{"id":7881,"date":"2024-03-23T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=7881"},"modified":"2025-03-13T03:33:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T03:33:42","slug":"saints-depression-assumptions-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Saints, Depression, Assumptions, and Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Caspar_David_Friedrich\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20240129ff\/Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Abtei_im_Eichwald_-_Google_Art_Project-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Caspar David Friedrich's 'Abtei im Eichwald' \/ 'The Abbey in the Oakwood', (1809-1810) from Alte Nationalgalerie, via Wikimedia Commons\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caspar David Friedrich&#8217;s &#8220;Abtei im Eichwald&#8221;, &#8220;The Abbey in the Oakwood&#8221;. (1809-1810)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I did a Google search for [patron saint depression] the other day, and got this gem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;How did the Saints deal with depression?&#8221;<br>[redacted]<br>[August 2023] &#8220;There is no evidence they had depression, they lived in faith, that Everything is controlled by God, and they accepted God&#8217;s Will in all \u2026&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Not long before, someone in an online conversation had said &#8216;I&#8217;m dealing with depression, and need help&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with potentially-helpful responses, someone chastised the supplicant. Seems that good Christians trust God and never experience such things as depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That gave me this week&#8217;s topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#dealing\"><strong>Dealing With Depression \u2014 and Suicide<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#depression\">Depression, Faith, and Making Decisions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#assorted\"><strong>Assorted Saints<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#teresa\">Teresa of \u00c1vila: Mystic and Troublemaker<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#becoming\">Becoming a Saint<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#cultural\">Cultural Legacies and a Disclaimer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#joao\">Jo\u00e3o Duarte Cidade, AKA Saint John of God<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#saint\">Saint Benedict Joseph Labre<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#poverty\"><strong>Poverty, Terminal Illness, and Ham Sandwiches<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#doing\"><strong>Doing My Daily Prayers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#dark\"><strong>Dark Night of the Soul<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#moment\">&#8220;&#8230;The Moment Passed&#8230;.&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"dealing\"><\/a>Dealing With Depression \u2014 and Suicide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/st-jude-judas-thaddaeus-patron-saint-of-desperate-cases\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20220711ff\/20220808-799px-Cathedral_of_Saint_Jude_the_Apostle_interior_-_St_Petersburg_01-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Farragutful's photo: St. Jude the Apostle Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Florida. (July 26, 2017)\"><\/a>I&#8217;d done the Google search because I&#8217;d been asked to pray for someone who&#8217;s dealing with depression, and for someone else who&#8217;s suicidal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About that: suicide is a bad idea and I shouldn&#8217;t do it. Nobody should. But giving up on someone who&#8217;s done it isn&#8217;t an option, not if I&#8217;m going to act as if what I believe matters. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2280-2283)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.&#8221;<br>(Catechism, 2283)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason suicide is a bad idea is, basically, that my life is precious. So is yours, and everyone&#8217;s: even when it doesn&#8217;t feel like it is. I&#8217;ll get back to that, very briefly, after listing a few resources. Starting with a phone number \u2014 988 \u2014 and a web page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\">988 Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline<\/a><br>&#8220;&#8230;988 Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Not everyone lives in the United States. And as important as crisis hotlines are: there&#8217;s more to life than crisis hotlines. With that in mind, here are a few resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/websearch\/answer\/11181469\">Get help &amp; support for suicide<\/a><br>Help Center, Google Search Help<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nimh.nih.gov\/health\/topics\/suicide-prevention\">Suicide Prevention<\/a><br>(If you or someone you know is in crisis\/What is suicide?\/What are the warning signs of suicide?\/What are the risk factors for suicide?\/&#8230;)<br>Mental Health Information, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/prolife\/killing-pain-not-patient-palliative-care-vs-assisted-suicide\">Killing the Pain, Not the Patient: Palliative Care vs. Assisted Suicide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/resources\/Novena%20for%20Mental%20Health%209-Days.pdf\">Novena for Mental Health<\/a> (These are prayers: no offense, and no pressure)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/resources\/Novena%20for%20Mental%20Health-Day%208.pdf\">Day 8 \u2014 Suicide Awareness<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/committees\/pro-life-activities\/youth-suicidal-behavior\">Youth Suicidal Behavior<\/a>&#8220;, Daniel Brown, M.A., Art A. Bennett, M.A.; Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"depression\"><\/a>Depression, Faith, and Making Decisions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/prescription-quest-another-months-epic-saga\/#august\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150207-467px-Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_002-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Vincent van Gogh's Sorrowing Old Man' or 'At Eternity's Gate.' (1890)\"><\/a>Responding to someone&#8217;s plea for help with depression with &#8220;There is no evidence [that Saints] had depression, they lived in faith&#8230;.&#8221; struck me as being about as helpful as giving a drowning man an anchor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe the person who wrote that really believes that someone who &#8220;has faith&#8221; can&#8217;t experience depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s not how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since I&#8217;m a Catholic, I think that believing is possible only through the grace of God, and workings of the Holy Spirit. <strong>And<\/strong> that it is something I do, using my intellect and my will: deliberately cooperating with God. (Catechism, 154-155)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s more to it. (Catechism 143-165, for starters)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feelings, emotions, &#8220;passions&#8221; in Catholic-speak, are very real. And they&#8217;re an important part of being human. They connect &#8220;the life of the senses and the life of the mind&#8221;. (Catechism, 1763-1764)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By themselves, feelings aren&#8217;t good or bad. They&#8217;re just <strong>there<\/strong>. What I decide to do with my feelings: that&#8217;s where ethics, choosing between right and wrong, get involved. (Catechism, 1787-1770, 1776-1794, and more)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether I call depression a mental health disorder, psychiatric condition, or mood disorder: it&#8217;s real, and not the sort of blue mood that a good joke or a glass of lemonade can cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also in the list of disorders I deal with, which include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ADHD: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ASD: Autism spectrum disorder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cluster A personality disorder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PDD: Persistent depressive disorder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PTSD: Post traumatic stress disorder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As I&#8217;ve said before, I&#8217;m a mess: but I keep trying to work with what I&#8217;ve got.