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“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared" - Exodus 23:3

Prayers

Prayer to St. Catherine of Sweden

Dear St. Catherine, patron of those who have suffered a miscarriage, you know the dangers that await unborn infants. Please intercede for me that I may receive healing from the loss I have suffered. My soul has been deprived of peace and I have forgotten what true happiness is. As I mourn the loss of my child, I place myself in the hands of God and ask for strength to accept His will in all things, for consolation in my grief, and for peace in my sorrow. Glorious St. Catherine, hear my prayers and ask that God, in good time, grant me a healthy baby who will become a true child of God. Amen.”

Miscarriage Prayer (Mother Angelica's)

My Lord, the baby is dead!

Why, my Lord— dare I ask why? It will not hear the whisper of the wind or see the beauty of its parents’ face— it will not see the beauty of Your creation or the flame of a sunrise. Why, my Lord?

“Why, My child— do you ask ‘why’? Well, I will tell you why.

You see, the child lives. Instead of the wind he hears the sound of angels singing before My throne. Instead of the beauty that passes he sees everlasting Beauty— he sees My face. He was created and lived a short time so the image of his parents imprinted on his face may stand before Me as their personal intercessor. He knows secrets of heaven unknown to men on earth. He laughs with a special joy that only the innocent possess. My ways are not the ways of man. I create for My Kingdom and each creature fills a place in that Kingdom that could not be filled by another. He was created for My joy and his parents’ merits. He has never seen pain or sin. He has never felt hunger or pain. I breathed a soul into a seed, made it grow and called it forth. ”

I am humbled before you, my Lord, for questioning Your wisdom, goodness, and love. I speak as a fool— forgive me. I acknowledge Your sovereign rights over life and death. I thank You for the life that began for so short a time to enjoy so long an Eternity.

Blessing of Parents after a Miscarriage

When a baby dies before birth, the parents may seek the prayers of the Church. A priest, deacon, or lay minister of the parish, or a member of the family may lead this blessing.

Make the sign of the cross.

The leader begins: Let us praise the Father of mercies, the God of all consolation. Blessed be God for ever.

All respond: Blessed be God for ever.

The leader may use these or similar words to introduce the blessing:

For those who trust in God,

in the pain of sorrow there is consolation,

in the face of despair there is hope,

in the midst of death there is life.

(Name) and (Name), as we mourn the death of your child,

we place ourselves in the hands of God and ask strength, for healing, and for love.

Then the Scripture is read:

Listen to the words of the book of Lamentations:

My soul is deprived of peace,

I have forgotten what happiness is;

I tell myself my future is lost,

all that I hoped for from the Lord.

But I will call this to mind,

as my reason to have hope:

The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,

his mercies are not spent;

They are renewed each morning,

so great is his faithfulness.

My portion is the Lord, says my soul;

therefore I will hope in him.

-- Lamentations 3: 17-18, 21-24

The reader concludes: The Word of the Lord.

All respond: Thanks be to God.

After a time of silence, all join in the prayers of intercession.

These conclude with the Lord's Prayer.

Then the leader may invite all to extend their hands over the parents in blessing.

Father and Creator,

in whom all life and death find meaning,

we bless you at all times,

especially when we have need of your consolation.

N. and N. entrust to your care a life conceived in love.

May your blessing come upon them now.

Remove all anxiety from their minds

and strengthen this love

so that they may have peace in their hearts and home.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All respond: Amen.

All make the sign of the cross as the leader concludes: May the almighty and merciful God bless and protect us, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

All respond: Amen.

Reflections From Saints

St. Zélie lost four of her children (after they were born) and wrote this to her sister in law that went through a miscarriage- Many person’s said to me: ‘It would have been better for you if you had never had them.’ I could not bear that kind of talk. I do not think that the sorrows and the troubles endured could possibly be compared with the eternal happiness of my children with God. Besides, they are not lost to me forever; life is short and filled with crosses, and we shall find them again in Heaven. Above all, it was on the death of my first child that I felt more deeply the happiness of having a child in Heaven, for God showed me in a noticeable way that He accepted my sacrifice. Through the intercession of my little angel, I received a very extraordinary grace.” - St. Zélie Martin

After Marie entered the Carmel, and I no longer had her to listen to my scruples, I turned towards Heaven and confided them to the four little angels who had already gone before me, for I thought that these innocent souls, who had never known sorrow or fear, ought to have pity on their poor little suffering sister. I talked to them with childish simplicity, telling them that, as I was the youngest of the family, I had always been the most petted and loved by my parents and sisters; that if they had remained on earth they would no doubt have given me the same proofs of their affection. The fact that they had gone to Heaven seemed no reason why they should forget me--on the contrary, as they were able to draw from the treasury of Heaven, they ought to obtain for me the grace of peace, and prove that they still knew how to love me.

The answer was not long in coming; soon my soul was flooded with the sweetest peace. I knew that I was loved, not only on earth but also in Heaven. From that time my devotion for these little brothers and sisters increased; I loved to talk to them and tell them of all the sorrows of this exile, and of my wish to join them soon in our Eternal Home.” - St. Thérèse of Lisieux

He has created the little child, who knows nothing and can but utter feeble cries, and the poor savage who has only the natural law to guide him, and it is to their hearts that He deigns to stoop. These are the field flowers whose simplicity charms Him; and by His condescension to them Our Savior shows His infinite greatness. As the sun shines both on the cedar and on the floweret, so the Divine Sun illumines every soul, great and small, and all correspond to His care—just as in nature the seasons are so disposed that on the appointed day the humblest daisy shall unfold its petals." - St. Thérèse of Lisieux

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"The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother"

- St. Thérèse of Lisieux