daughter. And when you ask his forgiveness for the times
you fail, for the times you're weak, he expects you to
accept his forgiveness.
He loves you dearly. And, certainly, he
wants you to forgive yourself.
- - -
And speaking of forgiveness . . . The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a
video series on the
sacraments.
Scroll to the bottom of the list for the one on
penance (also known as reconciliation or confession):
- - -
Again
this week
we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues! All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends"
letters
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
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|
Week of April 25,
2011
Prayer Requests
Your Easter Will Come
Dear Friends:
Happy Easter Week to you and your care-receiver! One of
the many, many reasons to celebrate Christ's
Resurrection is that one
 day
you, too, will rise from the dead. On that day, at the
end of time, your body and soul will be reunited
forever.
That teaching of the Church can be a
comforting thought for all who are grieving the loss of
a loved one. For those whose care-receiver is nearing
death.
Easter tells us death isn't the end of the
story. Christ conquered death. In the words of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Church teaches that every spiritual soul . . .
does not perish when it separates from the body at
death, and it will be reunited with the body at the
final Resurrection (CCC 366).
The end of the story -- of your story and of your loved
one's story -- can be eternal joy and eternal peace.
The here and the now of caregiving is
overwhelming at times but that here and that now aren't
going to last. What can last, what does last, is love.
And God is love. He loves you. He loves your
care-receiver. He's with you now and offers to be with
you -- body and soul -- forever.
- - -
This week we're
so pleased to welcome Nancy P. of Pennsylvania as the newest member of the Friends of St.
John the Caregiver. Please keep her and her intentions in your
prayers. She has promised to pray for you and yours.
And we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends"
letters
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
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