Divorce Ministry: Called to Love Again

Called To Love Again

 
We have a church that accepts and welcomes separated and divorced members to be integral part of the community.  To love and be loved in right relationship is the way we will find joy & hope in the next stage of our life. Please join us for a formation series on “Right Relationship” where we will focus on the “Gift of Self” which will help us fulfill the Call to Love Again.  
We come to this stage of life seeking many different things.  What we all have in common is a tearing apart of the “one flesh union” that leaves us individually and relationally wounded, in need of a healer and redeemer.  The question on our hearts is, “Can I find love again”? Love gone wrong combined with a desire to love again can make sense only in light of love itself. We all know Jesus, for we all have etched in our hearts his loving call to love and be loved.  We have found a bottom, an end to ourselves or an inner knowing that our plans and our control were not enough to prevent the loss of what we intended to be a lifelong permanent union of love. Let’s now focus on Jesus’ call and say to our Lord, “Lord I love you, please save me, please help me to love again, I know this is my purpose, I want to feel alive again.”  
This is not divorce care, or a meet up.  This a community of people who understands the pain of broken families and who want to walk with you and show you a way forward.  This is a safe place, to lean in, to share, and to form friendships, but the most important reason for coming here is to find Jesus’ love for us.  In that, we will find healing and a renewal of minds, bodies, and hearts. Now is the time to let his love pour into us, so as to live as we were created...FULLY ALIVE!
This ministry is focused developing our prayer life and on St. John Paul’s work from Theology of the Body along with guidance from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We will use Pope Francis’ Joy of Love letter to the church to help us strengthen and heal our families to further the kingdom of God. AMEN
Called to Love Again: Path Forward
The following process shows us a path forward to help heal one’s heart from the destructive nature of divorce and this process is especially important in preparing our hearts and minds for a new marriage wherein we truly learn to give ourselves away in the Gift of Self.
  1. Participate in the Sacraments of Grace:
    1. Communion: Where we bring the sacrifice of our life to meet Jesus’ sacrifice for us. This allows us to lay down our life for Him and in return give our hearts a great and greater capacity to love. Here he prepares us for the Gift of Self.
    2. Reconciliation: Here we learn to be vulnerable and experience the Lord’s unconditional love despite our sins. Here he offers us forgiveness and it is important that we too forgive ourselves for past mistakes and sins. This sacrament holds us accountable to the body of Christ which we not only injure our self in sinning but also injury the church.
  2. Spend time with Jesus in prayer. We learn to meditate on God’s word so that he might guide us each day by his still small quiet voice. The four R’s of meditative prayer are Read, Reflect, Relate and Respond.
  3. Commit to taking part in spiritual formation which allows us to understand God’s plan for us according to the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here we learn how to discern and find true love in hopes of a new marriage.
  4. Be accompanied by others who have experienced divorced and are journeying together to offer friendship and support as we share with each other how our hearts are healing and finding this beautiful joy in seeing how the Lord is redeeming us for true love.
  5. Invite others who have experienced divorce to join us. They need what you have found; hope and love. God intends for us to share our struggles and more importantly tell of the joy we have found in our journey to finding love.
Our Purpose
Purpose of Life: God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. CCC1 Blessed Life is for us to become FULLY ALIVE by living out the Call to Love.
Gift of Self: The Gift we possess is that our body alone is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual reality of God and His Love, and His Plan for us.  God’s purpose for our lives is to ultimately find true love and happiness. The body makes our Call to Love visible to share in His eternal bliss. Our bodies are very good and have been designed by God for communion with Him and with each other.  
Formation Series
Session 1- Introduction: Prayer Life and Call of Vocation
Session 2- Created For Love: Purpose of Life
Session 3- Giving vs Using: Loving Kindness
Session 4- True Love & Friendship: Chastity
Session 5- Marriage, Divorce, and Annulments: Protecting Us
Session 6- Finding Adam, Finding Eve: Courtship
 
Ministry Contacts:
Katie Palitto , 913-488-7083
Michael Palitto, 913-219-4698
 
 

This ministry is focused on developing our prayer life and on St. John Paul II's work from Theology of the Body and Love & Responsibility. We will use Pope Francis' Joy of Love letter to the Church to help us strengthen and heal our families to further the kingdom of God. Second and Fourth Sundays of the month at 7 pm at Church of the Ascension in the St. Luke Room. For more information, contact Katie or Michael Palitto at calledtolove143@gmail.com.

 

 

CATHOLIC DIVORCE SURVIVAL GROUP

12-WEEK SUPPORT SERIES

 

This program, Surviving DIvorce: Hope and Healing for the Catholic Family, is based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The sessions are led by a licensed professional. Meetings are held in a private setting at St. Michael the Archangel Parish. For more information or to register, contact Mary Connor at 913-402-3920 or mary.connor@stmichaelcp.org.

 

WHO?

Anyone seeking counsel, comfort, or support during or after a divorce. $30/person for workbook and entire 12-week series.

 

WHEN?

Wednesdays at 7 pm

September 5 - November 21

 

WHERE?

St. Michael the Archangel Parish

14251 Nall Ave. Leawood, KS 66223

 

Click here to view a flyer with more information!