Bereavement, Grief & Loss

Corpus Christi Parish – St John’s Rectory

49 Winter Street, St. Johnsbury, VT

Phone: 802-748-8129

An opportunity to pray with and to share with others who have experienced the loss of a loved one. We meet the 3rd Sunday of each month at 1:00PM in the rectory at St John’s. We invite our own parishioners and those from other parishes.

Holy Family Parish – Holy Family Parish Hall

32 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, VT

Phone 802-878-5331

Holy Family in Essex Junction has a bereavement group that meets the first Saturday of each month, in the parish hall library, 8:00-9:30am.

All Saints Parish 

166 Main Street, Richford, VT

Phone: 802-848-7741

On call basis. Please call or email Deacon Armand Auclair to arrange a time.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Parish Hall, Room 4

65 Canada Street, Swanton, VT

Phone: 802-868-4262

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary has a bereavement group that typically meets once a month on a Monday at 6:00 pm. However, the day sometimes changes. Contact the parish for more information.

St. Mark Bereavement Group – St. Mark Church in the back sacristy meeting room

 1251 North Avenue, Burlington, VT 

Offered to anyone who has lost a spouse. This peer support group will be held on the first Tuesday of each month from 4:00 pm -5:30 pm. Please know both Catholics and non-Catholics will be welcome to attend.
For questions, email Mary Metayer at: [email protected].

Vermont Catholic Charities

Main Office – South Burlington
55 Joy Drive
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 658-6111 or
Toll Free: 1-877-250-4099

In person and teletherapy counseling services are available at multiple locations. Please contact the Main Office for more information. 

National Suicide Prevention Hotline

1-800-273-8255

Crisis Text Line 741-741

Red Bird Ministries

An organization that systematically guides individuals and couples through the complexity and trauma that happens with the loss of a child from pregnancy through adulthood.

Eileen Tully Ministry

Eileen Tully is on a mission to help Catholic women find hope and healing after the experience of pregnancy or child loss.

Good Mourning Ministry

Good Mourning Ministry is here to help those who grieve, so that one day they may mourn, and build their bridge to a new and different life. 

Catholic Teaching Regarding Suicide

Catechism, 2281 “Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. ”

• It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. 
• It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. 
• Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

“Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” (CCC, 2280).

Catechism (#2282) teaches that these factors can diminish responsibility for the taking of one’s own life: “Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.” When these factors are present, the Church recognizes that the person’s ability to make a free choice was likely impaired. 

Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2283) reassures us, “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to Him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.”

Catechism (1861)  tells us, “…although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.” In Christian hope we are called to trust in God’s mercy for our loved ones as well as for ourselves.