Currently, there are no retreats planned for this area. If information becomes available, the website will be updated. If you have any questions, they can be directed to Nana Freeman at 302-463-7711 or the Office for Respect Life at 302-573-3130.
Helping Hope Bloom is an initiative of the Maryland Catholic Conference. It is about lifting up women who are pregnant and parenting with practical resources, prayer, and support.
The initiative has compiled ideas for parishes and individuals who want to do something – or do more – to help women in need. You also can find resources available for pregnant and parenting women across Maryland, including a number provided through our Catholic ministries.
Catholic Advance Health Care Directive for Delaware
Every person has the right to make his or her own medical decisions. But what happens if you become so seriously ill or injured that you can no longer make your own medical decisions or communicate them to those around you? That is when an advance heath care directive can be of great help. An advance health care directive, sometimes called a living will, is a legal document that allows you to give directions about your future medical care in the event you become unable to make your wishes known. An advance directive lets others know how you wish to be treated if you become seriously ill or injured and are unable to make decisions for yourself.
Mission: At Birthright, we understand the challenges related to unplanned pregnancies. Birthright is available to women for as long as they need us. We offer love, friendship, and support to women who are pregnant or think they may be pregnant. Birthright is interdenominational and is not involved in any political activities, or lobbying. Birthright’s focus is on loving the mother, reminding her that there is hope and ensuring she is not alone.
Birthright of Wilmington
1311 N. Scott St., Wilmington, Delaware, 19806
(302) 656-7080
40 Days for Life is an internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses.
- Prayer and Fasting: Each day during 40 Days for Life, individuals, churches, families, and groups will be asked to join together in prayer for a specific request so the entire Body of Christ can unite around a common focus.
- Constant Vigil: The visible, public centerpiece of 40 Days for Life is a focused, 40-day, non-stop, round-the-clock prayer vigil outside a single Planned Parenthood center or other abortion facility in your community.
- Community Outreach: During 40 Days for Life, the message is taken proactively to every corner of your community. Media outreach is conducted through carefully targeted news stories, talk shows, and editorials. Church involvement begins by meeting with local pastors, other church leaders, and members of different congregations.
Natural Family Planning
Helping married couples to deepen conjugal love and achieve responsible parenthood is part of the Church’s total pastoral ministry to Catholic spouses. Fulfillment of this ministry includes both education and pastoral care. This means “instilling conviction and offering practical help to those who wish to live out their parenthood in a truly responsible way.
(Familiaris consortio, 35)
God designed marriage as an “intimate partnership of life and love” (see Gaudium et spes, no. 48). In God’s design, marriage is a unique union of one man with one woman “for the whole of life” (see Canon 1055, The Code of Canon Law). Marriage is oriented to the good of the spouses and to the creation and nurture of new human life (see Gaudium et spes, no. 48). Making decisions therefore, about when and how many children to have in marriage is a sacred responsibility that God has entrusted to husband and wife. This is the foundation of what the Church calls, “Responsible Parenthood,” the call to discern God’s will for your marriage while respecting His design for life and love.
The Catholic Church supports the methods of Natural Family Planning (NFP) because they respect God’s design for married love. In fact, NFP represents the only authentic approach to family planning available to husbands and wives because these methods can be used to both attempt or avoid pregnancy. When learning about NFP, it is important to know that:
- Natural Family Planning is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid conception. These methods are based on the observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Some natural methods include use of fertility monitors to better understand the time of the wife’s fertility. Married couples using NFP to postpone conception abstain from intercourse and genital contact during the fertile phase of the wife’s cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy. Married couples who use NFP to attempt a pregnancy, make use of the fertile window–the optimum time when conception is likely.
- NFP reflects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life, promotes openness to life, and recognizes the value of the child. By respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the bond between husband and wife. (Standards for Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry, p. 23
- The papal encyclical, Humanae vitae written by Pope St. Paul VI in 1968, captures the truth and depth of Catholic teaching on married love and the gift of life. In 2018, the Church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of this important encyclical. Many resources produced in the anniversary year are classic and can be helpful in NFP education. Below we offer a selection of these resources.
- Humanae vitae, Pope St. Pope Paul VI (1968)
- Humanae vitae Events and Resources
- Humanae Vitae, 50 Years Later, Embracing God’s Vision for Marriage, Love and Life, A Compendium is available from The Catholic University of America Press (2019). Edited by Theresa Notare, Ph.D., Assistant Director, NFP Program, USCCB, this book features the papers from the 2018 Humanae vitae 50th anniversary symposium held at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC (April 4-6). Orders, 1-800-537-5487. The book received a 2020 Catholic Press Association award for second place in the category of anthologies.
- Humanae vitae 50th Anniversary Prayers
Natural Family Planning Resources (USCCB) – NFP Resources | USCCB
Used with permission from the NFP Program, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved.
Walking with Moms in Need
“Walking with Moms in Need is a process through which Catholic parishes and communities “walk in the shoes” of local pregnant and parenting women in need. Everyone should know how to help moms in difficult circumstances.” (USCCB)
The Parish Action Guide includes specific materials and detailed resources to help guide parishes through the Walking with Moms process, including sample timelines, announcements, prayers, activities, homily notes, and more. It is designed primarily for use by the parish leader. While each parish will participate in its own unique way, this Action Guide provides a basic framework and structure that can be adapted to each community’s needs. Everything you need to participate is included or linked to in the Action Guide.