Helpful Resources
These resources were created with great care to accompany you and your family through the difficult moments of grief. We hope they help you feel seen, supported, and less alone. You are welcome to download and use these materials for your personal support. To protect the integrity of the content and ensure that every family receives the most current version, please do not copy, modify, repost, upload, print for distribution, or share the PDF files directly.
Red Bird Ministries retains full copyright ownership and protection of all content.
If someone you love could benefit from one of these resources, please share this page’s link with them. This allows us to gently welcome each family and offer additional complimentary support when needed. Thank you for helping us protect these resources and care personally for every family who finds their way to Red Bird Ministries.
To access more resources, please download the RBM Branded App and join the Family Support Toolbox. For parishes, click here for parish printables.
Click on an image below to download.
After the death of a child, you may expect to feel sadness and longing—but you may not expect the anxiety, fear, or sense that the world is no longer safe.
This resource from Red Bird Ministries helps bereaved parents understand why anxiety can become part of grief and how a profound loss can affect the mind and body. You’ll learn about common grief-related anxiety and trauma responses, why certain places, dates, memories, or experiences may suddenly trigger fear, and simple ways to help your body reconnect with safety in the present moment.
Rooted in trauma-informed care and the Catholic understanding of the human person, this resource also offers gentle guidance for bringing fear and grief into your relationship with Christ, understanding your continuing bond of love with your child through the Communion of Saints, and recognizing when additional professional support may be helpful.
Your grief is not a failure of faith, and needing support does not mean you are grieving incorrectly. This resource is here to help you better understand what you may be experiencing and remind you that you do not have to carry it alone.
Licensed Use & Copyright: This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
Grief after the death of a child can affect every part of life—your emotions, body, relationships, routines, faith, and sense of who you are. This Red Bird Ministries resource offers 20 gentle reminders to help families better understand what grief can look like and how to care for themselves in the midst of it.
Inside, families will find compassionate guidance on acknowledging emotions, setting boundaries, making room for memories, understanding grief activators, seeking support, caring for the body, allowing moments of joy, sharing their story, and adjusting to a life that may now look very different.
Rooted in Red Bird Ministries’ Catholic, trauma-informed approach to grief, this resource is not a checklist for “getting over” loss. It is a gentle companion for the days when grief feels especially heavy—reminding families that healing is not measured by how little they miss their child, but by learning, little by little, how to carry love and loss together.
Licensed Use & Copyright: This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
A Reflection Through Loss
Grief changes the way we see ourselves, our relationships, our faith, and the world around us. What Grief May Reveal is a gentle reflection and journaling resource created for parents grieving the loss of a child.
This resource does not ask you to find a lesson, purpose, or silver lining in your loss. Instead, it invites you to notice what grief may have uncovered, clarified, changed, or made more visible over time—your love for your child, your needs, your relationships, your limits, your faith, and the ways sorrow and joy may now live side by side.
The reflection is followed by thoughtful journaling prompts designed to be used slowly and gently. You may bring them into counseling, spiritual direction, Eucharistic Adoration, personal prayer, or simply return to them whenever you feel ready to reflect more deeply.
You do not need to complete every question or arrive at a particular conclusion. Sometimes what grief reveals most clearly is simply how deeply you have loved.
Licensed Use & Copyright
This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to it and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, counselor, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
Understanding what you may be experiencing—and when additional support can help
After the death of a child, grief can affect nearly every part of your life. Sadness, exhaustion, withdrawal, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep or appetite, and losing interest in things you once enjoyed can all leave you wondering:
Is this grief? Am I depressed? How would I know the difference?
When Grief Feels Like Depression was created to help grieving parents better understand what they may be experiencing without asking them to diagnose themselves.
This compassionate Catholic resource explores how grief and depression can overlap, some of the patterns that may distinguish them, questions that can help you consider how significantly grief is affecting your daily life, and signs that it may be time to seek additional professional support.
You will also learn about prolonged grief, when specialized grief care may be helpful, and why seeking mental-health support is not a failure of faith. The resource includes guidance for finding appropriate support as well as crisis information for times when immediate help is needed.
Most importantly, this resource reminds you that you do not have to determine on your own whether what you are carrying is “bad enough” to deserve help. Sometimes the next step is simply allowing someone knowledgeable and compassionate to help you discern what you need.
Licensed Use & Copyright
This digital resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to print it and return to it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, resold, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, counselor, diocese, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
When grief makes prayer feel difficult, sometimes the most honest thing you can do is simply come and sit with Jesus.
At His Feet is a gentle Catholic 10-page journaling resource created for parents grieving the loss of a child. Designed to be used during Eucharistic Adoration, it offers thoughtful prompts to help you bring your sorrow, questions, memories, fears, love, and longing into the presence of Christ.
This is not a workbook to complete or a process to rush. You are invited to move slowly, write only what feels helpful, sit in silence when words do not come, and allow Jesus to meet you exactly where you are.
Rooted in Catholic faith and a trauma-informed understanding of grief, this journal helps grieving parents make space for both love and sorrow while remembering that healing does not mean forgetting.
Bring your grief. Bring your child’s name. Bring your heart—and come sit at His feet.
