Grieving with Great Hope

Grieving with Great Hope

5 Episodes

Grieving with Great Hope is a grief support program and a healing ministry developed by John and Sandy O'Shaughnessy; they are the co-founders of Good Mourning Ministry, a Catholic Bereavement Apostolate. John is a Certified Grief Counselor and author of five books. Sandy is a Director of Religious Education with a master's degree in Pastoral Ministry (Bereavement Emphasis). They are grief educators, but in this series, you will learn they have experienced profound grief themselves.
As a FORMED subscriber, you can access all 5-sessions of this series. This series also comes with a Participant's Workbook and a Leader-Guide which walks you through the program from early planning, to preparation and implementation. This series is prayerful, practical, and personal. It has helped thousands of people who are grieving the loss of a loved one. The title comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:13, in which St. Paul tells the Thessalonians, "Let us not grieve as others who have no hope." And though faith can give us a confident expectation that this is not our home, it does not prevent grief and suffering in this life. Jesus said many times, "Take up your cross and follow me." This series teaches that grief is a natural reaction to loss, and mourning is our intentional response. Mourning is what we do with the pain we feel. It introduces The Seven Intentions of Mourning, each having its own unique purpose in helping to heal our wounds when someone we love dies. This series is designed for group discussions; as such, during the first four sessions, there is time for six "Grief Peer Group" discussions, where participants can share their own stories in a safe and validating environment.

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Grieving with Great Hope
  • Grieving with Great Hope

    Episode 1

    The opening session includes a short introduction from John and Sandy. The remainder was filmed in church with the assistance of Fr. Michael Suhy who discusses "The Father's Love." He also shares his own story of losing his mother and grandfather. In this session we also hear from John and Sandy ...

  • Entering the Valley

    Episode 2

    Here the series takes on a more practical application where John and Sandy teach on what grief is, want mourning is, grief theories, misconceptions of grief and how our own thoughts play a large role in our healing. There are two Grief Peer Group discussions.

  • The Journey Through

    Episode 3

    The Journey Through explores the emotions of grief, the importance of forgiveness, disenfranchised grief, and The Seven Intentions of Mourning: Prayer, Remembering and Honoring our loved ones, Acceptance, Yielding to the Pain, having an Enduring Connection, Rebuilding our lives, and Giving and Re...

  • Choosing to Move Forward

    Episode 4

    Choosing to Move Forward looks at what makes grief unique for everyone, the year of firsts, holidays and anniversaries, and grief rituals. There is one last GPG.

  • Jesus Wept

    Episode 5

    In the closing session, John reads a poem, Sandy gives her closing comments, and Fr. John Riccardo walks us through why we can grieve with hope because God hates death so much that He destroyed it. There is time spent in Eucharistic Adoration, a candle lighting ceremony, and a blessing from Fr. J...

  • Grieving with Great Hope Leader Guide

    1.55 MB

  • Grieving with Great Hope Workbook

    886 KB