Group Facilitator: Anne Basile – Email at SpelloftheYukon@yahoo.com
Mission and Purpose of the Group
The Mission of the group is to help support healing and recovery for those who have experienced separation and divorce.
A safe forum to share the “ups and downs” of the process in a confidential format
Work through feelings and challenges that confront the separated or divorced Catholic.
This is a mutual self help group and not a therapy group
What is Divorce…
Taken from the Marriage Tribunal. Divorce is unique among life experiences. There is no precedent that can prepare an individual for it. Divorce is a process, not an event. Legal divorce can be pinpointed to a moment in time, to the signing of a court decision, but not so the experience of divorce. The experience of divorce is the result of a series of incidents that eventually erode a relationship between a husband and a wife. The ending of any marriage that has endured long enough for the two partners to invest portions of their lives, money, emotions and dreams is often a devastating experience.
Divorce is never part of your plan for life. When you married, you intended it to last a lifetime. Now you have been faced with a situation that could seemingly not be resolved any other way. It is a time of grief and great pain for the loss of the dream you had for your life. You are divorced. You are single again and probably have many responsibilities from the marriage that will need your attention. The first thing you must do is to take good care of yourself. The children, your job, your extended family will all suffer more if you are not healthy and hopeful for the future.
Some Suggestions that may be Helpful:
Professional counseling may help you through this difficult time of your life. You are enduring many changes in your life and often a torrent of mixed emotions. A skilled counselor should be able to assist you to make carefully thought out decisions and guide you in finding tools to deal with the emotions you are experiencing.
As Catholics, we believe that marriage is permanent and indissoluble. The beauty and wisdom of this teaching may bring additional pain to those who are separated or divorced. Seek a counselor who can appreciate and validate the significance of this situation.
Be as healthy as you can be! Get plenty of rest and exercise. Maintain a good diet and do not lean on alcohol or drugs.
Remember, you are never alone. Begin and end each day with prayer.
Group Structure
- Greeting and importance of confidentiality
- Prayer
- One person at a time will speak
- Sharing of experience
- Everyone speaks in first person
- No judgment accept group members as they are
- Equal sharing time
- No one forced to share
- Announcement of next session at end
Divorce Ministry ENCOURAGES… healing through Christ’s love and understanding you should attend healing services, special masses, workshops, programming, and refer to publications for the divorced. This way you remain connected to the faith community. Divorce Ministry AFFIRMS that the divorced family is still family and is holy, which recognizes the unique needs of single parents and their children. Divorce Ministry LISTENS TO AND RECONCILES families who have experienced divorce or who are in irregular marriages following a divorce and who feel excommunicated and alienated because of their circumstances. Divorce Ministry PRAYS with and for the divorced and their families, to ask for Christ’s healing.
Leigh Emrick