Licensed Use & Copyright: This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
A 7-Day Prayer Plan for the Hard Days of Grief
When your child dies, even prayer can feel difficult. You may want to be close to God and still find yourself distracted, angry, afraid, numb, exhausted, or simply unable to find the words.
Stay With Me, Jesus is a 24-page Catholic, trauma-informed prayer companion created especially for parents grieving the death of a child. Designed to be brought into Eucharistic Adoration or used during quiet personal prayer, this resource gently helps you bring the whole of your grief—body, mind, heart, and soul—into the presence of Christ.
Over seven reflections, you will pray through some of the experiences that can make grief especially difficult: feeling overwhelmed, losing your sense of safety, feeling alone, wrestling with guilt and “what ifs,” facing exhaustion, struggling in faith, and learning to hold hope without rushing your grief. Each day includes Scripture, a longer reflection, a practical grief-support skill, space to bring what is true directly to Jesus, and a closing prayer.
This is not a seven-day program for “getting better.” You do not have to complete the days consecutively, answer every question, or finish every reflection. You are encouraged to move slowly, repeat what is helpful, pause when something feels like too much, and allow even a simple prayer—Jesus, stay with me—to be enough.
The practical exercises offer gentle tools for recognizing grief activators, reconnecting with the present moment, sorting through fearful thoughts, making overwhelming days smaller, asking for support, and identifying one faithful next step. The resource also includes guidance for seeking additional spiritual, pastoral, or trauma-informed professional support when needed.
You do not need to leave these pages with fewer tears or all of your questions answered. This companion simply creates a place to bring your grief into the presence of Jesus and allow Him to remain with you in the places that still hurt.
Licensed Use & Copyright
This digital resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to print it and return to it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, resold, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, counselor, diocese, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
After miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, parents may find themselves grieving a child they deeply love but had very little time to know. There may be few tangible memories, no photographs, and sometimes no certainty about whether their baby was a boy or a girl. Why Name Your Baby? was created to gently help families consider naming their child as a meaningful act of love, remembrance, and belonging.
This Catholic family resource includes a real testimony from a mother of loss, thoughtful guidance for choosing a name, and gentle prompts that invite parents to consider family names, favorite saints, a biblical, gender-neutral name, or a name that simply continues to return to their heart.
The resource also includes a prayer designed to be brought into Eucharistic Adoration or personal prayer, giving parents space to discern slowly and without pressure. It reminds families that naming their baby is not another task they must get right, but can become a tender way of saying: You were here. You are my child. You are loved. You belong to our family. You will be remembered.
Whether a name comes immediately or takes time, this resource offers parents a quiet place to remember, pray, and honor the precious life of their baby.
Licensed Use & Copyright
This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to it and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, counselor, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
Is a gentle, faith-filled resource created for grieving parents navigating life after the death of a child. Written in a poetic and compassionate style, this free download names many of the thoughts, emotions, physical reactions, and spiritual struggles that can accompany child loss, helping parents recognize that they are not alone in what they are experiencing.
This resource offers language for the parts of grief that can be difficult to explain—the tears behind the smile, the exhaustion, the replaying of memories, the longing to hear your child’s name, the struggle to pray, and the tension of holding both sorrow and hope. It also reminds grieving parents that healing does not mean forgetting or leaving their child behind.
Rooted in a Catholic understanding of the human person, grief, and the hope of the Resurrection, this resource gently affirms that faith and sorrow can coexist, and that seeking additional support is a sign of wisdom, not weakness.
Perfect for bereaved parents, parish grief ministries, clergy, counselors, family members, and anyone accompanying a parent after the death of a child. Some pastors will read this reflection on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Licensed Use & Copyright: This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
“You’re a mommy to an angel.” “She received her angel wings.” “Now he’s your guardian angel.”
These words are often spoken with tenderness and a sincere desire to comfort a grieving parent. But are they what the Catholic Church actually teaches about our children who have died?
This resource gently explores the important difference between angels and human beings, why our children do not become angels when they die, and why the truth of our Catholic faith offers something even more beautiful. Our children were created as human persons—body and soul—and our Christian hope is rooted not in becoming angels, but in Christ, eternal life, the Communion of Saints, and the resurrection of the body.
Created especially for grieving parents and families, Why Our Babies Are Not Angels helps bring clarity to common language surrounding child loss while offering a deeper understanding of the dignity of your child and the extraordinary hope held for us in the Catholic faith.
Because your baby does not need angel wings to be precious, known, and eternally loved by God.
Licensed Use & Copyright: This resource is copyright protected and licensed for use by the individual purchaser or household. You are welcome to return to and use it as often as needed throughout your grief journey. It may be printed for personal use, but may not be copied, shared, reproduced, distributed, uploaded, or used by a parish, ministry, support group, or organization without written permission or an appropriate license from Red Bird Ministries.
© 2026 Red Bird Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Additional Downloads
Additional Resources
Depression and Anxiety Screening Test by Mental Health America
Get a free depression and anxiety screening here!
Gone Too Soon Program
This company provides free headstone memorial pictures. It’s absolutely free for families who’ve lost children before the age of 18, so they can place them on their children’s headstones without the extra financial burden.