During the Mass for Day of the Unborn Child, Saturday 18 March, those present honoured all those babies who are not with us but are loved and not forgotten by putting a flower in the baskets placed on the altar. Photo: Ron Tan/Archdiocese of Perth.
Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton has last weekend Saturday 18 March celebrated the Day of the Unborn Child Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.
Pregnancy Assistance Counsellor Lisette Jas said PA has been involved with organising this annual Mass for many years.
“The Mass is an occasion to commemorate the Annunciation when Jesus, the Son of God became an unborn child in the womb of His Mother,” Mrs Jas said.
“We celebrate the Sacredness of all human life,” she said.
Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton has last weekend Saturday 18 March celebrated the Day of the Unborn Child Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral. Photo: Ron Tan/Archdiocese of Perth.
During the Mass those present honoured all those babies who are not with us but are loved and not forgotten by putting a flower in the baskets placed on the altar.
The death of a baby, highlighted Mrs Jas, at any stage of pregnancy can be a very sad, distressing, and overwhelming time.
“One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, one in three pregnancies end in abortion, and about one in a hundred pregnancies end in still birth,” Mrs Jas said.
“We must keep in mind that for the mother and father this can be a very emotional experience. The pain is real, so it is important that the grief response and impact associated with miscarriage, still birth and abortion is recognised because for the woman who had a pregnancy loss, it is a very personal loss,” she said.
Mrs Jas continued by explaining that in the case of an abortion, many people don’t recognise that there has been a loss.
A season to heal authors Lucy Freed and Penny Salazar explain that society allows many rituals to help us grieve the death of our loved ones, but there is still little visible support for helping the mother and father who have had an abortion.
“However, when your loss is not recognized by society, there is no opportunity to openly mourn,” Mrs Jas said.
“As a result, the woman and her family may deny their immediate pain and they cannot express their feelings surrounding the pregnancy and termination,” she said.
Those present honoured all those babies who are not with us but are loved and not forgotten by putting a flower in the baskets placed on the altar. Photo: Ron Tan/Archdiocese of Perth.
This inevitably, emphasised Mrs Jas, will cause stress, anger, resentment, anxiety, and depression.
“Fear, guilt, shame and self-punishing behaviours are also some of many experiences people may have,” she said.
Mrs Jas concluded by saying that grief is a long and personal experience for every individual.
“It is also erratic and doesn’t follow a straight line, so we hope that the Day of the Unborn Child Mass brings healing and the assurance of God’s infinite mercy and peace to the many men and women who have lost a child,” she said.
Pregnancy Assistance is a Perth based charity providing compassionate care, emotional, practical and informational support to women and men in need throughout their pregnancy and post birth. We also offer professional counselling for women and men affected by pregnancy loss (abortion, miscarriage, still birth and ectopic pregnancy).
The purpose of PA is to provide support for pregnant women who are experiencing difficult circumstances, distress or poverty due to unexpected pregnancy, abortion concerns, financial hardship, domestic violence, homelessness, relationship breakdown, mental health, grief & loss and drug addiction.
PA aims to create an environment in which every woman has free access to informational, practical and compassionate support when impacted by pregnancy or pregnancy loss.