When Katarina Weiss married her husband, Kevin, in 2022, they were excited to start a family. Not long after, they suffered a miscarriage.
Weiss searched for faith-filled resources to help her process the loss of her unborn child, but found that there was a void.
“I found there weren’t too many printed resources on the topic,” which she found surprising, “especially when we claim to be pro-life as Catholics.”
So, with the help of pregnancy and miscarriage counselor Margalita Poletunow, Weiss produced her own resource for women suffering after miscarriage, “Grieving with Hope: Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss.” The prayer companion is intended to be used in the prayer of “visio divina,” or meditating upon images.
The companion includes three sections on the impact of miscarriage, emotions, and the link between grief and hope. Each section features a woman’s witness story, a painting relating to Christ’s Passion and death, and accompanying meditation questions and Scripture passages.
As founder of the Behold Visio Divina ministry, Weiss believes that prayer with art can have a profound impact upon women who feel spiritually distant from God. “For women in grief, beauty can — especially with miscarriage — get us outside of ourselves when we’re grieving.”
The companion was in part a product of many women’s experiences with miscarriage, including her own, Weiss said. “When you’re going through that loss, you’re kind of unsure how to process it,” she said. She hopes that the companion will help women to acknowledge and find healing from their grief.
Weiss hopes the companion will be used in small groups, in addition to private use. “Even the friends I’ve walked with through miscarriage, having companionship is really important, even if you’re a private person,” she said. “There’s something really healing to know you’re not alone.”
Harvey can be reached at [email protected] or X @annaharveyACH.
Find out more
To preorder “Grieving with Hope,” go to beholdvisiodivina.com/product-page/grieving-with-hope-a-companion-for-mothers-pre-order.
To learn more about Behold, go to beholdvisiodivina.com.
