Companions on the Journey Through Loss

At some point in each person’s life, there is an experience of profound loss…

In the moment when we face the death of a loved one… 
          when we receive a diagnosis of terminal or serious illness… 
                    when we experience the end of a significant relationship…
                              when we lose our job or retire from a career…
                                        or, when life is redefined by separation or divorce…
                                                                                                   …we are changed forever.

We are challenged to begin life again and to make sense of what seems incomprehensible. We find ourselves grieving for what was and beginning a journey through loss.

How do we start this journey?
What do we do on this journey?
Who will accompany us on this journey?

Companions on the Journey through Loss is a series of seven monthly Evenings of Reflection and Prayer for those who have experienced a significant loss in life. By sharing the journey through loss with others who also know what it is to do the hard work of grief, we can begin to allow God—who travels with us in life and death—to heal us.

Participants are invited to move through each of the Evenings of Reflection and Prayer in the order that they are offered, OR to attend individual evenings that seem to speak to their hearts at a particular time in their journey.

Companions on the Journey Through Loss will meet in the Chapel on the first floor of the Education Building, 145 N. Waiola, La Grange from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on the following Tuesdays:

November 9, 2010
Listening to Your Sadness
“Listen…and understand” – Mk7: 13

December 7, 2010
Tears and Smiles
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” – Lk 6:21

January 11, 2011
Anniversaries of the Heart
“Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” – Lk 2:19

February 8, 2011
The Seasons of Grief
“There is an appointed time for everything” – Eccl 3: 1

March 8, 2011
The Dark Night of the Soul
“I will turn the darkness before you into light…” – Is 42: 16

April 5, 2011
Comes the Dawn
“The light of dawn shines brighter and brighter until the full day” – Prov 4: 18

May 10, 2011
Choose Life
“I have set before you life and death…choose life” – Deut 30: 19

This series of Evenings of Reflection and Prayer will focus on life experience, prayer, and time for personal reflection. Each evening will be an occasion to focus on a particular task of the grieving process, to become familiar with the skills of personal reflection and prayer, and to become more aware of the presence of our Divine Companion in this moment on the journey of life.

In the face of personal loss, prayer is an essential part of the healing process of grief. In prayer, we allow God to hold our loss with us, while at the same time we allow ourselves to be held in God’s supportive embrace as we experience the loss in its physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions. By journeying with prayerful companions, our hurting hearts are encouraged to keep moving forward in the journey through loss.

If you are searching for the path through an experience of loss, please consider this invitation to healing and wholeness. Consider the opportunity to join other Companions on the Journey through Loss…

Registration Required

For further information, to participate in the series, or to attend an individual evening, please register by calling Sue Matthews, SFX Pastoral Associate, at 708-352-0168 or email to smatthews@sfx-lg.org.

Program Creator/Director

Susan Dehn Matthews, MA, MAEA is Pastoral Associate at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in La Grange where she coordinates the Companions programs, Scripture Study, and Adult Faith Formation. Susan has over thirty years of experience in pastoral counseling, retreat direction, liturgy, prayer, spiritual direction, and education. She has presented a variety of workshops and evenings of reflection for parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet.

"Welcome to God's Table"
Art: Mary Southard,CSJ
Congregation of St. Joseph of LaGrange
Courtesy of www.ministryofthearts.org