Notre Dame Produces Video Series on the Spirituality of Life

 

 

The Sisters of Life, a Catholic religious community founded in New York, have been accompanying pregnant women for decades. Because of their commitment to the sacredness of human life, they are known for their service to women who are vulnerable to abortion. They provide resources, support, retreats, and outreach to these women. 

Based on that long tenure of service, the Sisters of Life partnered with the McGrath Institute for Church Life and CampCampo Productions to create a 12-part video series that shares their ideology and methods as they accompany women through an unexpected pregnancy. The free series is titled “Into Life” and invites everyone, from pro-life groups to someone trying to understand abortion, to experience a true accompaniment ministry, rather than a political hot topic. The program also offers downloadable reflection and discussion questions for use in small groups or individually.

The 12 videos, each about 10 minutes in length, cover a range of topics that touch on unexpected pregnancy and reflect the process of the Sisters of Life. Titles include “This Is God’s Work: The Power of Prayer,” “Maternity Is Forever: Hope and Healing After Abortion,” and “Listening a Person into Life: How to Listen Well.”

Jess Keating, program director of the Office of Life and Human Dignity, says this informational tool is invaluable.

“Participants in this course can expect to be introduced to the theological framework used by the Sisters of Life in their ministry to pregnant women, have the opportunity to pray and reflect on how a spirituality of life is manifest in their own lives, and discover what it truly means to walk with a woman through an unexpected pregnancy,” says Keating. “The goals of the program are to cultivate and deepen a spirituality of life, to learn about the heart of the pregnant woman—her fears and her hopes—and to develop practical pastoral skills for effective listening and accompaniment.”

“‘Into Life’ is truly for everyone,” says Sister Marie Veritas of the Sisters of Life. “Our hope is that every person who watches it will come to know deeply that their life is a gift, that they are good, made in God’s image, and that their life has profound meaning and worth. It is meant to be not only a resource for pro-life work, but for the whole scope of human relationships—because it’s ultimately about upholding each other, about listening and accompaniment, and about affirming the other in their goodness and worth. It’s about seeing and loving in truth. When we know we’re loved, we can soar.”

For more information or to begin the series, visit intolifeseries.com.