NORWALK—Six years ago when Nancy Mecca’s beloved husband Nick of more than 30 years died, she was so overwhelmed with grief, she didn’t think she could go on. Her world was turned upside down and nothing seemed to make sense.
“I signed up for the New Day bereavement program, and I can’t believe the difference it has made,” she said. “After such a life-changing loss, I never imagined that one day I could feel joy or happiness again.”
As she looks back and reads what she wrote during the program, she realizes now much healing had taken place.
“I tell my friends who have just lost their husbands, ‘You may think you can’t even mention your husband’s name without being overcome by emotion, but this program will really help you,” she said.
Carolyn Killian, Director of Bereavement of Catholic Cemeteries in the Diocese of Bridgeport, said a series of New Day programs are scheduled throughout the diocese for this spring and summer.
“New Day is so effective because it addresses the practical, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of grief,” Killian said. Some examples are:
Practical: How am I going to do everything my spouse, parent, brother and sister or friend used to do? Who’s going to host Thanksgiving dinner?
Physical: Is my trouble sleeping due to grief? Is my recent medical issue somehow connected? Why can’t I focus anymore? Am I going into early dementia?
Emotional: Am I going to burst into tears like this forever?
Spiritual: How could God let this happen to me? I always went to church every Sunday, why did my husband die?
Killian said New Day has distinguished itself for decades as a highly successful faith-based, small group support program, which provides a structured pathway so people can have an opportunity “to find a place of healing and feelings of peace and comfort.”
“We have seen young people and old people in deep grief,” Killian said. “We’ve seen many, many parents who have lost children. There are so many people struggling to figure out how to go forward with incredible loss, and this offers a way to see where God is in their grief journey.”
The nine-week program meets once a week for 90 minutes. The format includes prayer, Scripture reading, journaling and sharing responses to directed questions in a confidential setting. It is based on “The New Day Journal” created by the late Dominican Sister Mauryeen O’Brien.
The participants are guided to accept the reality of the loss, experience the pain of grief and find a way to remember the deceased while embarking on the rest of life’s journey, Killian said.
“We rely on the comfort provided by our Lord, and the compassion extended by fellow participants, to meet the life-changing challenges presented by loss,” she said.
“The New Day Journal,” with materials in English and Spanish, is based on a textbook written by psychologist J. William Worden, a foremost authority on grief. Sister Mauryeen O’Brien, who had decades of experience as a grief counselor, put his work into a Catholic framework and developed “The New Day Journal: A Journey from Grief to Healing.”
The author of several books, Sister Mauryeen was the longtime coordinator for the bereaved at the Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of Hartford.
In addition, Killian hopes to offer another Emmaus retreat for grieving parents. The Emmaus Ministry for Grieving Parents is solely focused on the pain a parent feels at the loss of their child. Unlike most recovery programs, the Emmaus Ministry believes there is no healing without God.
Since its inception, this ministry has helped participants initiate, regain, and/or reinvigorate their relationship with God, and so begin their healing process. The retreats are offered by Emmaus Parent Companions, working with Catholic Clergy, Deacons, Pastoral Associates, Bereavement programs scheduled and Spiritual Directors.
The bereavement ministry of Catholic Cemeteries also offers daily reflections for those who are grieving. Each morning, a Healing Journey message is sent by email to support people with their grief. The messages are not only for the newly bereaved but also those who have been struggling a year or many years after the loss of a loved one.
(For more information or to sign up to receive the free service, visit www.ctcemeteries.org/bereavement.)
The following nine-week bereavement programs are offered by Catholic Cemeteries
People are urged to register soon because the sessions fill up quickly. For further information, they should visit ctcemeteries.org/bereavement or call Carolyn Killian at 203.404.0023.
St. Catherine of Siena & St. Agnes Parish, Riverside, March 5 – April 30, Tuesday afternoons 3:30 – 5 pm
Assumption Parish, Westport, March 6 – May 1, Wednesday afternoons 2 – 3:30 pm
St. Peter Parish, Bridgeport, March 6 – May 1, Wednesday evenings 7 – 8:30 pm
St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Greenwich, April 3 – May 29, Wednesday afternoons 1-2:30 pm
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Parish, Brookfield, April 11 – June 6, Thursday afternoons 2 – 3:30 pm
Holy Spirit Parish, Stamford, April 16 to June 11, Tuesday mornings 10 – 11:30 am
St. Thomas More Parish, Darien, May 7 – July 9, Tuesday afternoons 2:30 – 4 pm
