Mental health, Covid and churches

[Jonathan Be Well]

Past summer, I was locked in a hospital without being allowed to go outside. For 18 days, I went outside for less than a half hour, half a dozen times. The hospital was crawling with Vid paranoia. Everyday, I felt a tickle in my throat. The feeling was not like anything else I ever experienced before. I believed "Vid" was attacking. So everyday I prayed against that tickle... which would disappear minutes later. Everyday I would take holy communion. No vaccine, no mask, just God. I was saved, healed and restored by the blood, stripes and all powerful name of Jesus Christ, literally. No vaccine is needed. God is needed. Repent, USA and the world; me included... or else.

Mark 1:4
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Revelation 22:18-20
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

3 John 2-4
2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

 

[joymercy]

I think - and not wanting to pick on your church, because this is a problem for so many churches - there are questions to be asked of the church, though. Such as why leaders don't receive good training to support people with mental health issues?

At so many parishes I have attended, there is often so very little to offer other than the mass and confirmation classes. Sometimes, there is a bible study offered, but often there is not one at all.

As far as educational classes, I'm thinking that they would need to have someone who was an "expert" come in and do instructional classes, and that would mean time and money to fit them into the schedule.

Perhaps. mental disturbances are viewed as nothing but criminal activity, as most members seem to view people who have disturbances as having drug and alcohol issues.

Others seem to feel that its a result of sin, in that they have not put their faith in Christ, so any depression, anxiety or other issues are the result of not following their faith or even having one.

I get the distinct impression that if ones doesn't come to mass, they are judged harshly for their problems, and viewed as sinners who are going to hell.

We must repent, sure, however, leading others to Christ seems to be left out as any sort of church activity, as its viewed mostly as an activity for the Holy spirit to take care of, so most just do not even consider it.

Most claim being just too busy with life to participate in helping others, so the donation boxes seem to do all the work for them, alleviating them of any responsibility, because throwing in a few bucks or a can of soup or putting mittens on the mitten tree is "helping."

Any requirements for learning more, no doubt would have to be made by our Bishop.

Initiation is stiffed therefore by being made to follow the hierarchy.

Appealing to the bishop could be done I guess, but there is no guarantee he would even read your letter or email at all, let alone authorize any ideas as being feasible.

There have been on fire Catholics such as myself, who have discovered that politics and selfishness and the patriarchy kill them off from actually doing anything for the church.

They have killed themselves off then, and wonder why the church is dying.

 

[The Liturgist]

I would have thought humanism would have reflected Christianity's high view of - well - humans. And humanism has a long history as a strand of thought within Christianity (consider Erasmus, for example, and others of his time).

Indeed, the new interest in Christian humanism was responsible for the huge growth in European universities - which were still at the time predominantly religious organizations mostly run by the Catholic Church and her various religious orders, something reflected to this day in the naming of colleges at Oxford and Cambridge.*

*Blackfriars was Dominican, Whitefriars was Carmelite, and Greyfriars, which closed a few years ago, was Fransiscan, until Henry VIII stole all their money and left the friars and monks basically to starve. The old names persisted however.