"My name is Tess and I am post-abortive. I've had 2 abortions in high school and I made my Rachel's Vineyard retreat weekend March 2001." That was me this weekend, a big part of me that I've kept secret for a very long time.
To my family, I'm Hunny or Babyko to Cookie, to my boys, Mama, to my parents, Maritess, to my brother, Ate...to my friends, I'm Tess, ate Tess and to my enemies, well you can fill in the rest... Free to live and be me- loving me, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Praise God for a place such as Rachel's Vineyard. It has most certainly been a challenge to work through what I experienced...but this weekend...to feel first hand what it's like for a deep wound to be healed who I can empathize with. I've known all along that I've gotten better and have grown from my experiences...my goal with the Lord's guidance and help is to let others know that although they've gone through what they have, there is hope, EVEN in the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II addressed post-abortive women in Evangelium Vitae paragraph 99:
I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life.
I thank the Lord for holding me in the palm of His hand and not closing it to crush me. He led me to where I am today. To be able to share in His love, to witness His work at hand through BLD and Rachel's Vineyard...I am called to spread His Holy name to the four corners in the earth. In 2 Cor 5:17-18 it reads, “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation. The old things have passed away, new things have come.” I am a new creation. Like Lazarus, Jesus called me from the dead and brought me back to life. With that, my 2 children have a new life in heaven with Daddy Jesus.
Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14. My darling Angelina Marie and my precious Joshua Eric, watch over us and pray to Daddy Jesus for us.
For those who may find this post rather controversial and your Pro-Choice, God Bless you and may you become educated on the repercussions of Abortion. "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7
Easter came 3 weeks earlier for me and a lot of other people. In 3 days, we experienced Christ's passion, death and ressurection.
Glory be to God
