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December 7th, 2014 is a date that divided my life into a clear before and after. In this deeply personal episode of The Catholic Grief Podcast, I share the story of losing my son Maximilian Isaac — a late-term pregnancy loss at 19 weeks and 3 days — and how that grief shaped my faith, my marriage, and ultimately my calling to walk with others through loss.

I talk openly about the moments most people don't share: the cold hospital room away from the mothers with living babies, the spiral of questions and guilt that followed me home, wondering if God was punishing me — and the quiet, unexpected graces that showed up anyway. The doctor God sent at just the right moment. The blue and purple clothes at his funeral. The shadowbox I created to keep him visible. And the prayer we still say as a family to this day: 'Little Max, pray for us.'

If you have experienced pregnancy loss, stillbirth, miscarriage, or the loss of a child at any stage — including if you are carrying grief and guilt over an abortion — this episode is for you. You are not forgotten here.

We also explore the witness of Saint Zélie Martin, who lost four children in infancy, and her beautiful words: 'We shall find our little ones again up above.'

In this episode:

✦ The story of losing Maximilian Isaac at 19 weeks 3 days

✦ What grief looks like when you get home from the hospital

✦ The questions and guilt that follow pregnancy loss

✦ How this loss deepened faith and drew a marriage closer to God

✦ Saint Zélie Martin and her witness to grieving mothers

✦ Creativity as a path through grief — the blog and the shadowbox

✦ A gentle invitation to honor your child and name them if you haven't yet

Resources mentioned:

✦ Letters to Maximilian blog: letterstolittlemax.wordpress.com

✦ Jenny's grief resources: jennyburba.com

✦ Saint Zélie Martin — look up her story and her words for grieving mothers

If this episode spoke to your heart, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs it. Your review helps other grieving hearts find this podcast.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com

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One of the hardest parts of grief isn’t just the loss…

It’s the silence.

The moments where you pray…
 but it feels quiet.
 Where you reach for God…
 and don’t feel anything in return.

In this episode, we talk about what it means when God feels distant in grief.

Not from a place of perfect answers…
 but from lived experience.

You’ll hear:

•  Why grief can change how we experience God 
•  The difference between what we feel and what is true 
•  How God is present even when He feels silent 
•  What faith can look like in the middle of pain 
•  A simple 5-minute prayer to reconnect when God feels far 

If you’ve ever wondered,
 “God… where are You?”
this episode is for you.

Because feeling abandoned…
 is not the same as being abandoned.

And even in the silence…
 He is still near.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com

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After loss… have you ever felt like you don’t recognize yourself anymore?

Grief doesn’t just change your life.
 It changes how you see who you are.

In this episode of The Catholic Grief Podcast, we explore identity after loss… the tension between who you were and who you are now becoming.

Together, we talk about:
 • Losing roles and sense of self
 • The weight of identity shifts in grief
 • Why you are not meant to go back to who you were
 • God’s unchanging truth about who you are
 • Beginning to rediscover yourself through faith

📖 2 Corinthians 5:17 
 “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation…”

Even when everything feels uncertain…
 your identity is not lost.

As you listen, I invite you to reflect:
 Where does God feel to you right now?

In the next episode, we will talk about where God is in grief… especially when He feels distant.

If this episode spoke to you, be sure to follow, share, and come back next week.

Remember… Christ is near.
 You are not alone.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com

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Grief doesn’t just feel like sadness.

Sometimes it feels like nothing.
 Sometimes it feels like everything… all at once.

In this episode of The Catholic Grief Podcast, we explore what grief actually feels like… and why your emotions may not look the way you expected.

Together, we talk about:
 • Numbness and emotional disconnection
 • Overwhelm and shifting emotions
 • Anger, guilt, and the “what ifs”
 • Feeling like a stranger to yourself
 • Why nothing you are feeling means you are broken

📖 John 11:35 and 1 Peter 5:7 (NABRE) 

Even in the confusion… even in the intensity…
 God is present.

As you listen, I invite you to reflect:
 What has grief changed about the way you see yourself?

In the next episode, we will talk about identity after loss… and how to begin understanding yourself again.

If this episode spoke to you, be sure to follow, share, and come back for what’s next.

Remember… Christ is near.
 You are not alone.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com

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When did your grief begin?

Not just the event…
 but the moment everything changed.

In this episode of The Catholic Grief Podcast, we explore the true beginning of grief. The quiet, often unspoken moment where something shifts inside of you… and life no longer feels the same.

Through personal reflection and faith, we talk about:
 • The “moment of shift” in grief
 • Shock, confusion, and emotional disorientation
 • Why grief unfolds the way it does
 • God’s presence, even when all you feel is silence

📖 Deuteronomy 31:8 (NABRE) 
 “It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.”

As you listen, I invite you to gently reflect:
 What did that moment feel like for you?

In the next episode, we will talk about what grief actually feels like… and why your experience may make more sense than you think.

If this episode spoke to you, be sure to follow, share, and come back next week.

Remember… Christ is near.
 You are not alone.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com

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Have you ever looked at your life and realized it looks nothing like you thought it would?

In this first episode of The Catholic Grief Podcast, I share my personal story of grief… from becoming a teenage mother, to pregnancy loss, to losing my husband to COVID and becoming a widow with ten children.

This is where my journey begins.
 And it is why this podcast exists.

Through every season of loss, I have come to see one truth:
 God is close to the brokenhearted… even when we cannot feel Him.

📖 Psalm 34:19 (NABRE)
 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed."

In this episode, we reflect on:
 • The early roots of grief
 • The weight of life-altering moments
 • Finding God in suffering
 • The beginning of healing

As we close, I invite you to reflect:
 When did your grief begin?

In the next episode, we will step into that moment together.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and come back for what’s next.

Remember… Christ is near.
 You are not alone.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com

Send us Fan Mail

What do you do when your world falls apart… and God feels silent?

At 3:25am, in the middle of a storm and a heartbreak I could not stop, I whispered the only prayer I had left…
 God, where are You?

Welcome to The Catholic Grief Podcast.

I’m Jenny Burba, a Catholic remarried widow, mother of thirteen, and a woman who has lived through profound loss.

This is a podcast for those navigating grief, loss, widowhood, and seasons where faith feels fragile.

Here, we bring our grief to the foot of the Cross.
 We speak honestly about suffering and healing.
 And we hold onto hope… even when it feels impossible.

If you are grieving and wondering where God is in all of it… you are not alone.

There is space for your sorrow here.
 And there is still hope.

Subscribe and come back for Episode 1.

Support the show

Jenny Burba is a Catholic widow, speaker and author helping Catholics navigate grief through faith and creativity. Through her Creative Resilience program, she guides Catholics in gently rebuilding their lives after loss.

If this episode spoke to your heart, be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so more Catholics can find hope in their grief.

You can learn more, explore resources, and connect with Jenny at jennyburba.com