Seasons of Hope Leader's Guide: Bringing Comfort Through Catholic Grief Support

Seasons of Hope is a unique grief support program for Catholics that focuses on the spiritual side of grieving the death of a loved one. It invites those who mourn to accompany one another and to meet Christ through scripture, prayer, reflection, and simple activities that offer comfort and help to foster healing and spiritual growth.

The updated Seasons of Hope Leader’s Guide and four journals can be used by a parish grief ministry. Individuals are also able to use the journals for personal reflection and prayer. You can start with any of the four journals, each of which covers a standalone “season” of six sessions that each have their own theme rooted in a passage from scripture.

The Seasons of Hope program was created by author M. Donna MacLeod following the death of her daughter and has been used in thousands of parishes by tens of thousands of people since its original release in 2007. Updates to the new edition of the Leader’s Guide include:

• a new introduction;
• a new chapter about offering group sessions online;
• revised content and activities that meet the challenges and needs of the contemporary Church and culture;
• an updated resource list;
• access to online facilitator training materials; and
• information about caring for those living grief from losses such as suicide, overdose, miscarriage and other child loss, natural disasters, or homicide.

The Leader’s Guide continues to include FAQs about creating and sustaining successful grief ministries in your parish. It also provides outlines and scripts for the six group sessions of each season. Those sessions include scripture, prayer, reflection, activities, and faith sharing.

The Seasons of Hope Journals, which are perfect for individual and group use, have been revised with a new introduction and updated resource listings. The journals also include Bible references, reflections, prayers, and space for writing.

M. Donna MacLeod is a Catholic leader and founder of the Seasons of Hope ministry to the bereaved. She is the author of the program’s bestselling Leader’s Guide and four companion journals. This work was inspired by the loss of her youngest daughter, Erynne, in 1988 and the compassionate response of her parish.

MacLeod holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and has served as an oncology clinical specialist, nurse educator, administrator, and hospice professional. She served on the board of trustees and training faculty of the former National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved and is a member of the Catholic Family Life Association.

Macleod delivers keynotes, workshops, retreats, and other presentations online and at numerous national and diocesan conferences and parish events related to grief, loss, and ministry leadership in the United States and Canada. A seasoned ministry mentor, MacLeod supports Seasons of Hope facilitators with online resources and an enrichment series sponsored by Ave Maria Press. She also leads parish Seasons of Hope groups in the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts

She lives with her husband, Bryan, in the Boston, Massachusetts, area.

Most Rev. John P. Dolan is the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix. Ordained to the priesthood in 1989, Dolan previously served as auxiliary bishop of San Diego from 2017 to 2022.

He is the chaplain of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a member of the Catholic Institute for Mental Health Ministry, and a board member of Father Joe’s Villages, a ministry to the homeless. Dolan earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of San Diego and master’s degrees in divinity and theology from St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California. He is the author of Rose of Lima: A Nine-Day Study of Her Life, and Who is Like God? A Nine-Day Journey with St. Michael.