Author Archives: Theresa Higson Lewis

September: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Every day, around 123 Americans die from suicide. Annually, around a quarter of a million Americans will survive an attempted suicide.

Phone calls to suicide hotlines have skyrocketed. According to the Center for Disease Control, the number of people reporting thoughts of suicide has more than doubled from 4% in 2018 to 11% in June 2020. Even before the pandemic, suicide rates had been increasing over the past several years. In 2018, The National Center for Health Statistics reported that suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death in people ages 15-34. And, while women attempt suicide three times more often than men, men are three times more likely to have a fatal outcome.

Because the number of suicides and suicidal attempts continues to climb, the number of people affected by it has increased, as well. If you or someone you love needs support, please reach out. A trusted priest or your diocesan marriage and family life director can help you get started.

Church Teaching

“Man has been given a sublime dignity, based on the intimate bond which unites him to his Creator: in man there shines forth a reflection of God himself” (Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 34).

Recognizing that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God, the Catholic Church proclaims the dignity of all human life from conception until natural death. Every person is responsible for his life which is freely given to him by God. Because of each person’s inherent dignity, the taking of one’s own life is contrary to the love of God who gives us life, the love of our neighbor to whom we have obligations, and a just love of the preservation of one’s life (CCC 2280-2281).

While the Church recognizes the grave objective evil of suicide, She is a compassionate mother who recognizes that “grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide” (CCC 2282). God alone is the judge of our actions and intentions. As such, “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives…The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives” (CCC 2283).

The heart of the Church is the heart of a mother who holds particularly close all her children who suffer, especially those who are affected by depression, anguish, or the loss of a loved one to suicide.

USCCB Resources

Other Resources

National Marriage Week 2021 Social Media Kit

Spread the word about National Marriage Week 2021: To Have, To Hold, To Honor by updating your cover photo or sharing one of our social media images! Graphics are suitable for Facebook and Twitter and are available in both English and Spanish. Scroll down to see all available options!

To download the full-size image, click on the image, then on the next page right-click and select “Save image as…” You can post the images yourself or during National Marriage Week 2020, you can share posts from the ForYourMarriage or USCCB Facebook pages.

Graphics for Facebook in English

 

Graphics for Facebook in Spanish

 

Graphics for Twitter in English

 

Graphics for Twitter in Spanish

 

National Marriage Week 2022 Social Media Kit

Spread the word about National Marriage Week 2022: Called to the Joy of Love by updating your cover photo or sharing one of our social media images! Graphics are suitable for Facebook and Twitter and are available in both English and Spanish. Scroll down to see all available options!

To download the full-size image, click on the image, then on the next page right-click and select “Save image as…” You can post the images yourself or during National Marriage Week 2020, you can share posts from the ForYourMarriage or USCCB Facebook pages.

Graphics for Facebook in English and Spanish

Graphics for Twitter in English and Spanish

 

Infant and Pregnancy Loss

The Church calls children “the supreme gift of marriage” (Gaudium et spes, n. 50). Losing a baby, whether through miscarriage or as an infant, is one of the deepest forms of grief and pain that a couple may endure.

Unfortunately, many couples often suffer without any support, as in the case when a couple loses a child before sharing that they were pregnant with others, or insufficient support because family and friends are unsure of what to say or do because of the difficulty and often suddenness of losing one so young.

If you or a loved one has suffered the loss of a child during pregnancy or infancy, know that help and resources are available.

For Your Marriage Resources

Catholic Ministries Supporting Grieving Parents and Families

  • Behold Your Child Developed by the Archdiocese of Dubuque to help provide hope and healing for parents and families who have experienced a life-limiting prenatal diagnosis, miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death
  • Catholic Miscarriage Support Practical and spiritual support for Catholics who have lost a child to miscarriage
  • Elizabeth Ministry International Offers hope, help, and healing on issues related to relationships, sexuality, and childbearing
  • Emmaus Ministry for Grieving Parents Offers spiritual support to parents who have lost a child at any age, by any cause, no matter how long ago
  • Heaven’s Gain Ministries For the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of families experiencing pregnancy loss: before, during, and after the delivery of their precious baby
  • Morning Light Ministry Guides bereaved parents from the darkness of grief toward His Morning Light
  • Red Bird Ministries Guides individuals and couples through the complexity and trauma that happens with the loss of a child from pregnancy through adulthood