Reflections on Life That Gone besides Early

On the upcoming Sundays of Advent tv Trwam will again bow over a peculiarly hard and delicate subject – the experience of families who lost their kid at an early phase of their lives. A series of reflections, which is an initiative of the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life, will be led by Dr. Piotr Guzdek, a familylogist.

As Dr. Piotr Guzdek emphasizes, this year's meetings are primarily addressed to parents who have experienced the drama of abortion, dead birth or ectopic pregnancy.

"On Sundays of this year's Advent, we want in peculiar to accompany families experiencing the death of a kid as a consequence of spontaneous abortion, death and ectopic pregnancy. We follow the message of the hope of the Jubilee Year, which in the context of the death of an early prenatal kid we want to express with a cry – ‘They have departed to live forever...’, beginning the possible of hope for the happy eternal life of the dead children“

– noted the speaker.

Advent reflections are not only intended to support orphan parents, but besides to sensitise all recipients to the value of the fragility and gift of human life. This look is to become a spiritual preparation for Christmas – a time in which the full Christian planet leans over the mystery of Jesus' birth.

The Time of Joy and the Time of Pain

The Christmas season, although it is simply a time of joy for many, can be peculiarly painful for families after losing a child. Dr. Piotr Guzdek points out that Christmas symbols can increase feelings of emptiness and longing. As he points out:

"The Christmas of the Lord, focusing our attention on the cradle of the newborn child, is an highly hard time of mourning for families who, like the Holy Family, expected the birth of the child, but experienced its failure during the prenatal period. We want to announcement these families, to sensitize parish communities to their suffering and to item them from a biblical-theological and anthropological-ethical perspective.”

Topics of next Advent meetings

Reflections will be broadcast on tv Trwam at 11.40 p.m. by 4 consecutive Advent Sundays. Each gathering will be devoted to another dimension of mourning after a kid lost before birth:

• 30 November – The Gospel childhood of Jesus as a reminder of the dignity of prenatal life.
• 7 December – religion tested after losing a child.
• 14 December – Prenatal death and the mistakenly interpreted thought of alleged intergenerational sins.
• 21 December – household ceremony of a kid who died in prenatal period – meaning, spirituality and practice.

In 1 consideration, Dr. Piotr Guzdek refers to the frequent concern of parents that death of the child is the punishment of the ancestors. He responds decisively:

"Though there are social structures of evil for committing sins, we cannot talk of intergenerational sins concerning families. God does not punish us for our ancestors. Each moral wine is of a individual nature and is not inherited, each individual is individually liable for the incurred moral responsibility caused by evil or neglected good. At the same time, the expiation besides for sins, especially those committed against human life, is of course very essential to apologize to God for evil. At the same time, the death of a child, regardless of the phase in his life, cannot be seen as a consequence of “intergenerational sins”.

Referring to these words, the talker emphasizes that while the propitiatory prayer for the evil of life has meaning and value, it must not be combined with the suffering of families who have lost a kid due to the fact that specified interpretations unduly burden parents and misrepresent the image of God.

Advent last Sunday: about the dignity of farewell

The culmination of the cycle will be the subject of the household funerals of children who died during the prenatal period. Dr. Piotr Guzdek is the author of the “Pastoral Compendium on the household ceremony of the Dead kid and Accompaniment in Retirement”, a paper developed for the Polish Episcopal Conference. For years he has besides been active in the organization of worthy burials of dead children, cooperating with the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life.

jb
Source: Our Journal