Lily of the Valley Catholic Ministry
My name is Ruth Harris.
My passion for helping others has been a lifelong calling from God. I grew up in an ordinary family, with four kids, a dad who faithfully went to work every day taking the subway into town, and a stay at home mother who made everything from scratch. When I was still in college, I experienced the disruption that major illness can bring into the family through my mother’s battle with breast cancer. We were surprised, unprepared, and devastated, by her cancer.
Introducing Bloom! Bloom will be our Christ-Centered Wellness corner of Lily of the Valley Catholic Ministry. Many women and their families walking through difficult early life circumstances may struggle with self-care, health and wellness, and prayer. We had a vision and the Holy Spirit led us to Ruth. Let’s meet Ruth!
In Mass this morning, we remembered the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the times in Mary’s life where she acutely suffered as the mother of our savior. There is great consolation in meditating on these points as they can bring us closer to Jesus, through uniting our own suffering with that of His mother.
If you are looking to be more involved in Lily of the Valley and helping to bring awareness of this ministry to your parish, please let us know. We are seeking “Parish Liaisons” to increase awareness to priests and parishioners so that they know we are here and can support families walking through difficult early life circumstances.
We sat down to talk with Michalene Sutton from Through The Grapevine, which is a weekly podcast produced by a group out of Holy Infant Catholic Church in Durham, NC. We really enjoyed having this opportunity to tell our story and share our thoughts on Mother’s Day.
Two years ago, I didn’t know who St. Gianna was. I was pregnant with my third son who was given a life-limiting diagnosis at 12 weeks. He passed away when I was 34 weeks pregnant. It was one of the most sacred and heavenly experiences that I believe I will ever feel in this lifetime. Even though this time was associated with intense sorrow, pain, and suffering, both physically and emotionally, it was also full of heavenly joy and triumphant love.
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, St. Gianna’s living daughter, has sent us a first-class relic of her saint-mom to be installed at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Raleigh, NC. The mass is planned for Friday, April 28th, 2023, which is also St. Gianna’s feast day. All are welcome to attend. Please see the invitation below.
Every month we send out our Prayer Care Packages to families who are referred to our ministry. We send these to parents that are experiencing early life challenges, such as infertility, a prenatal diagnosis, an infant with a serious medical condition, as well as families who have lost a baby, including prenatal or postnatal loss. One of the items we send out in the package is a handcrafted bracelet, with either the name of the baby or the initials of all the children in the family, including any losses they have suffered. We bless these bracelets with lily of the valley essential oil, which has a sweet, floral scent.