COMING APART

This Sunday's Gospel reaches right into the heart of a 21st Century malaise, depression, anxiety, fear.......

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘

What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  

Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you. 

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus in Matthew chapter 6 verse 34.

Is anything causing you anxiety?

Are you coming apart at the moment?

Are you coming apart in the workplace?

Is the work too much for you, tiring you out?

Are you coming apart because of your work colleagues?

Are you coming apart at home - is it all too much?

Are family members pulling the family apart?

Are family members coming apart because of the worries that they face?

Are you coming apart because of grief?

Are friendships coming apart?

Friends who used to be there for you no longer around?

Michael J. Lichens, in his blog "THE CATHOLIC GENTLEMAN" recounts his own experience with what has become known as Major Depressive Disorder, which was in previous times called clinical depression.

"My family tree is full of folks who either ended up in the mental ward or at the bottom of a bottle due to this condition. A few, sadly, found more permanent ways of dealing with it."

"Days in Depression - Winston Churchill use to call them “black dog days",

days defined by an overall low mood, an inability to cope with basic things like getting out of bed, or finding enjoyment in what usually brings joy".

"The term "depression" describes the condition of many. When you factor in things like increasing debt, underachievement in work or in education,

or indeed a lack of self-worth, it should be no surprise that so many are struggling with overwhelming sadness. In the ancient world, the Greek physician Hippocrates labeled it melancholia.

Michael J. Lichens is a convert to Catholicism from a fundamentalist Evangelical Church.

"While my Evangelical church denied mental illness and only told me to pray against it, I found comfort in the Catholic saints who suffered great bouts of depression. Saint Teresa of Calcutta was often in a dark place, but still found comfort in her faith

Francis Liebermann, saintly convert to Catholicism from Judaism,

had this to say about his own condition:

“I never cross a bridge without the thought of throwing myself over the parapet, to put an end to these afflictions. But the sight of my Jesus sustains me and gives me patience.”

"The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote moving words about his afflictions in the “Terrible Sonnets,” and was especially heartbroken by what seemed to be the silence of God in the face of his suffering.

Catholic Christians have intercessors in Heaven and on Earth

who know that the mind has many mountains and cliffs. Perhaps it is not always enough, but I know that the loneliness can be the worst part of depression.

Knowing that I am indeed among friends in my suffering, the saints who have been there in the darkness as I have, has been enough for me to keep going and to find hope. In my darkest moments, when I truly was giving in to despair, I found that saying the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.")was enough to let me go on another day and pursue help.

In those moments, knowing that Christ was and is among us

enabled me to find just enough light and comfort

to believe that life was sweeter than death."

"Prayer is very hard when you are depressed. I, for one, have nagging doubts when I go through my black dog days. God seems silent, and I wonder where He is and what He’s doing. All the same, I pray, and peace eventually comes. In one case, it took me two years of praying, but peace did come. Mother Teresa’s dark night of the soul lasted several years, but she endured. You can find strength in the same faith."

"In all things, your victory is in perseverance. I often can’t even leave my house on particularly bad days. But if we can claim small victories like seeking professional help, and taking steps to finding comfort, then we are on the path to a greater victory."

"And let's not forget to ask The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the Joy of all Who Sorrow, to pray with you and for you, to help you and all who are plagued by grief and depression."

Gracious God, I ask you to plant a seed of stillness in my soul.

When worry and anxiety scurry around me,

stealing my joy, and dampening my faith,

remind me to stop for just a moment

so I can be brought into the space of quiet.

Give me, each day, the desire and capacity to breathe in the wonder of air,

to drop deep into the well of my own being

and find there the peace of your presence.

 

In our anxiety, fear and uncertainty,

when hearts are heavy with the load we bear,

and there is no one to turn toward but you;

yours is the peace that calms,

the peace that comforts,

the peace that gives us strength to carry on.

Yours is the voice we long to hear,

the persistent whisper in our ear,

‘Be still, and know that I am God’.

Yours is the presence in the dark that banishes our fears.

Yours is the hand that guides,

the footprints in which I walk.

In our anxiety, fear and uncertainty,

in confidence we turn to you. 

John Birch.