Blessed, Broken and Offered for God's Glory: Mental Health and
Holiness
Father Peter Conley
To Heal the Brokenhearted is the title of a book by Paul Francis Spencer
about the life of the Passionist Priest St Charles of Mount Argus. The
author points out that hundreds of people in Dublin and England came to
him seeking spiritual, emotional and physical healing because his own
inner struggles had increased his compassion and understanding.
Similarly, St Theresa of Lisieux experienced mental anguish and gained
renewed empathy by witnessing her father's dementia.
When you google "saints and mental health" two links appear – one to
St Dympna and another to Christina the Astonishing – (who, incidentally,
has never been formally beatified). In the case of St Dympna there is
virtually no reliable historical information to link her with mental ill-health.
What is significant about this seventh century martyr is that the place of
her death, Gheel in Belgium, has become noted for its pioneering work
with those who are mentally ill. Many cures have been associated with
St Dympna's shrine. As for Christina the Astonishing, a thirteenth
century mystic, who grew up near to Liege, she has long been linked
with those who suffer from frequent fits of one kind or another.
Sometimes these caused her to spontaneously levitate - a characteristic
recognised by the Church as a sign of holiness.
Underlying mental health disorders may manifest themselves in the
symptoms of addictive behaviour. St Camillus de Lellis, who lived in the
sixteenth century, followed his father into the army and, as a result of his
influence, became a compulsive gambler and wreckless spender. When
St Philip Neri was his confessor his life took on a new meaning through
his work with the sick. It is recorded that Camillus made a Cardinal wait
whilst he ministered to a patient with the words “I am just with Our Lord."
There have been accounts of saints who have encountered
psychological difficulties because of lapses back into their compulsive
behaviour.
St Margaret Cortona was a very good looking, young, thirteenth century
woman who used to continually play on her beauty to attract men.
Described by some writers as a 'second Mary Magdalene' she eventually
eloped with a noble and became his mistress for nine years. She
persistently asked him to marry her but he never did. They had one
child, a son. When her long-term lover was brutally murdered, Margaret
took this as the final a sign from God that she should change her life. At
various points she had been moving towards this course of action but
drawn back from it. However, despite this realisation, she found sexual
temptation impossible to resist. Each time she gave in Margaret
experienced extended periods of self-loathing. On one occasion, keen to
lessen her attractiveness to men, she was prevented by a Franciscan
Friar from cutting her face. She subsequently joined the order as a
Tertiary member and became devoted to the Eucharist and care of the
sick.
The lives of St Germaine Cousin and St Joseph of Cupertino offer
comfort and strength to those living with mental illness from the
experience of violence and other forms of abuse . St Germaine was a
young seventeenth century French woman who was frequently beaten
and scolded with hot water by her step family because her deformed
hand and constant bouts of ill health prevented her from working
regularly for them. Often forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs or
in the household stables Germaine drew strength from being a
shepherdess and identifying herself with Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
Fed only on scraps of food, she was sustained by attending daily mass
and receiving the bread of life.
St Joseph of Cupertino was born two years after Germaine in 1603.
Throughout his life he was known as the "Gauper" because he stared
into space. He could not sustain a conversation and was incredibly
clumsy and forgetful. This led to Joseph being publically humiliated – he
was made to walk around with the items which he had broken attached
to his clothing. Yet, through perseverance, prayer and eucharistic
devotion his holiness came to be recognised.
The onset of illness can lead to extended periods of mental anguish.
Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Santiago described his "dark night of
the soul". After being diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer, he lost
his faith for a time. Sometimes groups of people living together because
of their illnesses go through similar experiences. Blessed Damien de
Veuster, a nineteenth century Belgian missionary priest and Blessed
John Beyzym, a twentieth century Ukranian priest, both witnessed at first
hand the traumas of those with leprosy.
Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the tremendous depths of character and
giftedness often displayed by those who live their lives within the
limitations of challenging physical and psychological circumstances. He
noted Beethoven's creativity in producing his joyful Ninth Symphony
after enduring years of depression and bitterness due to deafness.
Similarly, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, (who lived in the seventeenth
century, and became the first Native American Indian to be beatified by
John Paul II), had to come to terms with the effects of long-term mental
illness caused by the loss of her parents and younger brother to
smallpox and her facial disfigurement and near blindness due to the
same illness. Her yearnings to be a Christian a were mocked by many of
her tribe and she had to leave her village for her own safety. Even
before Kateri knew the true meaning of the symbolism of the cross she
felt drawn to it and carved it upon a tree in the forest. As her faith and
understanding grew she would often make crosses out of discarded
twigs and scatter them in the woods.
A sensitivity to the whole of God's creation- human and naturalcharacterised Kateri's life. She displayed the fruits of what John Paul II
called 'Ecological Conversion' - the ever deepening state of imitating the
mercy of Jesus Christ who, has united himself in some sense to each
person and the material world (Dominum et Vivificantem, 50). Kateri,
and all of the other saints and blesseds mentioned in this podcast,
dedicated herself to what the late Pope described as the ecology of
human health and growth. His words crystallise the central aspects of
pastoral care which parishes should provide as places of sensitive
welcome, towards those with mental health difficulties and their families.
“It is therefore important to make them... perceive the tenderness of
God, to integrate them into a community of faith and life in which they
can feel accepted, understood, supported, respected; in a word, in which
they can love and be loved...God is always close to those who are
suffering. Depressive illness can be a way to discover other aspects of
oneself and new forms of encounter with God. Christ listens to the cry of
those whose boat is rocked by the storm (cf, Mk 4: 35-41). He is present
beside them to help them in the crossing and guide them to the harbour
of rediscovered peace."
Fr Peter Conley is Parish Priest of Mother of God and Guardian Angels
Church, Shard End, Archdiocese of Birmingham