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Nine Months with God and Your Baby

  • ELINE LANDON

Whether you are hoping and praying for the conception of a child or are already expecting, this beautiful book will open your eyes and your heart to the grandeur of God's plan for your family and to the unfathomable love with which He cares for those who trust in Him.


landonWhen I was expecting my first child, I was surprised by all that needed to be done to prepare for the birth.  In preparing for childbirth, well-informed women who do not find what suits them are rare.  In addition to the classic maternity preparations, we can choose haptonomy, prenatal yoga, sophrology, pool preparations, the Bonapace Method, and so many other things that the general public still does not know.  There are many opportunities to prepare for the great moment of a baby's arrival in the world.  These opportunities allow each couple to find what they are looking for, enabling them to be fully ready to help their child to be born and assisting in alleviating labor pains.

Nonetheless, the spiritual welcoming of the child, which prepares us for the sacred presence of a new being in us, seems to be lacking.  The word "pregnancy" would make us believe that what is going on in us is simply getting fat!  How can we communicate about this state, which is so much more than that and completely overwhelms us?

By welcoming life in us, we participate in God's work of creation.  The birth of a new being is a sacred mystery, and it seems vital to me to prepare for it by meditating on biblical texts and praying.

While I was expecting my third child, the idea of this meditation grew in me, and this book gradually took form.  Thus, I offer you these scriptural passages that relate to the conception of a child, his presence in his mother's body for nine months, and his arrival among us.  In each chapter, you will find a pregnancy-related theme, a biblical text, a meditative commentary on that text, a suggestion for further reflection, and a prayer.

This book is to be read month after month; it is not intended to be read all at once.  It is necessary to take the time to live this mystery fully and gradually.

We can schedule a time when we will not be disturbed as we read and pray.  We can delve into the meditation throughout the month with complementary passages on the same subject before we go on to the next theme.  Prayer is equally important.  We can settle into a calm, pleasant place, light a candle, and put ourselves in God's presence with the aid of a simple prayer, such as "Here I am, Lord."

These proposals are starting points.  Do not hesitate to let yourself be led by the Holy Spirit so that your own prayer can spring up.

This work is intended more for the woman who is carrying the child who will come into the world.  Nonetheless, the man should not feel left out.  The couple's communication is basic, and these meditations can serve as a basis for exchanges between the couple.  The father can find material that will supply his reflections and prayers about the coming of his child.  Moreover, a prayer is offered for the father to say in the chapter "The Reception of the Child."

Bringing a child into the world makes us the latest members of a group.  In becoming mothers, we join a host of women with their joys and wounds.  Our own history and our relationship with our mothers will affect our pregnancy, a period during which we are extremely sensitive.  We are more receptive and more open to our emotions.  Let us take our place in this new group and allow ourselves time to enter into it.

Month after month, let us ask the Lord to prepare us for welcoming the life that is soon to be or is already present in us.

This is Meaghen Gonzalez, Editor of CERC. I hope you appreciated this piece. We curate these articles especially for believers like you.

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Acknowledgement

landon2Eline Landon. "Doctrinal Confusion." Nine Months with God and Your Baby: Spiritual Preparation for Birth (Kettering, OH: Angelico Press, 2019): ix-xi

Reprinted with permission of Angelico Press.

The Author

landonbooksmallÉline Landon is an author and a convert to the Catholic faith. Her latest book, Nine Months with God and Your Baby, was originally published in French by Groupe Elidia.

Copyright © 2019 Angelico Press