Life-Giving Wounds Blog

Welcome to the Life-Giving Wounds blog!

Our blog annually releases 30+ posts. We already feature 170+ posts from 60+ authors, who are adult children of divorce themselves, experts in psychology or healing, or both, writing from the Catholic perspective as an expression of their journey of faith and healing. We invite you to browse our library or, if you’re looking for something specific, hop over to our index page where you can find a complete list of categories, tags, and authors. The index also has a search function and a complete list of blog posts arranged chronologically.

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LATEST BLOGS

Art, Fiction Stephanie Gulya Art, Fiction Stephanie Gulya

The Weaver’s Daughter and the Thread

For the first time, Philothea looked at the tapestry he was creating. To her surprise, she saw it was a portrait of their family! There was Father on the left, tall and strong, with his arm around Mother on the right. In the middle in front of them both stood Philothea herself. She was surrounded by the arms of her Father and Mother, right where she belonged.

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First-Person, Stories of Healing Magda Rosario First-Person, Stories of Healing Magda Rosario

On Forgiveness and Communion

...my version of “forgiveness” was simple: never let anyone get close enough to hurt me. But the Lord broke through my defenses and gradually brought me back to Him through a reversion to the Catholic faith. ... When I first attended the Life-Giving Wounds retreat, my heart overflowed with awe and gratitude as I heard the truth about God’s intention for the love between mother, father, and child.

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Book and Media Reviews Cafea Fruor Book and Media Reviews Cafea Fruor

Hope Gap and Pseudo-Happy Endings (Movie Review)

The movie Hope Gap recently appeared in my Amazon Prime Video recommendations, with the synopsis being that Edward (Bill Nighy) suddenly announces that he is divorcing Grace (Annette Bening) after almost thirty years. Being a child of divorce, I was quite intrigued to see how the movie approached the matter, so I broke my habit of never paying extra for movies on Amazon to find out.

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Saints Hope Patrick Saints Hope Patrick

St. Joseph: The Father; The Protector; The Worker

As I navigate my own personal struggles in 2021, I am praying and asking Joseph to help me along with understanding. I may not know why certain people have caused my hurt, but I do know that Joseph, Jesus, and the Holy spirit can alleviate the hurt and pain if we ask.

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Healing Journey, Stories of Healing Sandra Howlett Healing Journey, Stories of Healing Sandra Howlett

Against All Odds: Christian Identity, Spiritual Healing, and Childhood Wounds

I learned to forgive my father over time. It started with a question, “How can I forgive him?” and developed from there. I realized that he had done what he thought was right, and that he never meant to harm me. Even though I felt rejected and abandoned by him, I knew that he never stopped loving me, and realized how much I had stopped trying to love him.

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Poetry, Healing Journey Stephanie Gulya Poetry, Healing Journey Stephanie Gulya

Abba [Poem]

This poem came out of a recent time of prayer. When I was two years old, my father left my mother, my sister (3 months old), and myself. We saw him every other weekend for a few years, and then he remarried and moved around the country from job to job for most of my childhood. This poem expresses my struggle to call God “Abba” and to trust in His loving, faithful presence.

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Healing Journey Sandra Howlett Healing Journey Sandra Howlett

Grieving Your Parents’ Divorce

I’m fifty-fife years old, and up until recently I spent most of my life after my parents’ divorce in pain and not knowing why. I also spent my life running from that pain— into the arms of men, towards the bottle, and literally running for exercise, all of which gave me a brief reprieve from my problems.

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Advice, First-Person, Healing Journey Rebecca Smith Advice, First-Person, Healing Journey Rebecca Smith

Coping with the Death of a Parent as an Adult Child of Divorce

As many of you can surely relate, my relationship with my mom was never easy. I struggled with how to relate to her, agonized over her health, and beat myself up for never “feeling” love towards her. But one thing I have learned throughout this whole ordeal, that I will likely need to be reminded of many times, is that love is an act of the will. Feelings are a side-benefit. I rarely felt excited or looked forward to calling my mom on Sundays. But I did it, and this act showed my love towards her, even though I did not feel it. 

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Poetry Samuel Russell Poetry Samuel Russell

A Poetic Triptych from a Child of Divorce

There are only a few memories I can recall to explore the day my father left our house. These are expressed in the first sonnet: The Loss. It reflects a memory of events that culminated in the day my dad left the house where our family lived. The second sonnet, The Suffering, covers the period of my adolescence through early adulthood. The third sonnet, The Healing, opens with an allusion to The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila; this is a work I confess to having not yet read, but I have heard numerous talks on the Saint and her work on inner prayer. The second stanza of the third sonnet begins by referencing a song by Life Giving Wounds team member and musician Michael Corsini called Waiting in the Wound. This song had a profound impact upon me when I went on the Life Giving Wounds retreat and I still will listen to it and meditate when the mood arises.

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First-Person, Healing Journey Stephanie Gulya First-Person, Healing Journey Stephanie Gulya

The God Who Shows Up

When I try to think back to my earliest memory, the images that come to mind are not usually something I am excited to remember or share. I see myself as a very little girl (maybe 2? The age at which my dad left?), sitting on the loveseat in our living room, looking out the window….waiting…watching…hoping he shows up…but utterly expectant of the coming disappointment. 

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First-Person, Liturgical Year Graciela Rodriguez First-Person, Liturgical Year Graciela Rodriguez

Mary's Help on the Journey of Healing

I discovered at age eleven that my parents’ marriage was breaking up. The words “broken family” became my reality. Fear of abandonment and loneliness took over and silence filled my days as I continued my everyday childhood activities.  My father was busy living his life while my mother was totally overcome by sorrow and betrayal.  Being an only child, I became silent and quite withdrawn.  What a deep hole was being forged in my heart!

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