“A person that loses a partner is called a widow.  A child who loses a parent is called an orphan. But there is no word to describe a parent that loses a child, because the loss is like no other. ..”  (Paraphrased from “An Orphan’s Tale, by J. Neugeboren, 1976)

This is a popular post going around on face book– you might have run across it.  It speaks of the loss of a child and the subsequent grief that a parent experiences.  It is true that there is no word to describe this type of loss.  We cannot possibly fathom what such a person might be feeling.  And often it is not only the parents, but other family members, friends, and sometimes even strangers.  We have little defense in coping with the loss of an innocent child.  Some say that the pain lives with them the rest of their life while here on earth.  It does not matter what age the child is, whether a fetus or a full grown adult.  There is still grief.  Many who have suffered a miscarriage can testify that the emotional pain is very real.

On Loss

When someone experiences a loss, they go through all types of different emotions.  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying, popularized the five stages of grief.  Her model lists them as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. And not everyone goes through all of them or even in that order.  In fact some might not even go through any of the stages at all.  Each person’s experience of this type of suffering is unique. If this is the case, then what good is a theory?  It gives us a template from which to work and somewhat of a ballpark idea of what one might be going through.  

I have heard people turn their anger towards God.  There are no easy answers to what happens to any of us while on our journey and in this life on earth.  Even non-Christians would agree that this world is full of anxiety and suffering.  However, if we are Christian, we know that God the Father did not even spare the Cross from His own Son, Jesus.  And whether or not we are Catholic we can cling to the redemptive value inherent in suffering.  There is a lot of meaning in the saying, “offer it up.”  I only wish I had realized this sooner in my life.

 A Premeditated Loss?

No one ever wants to lose a child.  Or do they?  According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 22% of all pregnancies end in abortion in the United States (National Vital Statistics Reports, April 6, 2010).  The most common reasons cited for abortion include not feeling emotionally or financially capable of raising a child and fear that a child would drastically change one’s life (obtained from http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/abreasons.html).  But still thousands of women who have actually gone through with an abortion still experience loss and its effects have a negative impact on their life.  There are websites such as www.silentnomoreawareness.org and www.afterabortion.org where women and men share their stories.  The fetus is a life and any mother can tell you that the maternal bond is formed very early in the womb.

 The Feast of the Holy Innocents

The Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents this week during the Octave of Christmas.  This Feast remembers the little babies and children of Bethlehem who were slaughtered by King Herod.  In the history of the early Church, these helpless little infants were the first persons to shed blood for the sake of Jesus and as such are known as martyrs.  The Scripture repeats the prophesy from the Old Testament: “Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled, because her children are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15-16). 

These children of Bethlehem did nothing to deserved their demise. And there are likewise so many innocent unborn and born children who die from various causes known and unknown.  It can be said that there is an army of children in heaven. Knowing that these little angels have a soul in eternity can be a great source of consolation and hope.