67. How A Pilgrimage To Lourdes Restored Hope After Miscarriage

Happy Third Week of Advent, Sisters in Christ!

Please allow us to re-introduce Day 7 of the Mother's Day Retreat, with a bit of a background story to accompany it. It's a busy time for everyone, especially mothers, and it would be a good time to slow down, reflect, and spend time with Our Lord in prayer.

This week, we share a mother’s path from grief to consolation through a family pilgrimage to Lourdes and a renewed Advent focus on peace, prayer, and quiet healing. Along the way, we pray the Immaculate Conception Novena and reflect on faith, hope, and love in the busiest season.

• Advent peace through simple daily prayer 
• Novena to the Immaculate Conception 
• Why contemplative prayer and communal prayer sustains mothers 
• Offering sorrow and stress during Advent 
• Lourdes pilgrimage after miscarriage and deployment 
• Consolation versus physical cures 
• Faith, hope, and love as a way of life 
• Litany to Our Lady and closing blessing

Please subscribe to our podcast and YouTube channel and please spread the word! Thank you + God bless!

00:00 Introduction and Purpose of the Retreat
00:46 Welcome to the Veil and Armour Podcast
01:21 Advent and the Mother's Day Retreat
01:41 Novena to the Immaculate Conception
03:39 Continuing the Retreat and Community Prayer
05:18 Personal Pilgrimage to Lourdes
08:30 Reflection and Healing at Lourdes
10:33 Closing Prayers and Litany
12:16 Final Blessings and Farewell

The 9 Day Novena to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception:
https://www.praymorenovenas.com/immaculate-conception-novena

Hozana Prayer App (Free)
https://www.hozana.org

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Day 7 of the Mother's Day Retreat
• 1:24 Advent Peace And Novena Prayer
• 3:39 Why Mothers Need Shared Prayer
• 4:32 Not all is joyful during Advent: How to cope with loss
• 5:16 Pilgrimage To Lourdes After Loss
• 6:30 Healing Sought And Consolation Found
• 7:22 Faith, Hope, And Love Reflection
• 10:41 Closing Prayers And Blessing
• 12:45 Happy Advent, Merry Christmas + Happy New Year!

Transcript

Sheila Nonato: 0:00

And so let's continue with the Retreat that I had written for the Hosanna Prayer app. And it was written last year for Mother's Day, but I thought it was appropriate given the busy season that we're in. Uh, whether it's Advent or it's, um, Easter, uh that or any other time really of the year. Mothers are always busy. So I just thought maybe we could join in prayer, keep ourselves supported in that way. And so this this is the story of that pilgrimage and what what I learned, what we learned from being at such a holy place as Lourdes, what that taught us about prayer and about healing, which doesn't always come through physical healing, it can also be a spiritual or emotional healing.

Co-Host: 0:51

Hello and welcome to the Veil in Armuor Podcast. This is your host, Sheila Nonato. I'm a stay-at-home mom and a freelance Catholic journalist. Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of Our Lady, I strive to tell stories that inspire, illuminate, and enrich the lives of Catholic women to help them in living out our vocation of raising the next generation of leaders and saints. Please join us every week on the Veil and Armor Podcast, where stories come alive through a journalist's land in Mother's Heart.

Sheila Nonato: 1:21

Hello and welcome to the Veil and Armour Podcast. And in the second week of Advent, we are looking at the theme of peace. And this will also be day seven of the Mother's Day retreat that we had started earlier. I'm sorry that this is a little bit delayed, and I'd like to invite you to pray the Novena to the Immaculate Conception.

Sheila Nonato: 1:41

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. O Most Pure Virgin Mary, conceived without sin, from the very first instant, you were entirely immaculate. O glorious Mary, full of grace, you are the mother of my God, the queen of angels and of men. I humbly venerate you as the chosen mother of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sheila Nonato: 2:05

The Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords chose you for the singular grace and honor of being his beloved mother. By the power of his cross, he preserved you from all sin. Therefore, by his power and love, I have hope and bold confidence in your prayers for my holiness and salvation. I pray that your prayers will bring me to imitate your holiness and submission to Jesus and the divine will. Queen of Heaven, I beg you to beg my Savior to grant me these requests.

Sheila Nonato: 2:40

And you can mention your intentions here. My holy mother, I know that you were obedient to the will of God. In making this petition, I know that God's will is more perfect than mine. So grant that I may receive God's grace with humility as you did. As my final request, I ask that you pray for me to increase in faith in our risen Lord. I ask that you pray for me to increase in hope in our risen Lord. I ask that you pray for me to increase in love for the risen Jesus.

Sheila Nonato: 3:16

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. In the name of the Father, name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And I will put a link in the show notes for the rest of the Novena if you'd like to complete the nine days. And so let us continue with the retreat that I had written for the Hozana Prayer app. And it was written last year for Mother's Day, but I thought it was appropriate given the busy season that we're in.

Sheila Nonato: 3:50

Whether it's uh Advent or it's, um, Easter, uh that, or any other time really, of the year. Mothers are always busy. So I just thought maybe we could join in prayer, keep ourselves supported in that way. And uh I'll put a link on the show notes if you'd like to see to continue with the retreat. And uh, it's completely free.

