Intercession of Our Babies.
After suffering my fourth miscarriage only months earlier, pregnant with my 10th child and facing the challenges of a high-risk pregnancy (again), I knew the Lord was telling me what I needed to do. I had always been so private in suffering the losses of the babies that came before, and I was currently enduring extreme pain after a necessary medical procedure to keep this baby safe and healthy. I had a stirring that this time would be different. This time, I would call on the faithful ladies of my Cor ad Cor prayer group to help carry the burden of the earlier loss, to strengthen me in offering up my fears of losing this baby, and to support me in enduring the pain. Just as Christ offered the gift of receiving help from Simon the Cyrene, I sent a message to my group asking for help in carrying my burden.
What I received back was more of a blessing than I could have ever expected. Instead of the typical “praying for you” responses I had anticipated, my Cor ad Cor leader introduced us to Baby Brian. She told us his story and shared how certain she was that it was a reminder to all of us that he—and all of our sweet babies in heaven—are living in the beatific vision and are most certainly interceding for us in our suffering. The power of that statement, her faith and certainty in the intercession of all God’s children—even those we never got to meet, or who were too small to think of as saints—was exactly what I needed. I reflect on that moment every morning as I now pray to Brian and each of my babies in heaven, something I never would have done before. Baby Brian’s story is a testament to our faith in the Lord and the unimaginable miracles He gives us. It gives me hope and a renewed zeal to put my trust in His will. Those sweet babies aren’t losses in the sense that I lost the opportunity to meet them; they are gains—because I now believe I have four little saints watching over our family and interceding in an intimate, powerful way. There are many women in my life who have suffered the loss of a miscarriage or infant child, and being able to share the story of Baby Brian with them gives me a way to offer hope and comfort in surrendering to God’s will during such a difficult time.
“When I had to close the eyes of my dear children and bury them, I felt deep sorrow, but I was always resigned to it. I did not regret the pains and the sorrows which I had endured for them. Many persons 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.”