It is super serendipitous  that St. Jane Frances de Chantal’s feast day coincides with Grief Awareness Month, as she was all too familiar with that feeling of being in the club no one wants to be a part of. 

We’ve all lost somebody. But we can find solace in the saints’ struggles when we face similar ones of our own. Today, I turn to my girl Jane. 

I had no idea August is Grief Awareness Month, but I follow a few grief outreach Instagrams and learned both about that truth, and Jane’s similar grief in losing the number one man in her life. 

I lost my dad 14 years ago, the first Earthly man who ever loved me, my guy who made me feel endlessly special. My mom was left a widow with two kids, a teen and a twenty year old. 

Jane lost her husband in a hunting accident in 1601 and was left a widow with young children, just like my mom. 

But God worked with her through her grief and profound sadness, bringing her to the writings of St. Frances de Sales, even being spiritually directed by him! 

That’s amazing, right?! Saints helping saints. Through his guidance, she founded the Congregation of the Visitation of Holy Mary, just 9 years after her tremendous loss. 

I know loss and grief is hard and often all-consuming. The darkness can seem never-ending, and the search for hope daunting. 

But St. Jane Frances de Chantal shows us that we can rise above our undoubtedly tough circumstances, and that God can still work wonders through our hardships. 

St. Jane Frances de Chantal, patroness of widows, loss of parents, and forgotten people, pray for all readers of this post in their grief journeys, and please especially pray for my family. Thanks for coming to me today 🩵