An Angel of the Beatitudes: Finding Faith After the Loss of a Child

Emily Ketring was a loving mother, wife, fervent Catholic, and active in her community just finishing her second term as mayor of Perry, Florida, when the unthinkable she lost her fifteen-year-old daughter, Angel, in a tragic car accident. This life-altering loss led Ketring on a spiritual journey of faith that changed her forever. More than just a collection of journal entries detailing one mother’s grief, An Angel of the Beatitudes comprises deep reflections on the nature and character of God and the painful yet refining power of suffering. Ketring doesn’t shy away from the difficult questions, including the most difficult of When you lose a child, is God still “good, just, and trustworthy”? Ketring shares her struggles as she wrestles with doubt and puts her faith to the most exacting of tests. Instead of abandoning the church or becoming hard-hearted, Ketring chooses to seek the face of God even when the desolation seems overwhelming. If you open your mind to the possibility that suffering can increase your capacity for love, joy, and faith, this honest work straight from a grieving mother’s heart will illuminate that most compelling of “Blessed are those who mourn.”