helping Catholic women in abusive relationships grow in freedom and faith
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When You Must Choose Between a Bad Decision and a Worse Decision
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We hear over and over again, in both church and secular society, that divorce is bad. For women waking up to the abuse in their marriages, these messages can be excruciating. Divorce is bad but abuse is bad so what option is left to her?
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Self-Care is Crucial for Women in Abuse
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In recovering from abuse, I had to learn how to identify my own needs, how to meet those needs for myself, and how to express those needs to others when necessary.
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The Well (a poem)
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A poem about a young woman who constantly pours into others in her life, without pouring into herself.
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Abuse in the Bible: Sarah & Hagar
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One of the Bible stories that shows a clear picture of abuse is the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar. Hagar is the handmaid who is treated badly by her master and mistress.
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Abuse in the Bible: Let’s Take a New Look at Old Stories
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Numerous stories in the Bible present a picture of God allowing a victim to leave an abuser and of God himself rescuing victims from their abusers.
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She’s Not the Only One: Why Churches Need to Stop Overlooking the Victims in their Pews
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In many Catholic churches, women in abusive relationships feel alone and isolated because they don’t know any other single moms, anyone else who has been through divorce. Statistics show that abuse is as common as 1 in 4, and the Church needs to address this.
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Glass Window (a poem)
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A simple glass window clear, transparent, bright, wanting to communicate a falling shaft of light.
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When Someone at Church Leaves Her Husband
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You’ve known Jane and Alex for years at church. Their teens attend youth group with your teens and Alex attends every monthly Knights of Columbus meeting. During Mass, Jane is usually nursing a baby, holding a toddler, or escaping to the foyer with a cranky kid. She often looks tired, but she always has…
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Portrait of an Abuser: Magnifico in Disney’s Wish
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Several Disney movies have included abusive or narcissistic characters. No Disney movie is more clearly a portrait of a narcissist than Wish. In this movie, Magnifico goes from benevolent king to manic sorcerer.
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A Life of St. Marguerite d’Youville
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Marguerite d’Youville was born in 1701 in Quebec, Canada. She endured poverty, an abusive marriage, the loss of four of her six children, and the rejection of her community. Despite this, Marguerite poured herself into helping the poor in her community and running the local hospital. She founded the religious order now known as…