Sheila Nonato: 4:13

And I invite people to join together in prayer uh online, especially if we are not close to family or everyone's busy, so we are not able to see our friends. Um, but we keep them in mind in our prayer. And also, of course, when we go to Holy Mass, we can also be united in that way and united to Christ, of course. This advent season is usually a busy time for a lot of people. And as we approach Christmas, let us prepare our hearts to receive Jesus, to offer him a present in the offering of ourselves, in the offering of our sufferings and sacrifices.

Sheila Nonato: 4:48

And Christmas is not always a happy time for people, it can be a challenging time as we remember loved ones that we have missed, who have gone on um to the next life, and also challenging relationships with family or with friends. And let us offer up in prayer all the people who need our help, our prayers for healing, for physical healing. This day seven of the novena that I had written touches upon this aspect of spiritual healing in uh our pilgrimage to Lourdes that my family had taken in 2019.

Sheila Nonato: 5:30

Um, just to give you context, so my husband had been deployed to the Middle East for six months. And in the middle of his deployment, he uh was on uh leave and we met him in Barcelona and we and then he drove us. We drove to Lourdes to do a pilgrimage to ask for healing, spiritual healing and physical healing for myself and for my daughter. And in terms of for myself, I had um I had over I had suffered a miscarriage about on Good Friday of that year. And then my husband was deployed a few months later, so it was quite challenging to say the least. Um and so this this is a story of that pilgrimage and what what I learned, what we learned from being at such a holy place as Lourdes, what that taught us about prayer and about healing, which doesn't always come through physical healing.

Sheila Nonato: 6:32

It can also be a spiritual or emotional healing. And I um invite you again in prayer. I keep you in my prayers. Please keep me, keep my family in yours as we approach the advent season and Christmas in welcoming Jesus Christ to our homes. God bless you and thank you again for joining us.

Co-Host: 6:54

Hello and welcome to the Veil in Armour Podcast. This is your host, Sheila Nanato. I'm a stay-at-home mom and a freelance Catholic journalist. Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of Our Lady, I strive to tell stories that inspire, illuminate, and enrich the lives of Catholic women to help them in living out our vocation of raising the next generation of leaders and saints. Please join us every week on the Veil in Armour Podcast, where stories come alive through a journalist's lens and a Mother's Heart. Day 7.

Sheila Nonato: 7:32

"Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, Verse 13.

Sheila Nonato: 7:42

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sheila Nonato: 7:47

Opening Prayer. Almost trying God, wWe thank you for the graces we have received during this retreat for Mother's Day. We thank you for the gift of our husbands and children. For us mothers who have lost children or babies through miscarriage, stillbirth or ectopic pregnancies, or women who have undergone the cross of infertility, may we find comfort in our faith in the Lord and in his g

Sheila Nonato: 8:16

oodness. We thank God for the gift of our faith and for the gift of our vocation as wives and mothers. Amen.

Sheila Nonato: 8:25

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sheila Nonato: 8:30

Reflection. In November 2019, my family travelled to Lourdes for our own pilgrimage. My husband was deployed overseas for six months and had been granted time off for a short military leave in the middle of his deployment. We chose to meet in Barcelona, Spain, and were humbled to have been able to visit the iconic Sagrada Familia Basilica, created by Antonio Gaudi, known as "God's architect."

Sheila Nonato: 9:01

From there we rented a car and my husband drove our family of four to Lourdes. Through icy and winding roads through the Pyrenees Mountains, we reached a famed pilgrimage site at midnight with the help and guidance of Our Lady. That week, we visited the famous baths near the grotto where our lady appeared to St. Bernadette.

Sheila Nonato: 9:25

Countless pilgrims have immersed themselves in the water, with at least 7,000 having reported being healed after their pilgrimage to Lourdes. Only 72 have been verified so far as miracles by the Catholic Church. The healing that I was seeking at Lourdes was healing for the soul, as we grieved the loss of our baby, who went home to God after I suffered a miscarriage on Good Friday of that same year. As tears flowed when I walked across the pool into the frigid waters, I felt a wave of consolation come over me afterwards.

Sheila Nonato: 10:03

Little did I know that Our lady had a special gift for us. Nine months later, our youngest son was born. It was a sign of hope that even in our unspeakable grief, God can give us comfort, for he knew what it was like to suffer, and so did Our Lady, who experienced the loss of a child in the most excruciating way.

Sheila Nonato: 10:34

Good Saint Anne, please pray for us. Our Lady of La Vang, please pray for us. Our Lady of Penafranciaa, please pray for us. Our Lady of Czestochowa, please pray for us. Our Lady of Lourdes, please pray for us.

Sheila Nonato: 10:56

Closing Prayer: We give thanks for these healings, both physical, emotional, and spiritual in nature. For the pilgrims who have not encountered a miracle on their pilgrimage to this beloved Marin Shrine, may all not lose hope, and may we continue to seek and to share the light of Christ in our homes and in our communities.

Sheila Nonato: 11:32

We thank you for all the women who have joined us on this retreat, and for the gift of their time, strength, devotion, and faithfulness. We pray for all their intentions, for their families and for their continued heroism in their motherhood, both at home and at work. Through Jesus and our blessed mother, we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Sheila Nonato: 12:00

Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank you very much for joining us. God bless, and hope to see you again.

Co-Host: 12:45

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