SOME PRAYERS FROM SAINTS WHO EXPERIENCED DEPRESSION
Dear God, I am on my knees,
because I don’t have the strength to stand up. My strength is gone.
I can’t deal with my depression by myself any longer. I am lonely. I call on You. I have faith that Your strength is bigger than my depression, that Your light will show me the path home. I am not alone. You’re rod and staff comfort me
as I walk through the valley of the shadow of depression and there is nothing I shall fear.
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
Either He will shield you from suffering,
or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, then.
Put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations,
and say continually:
“The Lord is my strength and my shield.
My heart has trusted in him and I am helped.
He is not only with me but in me, and I in Him.”
St.Francis de Sales
O Christ Jesus When all is darkness And we feel our weakness and helplessness, Give us the sense of Your Presence, Your Love and Your Strength. Help us to have perfect trust In Your protecting love And strengthening power, So that nothing may frighten or worry us,For, living close to You, We shall see Your Hand, Your Purpose, Your Will, through all things.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Every child,
every person needs to know that they are a source of joy;
every child, every person, needs to be celebrated.
Only when all of our weaknesses are accepted
as part of our humanity
can our negative, broken self-images be transformed. “
Jean Vanier, Becoming Human
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. . . . . O Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
