CatholicMatch Gives: Help Divorced Catholics Find Hope

Our parish pastor recently took time during his homily to tell us about a mission trip he had taken to Guatemala.

He told heartwarming stories of how he and the other missionaries cleaned and cared for the homeless in the town they visited. He ended by detailing the need for all of us to be aware of people who were suffering; to make time for them and be generous in helping them.

I wanted so much to stand up and shout, “Wait! You don’t have to go to Guatemala – just look around you! There are people right here who are suffering through a divorce and no one is doing anything for them! They’re around us every day, trying to find healing and rebuild their lives!”

There are many, many ways to suffer in this world, but I believe that the men, women and children who suffer through the tragedy of divorce are truly the walking wounded of our society. Their battlefield, the home, is the very place that should be an oasis of familial love and tranquility, and the wars they are forced to fight are cruel and unusual punishment.

When a spouse dies, crowds gather, flowers are sent, condolences offered, meals prepared. But when a divorce occurs, it is not typical that any of those supportive actions take place.

There are many reasons why divorces occur and in nearly all cases, one spouse did not want the divorce and fought to save the marriage. However, the no-fault divorce laws in each state virtually guarantee that if one spouse wants a divorce it will happen.

With the divorce rate among Catholics being equal to that of the rest of society, it has become obvious that we have a huge problem: a community of men, women, and children within the church who are suffering tremendously because of divorce and are largely left to fend for themselves.

A journey to hope

That's why DivorcedCatholic.Org was created, to bring accurate information, support and healing to those families affected by the devastation of divorce.

At DivorcedCatholic.Org, we offer accurate information about the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding divorce and the truth about the healing that can be found there through books, DVDs, podcasts, blogs, a discussion forum and much, much more. Most notably, however, we have the Journey of Hope 2011 conference, an annual international event that is very powerful in helping divorced Catholics. The healing that takes place at this event is truly a gift of the Holy Spirit.

We offer the sacraments and Eucharistic Adoration for most of the weekend. Our speakers this year are Father Thomas Williams, LC, ThD, author of many books; Johnnette Benkovic, EWTN’s host of Women of Grace and Living His Life Abundantly; Father Tony Palazzolo, pastoral consultant for the diocese of St. Augustine, Fla.; Yvonne Marchese, executive director of Catholics Come Home; and many more.

Every year, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta celebrates Sunday Mass for us, delivering an incredible sermon full of the wisdom and encouragement that comes from such a compassionate shepherd of Christ’s flock.

The only drawback is the cost of the event. Many people are unable to afford even $30. Last year we had many people attend because of the generosity and graciousness of others who donated funds, and this year, we are hoping that there will be others to do the same. We've already received many requests for scholarships.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for anything you can give.

Editor's note

Here’s how you can support DivorcedCatholics.org:

• Every comment you leave on this post allocates $1.
• Every tweet gives $1.
• Every Facebook “like” gives $0.25.

"CatholicMatch Gives" will cap at $1,000 and end with Epiphany on Jan. 6. So act now and spread the word! (And when you do, be sure to introduce people to our new blog for Catholic singles.)