The Cross of Infertility
Lauren Allen and her husband had been married for a year and they struggled with infertility. Lauren’s prayer to God was always to get pregnant and have a baby. However, God had something else in mind. “I was driving down the back roads, like I do sometimes when I'm upset or to think or pray. And I just heard God say to me, ‘you're called to carry your cross, not pray that it goes away from you’. He was asking for me to create a resource that would put out valid Church teachings on different parts of infertility, and lead people towards holiness, and not towards anger.”
As a result, in January 2021, Lauren Allen, a Catholic from Texas, launched The Fruitful Hollow, https://www.thefruitfulhollow.com/, an online ministry for women with infertility.
The Fruitful Hollow is a place where women can connect, share their struggles and find comfort. The ministry runs a weekly blog post or an article on its website about topics related to infertility and spirituality, from a Catholic perspective, to help women on their journey. The Fruitful Hollow team has a particular devotion to St. Gianna Beretta Molla, the patron saint of infertility, and they look to scripture for stories of infertility. The website offers resources, including guides for journaling and information about patron saints of infertility.
Another feature of the website is the Sisters of Hannah Ministry. The Sisters of Hannah are women who mentor other women with infertility. They are a listening ear, and they emotionally support and pray for women on their journey.
The website provides information about Church teaching on modern medical responses to infertility, such as in vitro fertilization. The site includes information about Creighton Model System (a particular method of Natural Family Planning) that can be used in conjunction with NaProTechnology (restorative reproductive healthcare) to treat fertility problems in a way that is completely natural and pro-life. “When you start to realize that you have a problem getting pregnant...a lot of the mainstream OB-GYNs, that's what they know, so it's unfortunately what they push,” Lauren Allen said. “You have to really be educated in your Church teachings to know what's okay to do, and what's not. There's not a lot of education in the Catholic Church. Where would you find that unless you were searching for it? I don't think it's a well-known teaching.”
Katie is editor of the Fruitful Hollow. She and her husband have been married for five years, and they have not been able to conceive. Katie said, “I think on such an isolating journey, community is key. I think that's one of the best things to have come out of The Fruitful Hollow, is just finding such a community of like-minded Catholic women and men who are struggling with the same questions, and this rollercoaster of an infertility journey, and how different it can look.”
Lauren Allen said, “I want people to know...that the plan that we have for our lives is never the plan that God has. You are still called to be fruitful, even if it's not in the way that we think of when we often think of fruitfulness. We're called to be open to life, but even if you...never conceive, there's still a call to be fruitful and work towards holiness.”
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us!
~St. Luke Life, Justice and Peace Ministry