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"assorted\"><\/a>Assorted Saints<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-magi-meds-and-me\/#using\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20160816-399px-Z_domingo_savio-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Anonymous artist's depiction of  Dominic Savio, from a prayer card. (before 1900) Via Wikipedia, used w\/o permission.\"><\/a>Some &#8216;lives of the Saints&#8217; books give the impression that Saints were perfect people whose inhuman cheerfulness was matched only by their sappy soundbites. And who usually died of Victorian Novel Disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There really are Saints who fit that pattern, at least to an extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take Dominc Savio, for example.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;In 1857, 15-year-old Dominic contracted tuberculosis and was sent home to recover. He died shortly after his return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;On his deathbed, Dominic prayed, &#8216;Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony!&#8217; A change came over him and he sat up to say his final words: &#8216;What beautiful things I see!&#8217;&#8230;&#8221;<br>(&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/clarionherald.org\/news\/march-9-feast-day-of-st-dominic-savio\">March 9: Feast Day of St. Dominic Savio<\/a>&#8220;, Clarion Herald, Official Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans (February 15, 2012))<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m a very sentimental man, very emotional at any rate, and St. Dominic Savio&#8217;s last words inspire a homesickness of sorts: for a home I&#8217;ve never seen. But stories of the Saints like his aren&#8217;t the reason I became a Catholic, and that&#8217;s another topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"teresa\"><\/a>Teresa of \u00c1vila: Mystic and Troublemaker<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/california-fires-2017\/#sleep\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150221-Peter_Paul_Rubens_138-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Peter Paul Rubens: 'Hl. Therese von Avila' \/ 'Teresa of \u00c1vila', oil on oak wood. (ca. 1615)\"><\/a>Many Saints <strong>aren&#8217;t<\/strong> like Dominic Savio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teresa of \u00c1vila was, among other things, a Carmelite nun who thought her order had gotten entirely too easy-going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think she was right, but quite a few of her fellow-nuns didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They&#8217;d gone through proper channels, getting official approval, when they eased up on the rules. Pope Eugene IV, for example, okayed rule changes about eating meat and being silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Teresa&#8217;s time, about a century later, &#8216;observance lite&#8217; wasn\u2019t doing much to protect and strengthen the spirit and practice of prayer. That was Teresa&#8217;s view, anyway.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#2\">2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point I&#8217;m groping for is that Saints, even Saints who are famous mystics, don&#8217;t necessarily fit the &#8216;plaster statue&#8217; stereotype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"becoming\"><\/a>Becoming a Saint<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Peter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20240129ff\/20240320-St_Peter_Rembrandt_Harmensz_van_Rijn-Nationalmuseum-18352-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn's 'Saint Peter', oil on canvas. (1632) Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.\" align=\"right\"><\/a>I&#8217;ll grant that Saints aren&#8217;t &#8220;normal&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If they were, then they wouldn&#8217;t be Saints: or, rather, we&#8217;d <strong>all<\/strong> be Saints. Which would be nice, but isn&#8217;t going to happen, barring miracles; not just now, and I&#8217;m wandering off-topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is as good a place as any for a (very) quick look at what makes someone a Saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;<strong>CANONIZATION:<\/strong> The solemn declaration by the Pope that a deceased member of the faithful may be proposed as a model and intercessor to the Christian faithful and venerated as a saint on the basis of the fact that the person lived a life of heroic virtue or remained faithful to God through martyrdom (828; cf. 957).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;<strong>SAINT:<\/strong> The &#8216;holy one&#8217; who leads a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and receives the reward of eternal life. The Church is called the communion of saints, of the holy ones (823, 946; cf. 828). See Canonization.&#8221;<br>(Glossary, Catechism of the Catholic Church)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Living &#8220;a life of heroic virtue&#8221; would be possible for someone who works up a sweat while turning a book&#8217;s pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But frailty isn&#8217;t required. Saint Peter was a fisherman before Jesus recruited him, and Pope Saint John Paul II enjoyed both skiing and kayaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a Christian, my goal is \u2014 should be \u2014 becoming a Saint. Which doesn&#8217;t mean I should have a death wish, although Saints are, by definition, dead and in Heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That reminds me: folks the Church recognizes as Saints are the officially canonized ones. After two millennia, it&#8217;s an extensive roster: but not a complete one.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#3\">3<\/a><\/sup> I&#8217;m about as sure as I can be about anything that there are a very great many unlisted Saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"cultural\"><\/a>Cultural Legacies and a Disclaimer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pax-romana-augustus-to-nero\/#after\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170624-Popish_Plot_Playcard2-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"In The British Museum's collection: 'Complete pack of 52 playing-cards depicting the Popish Plot; suit-mark and value at top; description at bottom.' Francis Barlow, formerly attributed to William Faithorne. (1679)\"><\/a>Again, Saints aren&#8217;t your average Catholics. If they were, we&#8217;d be living in a very different world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some, like Hildegard of Bingen, weren&#8217;t exactly &#8220;average&#8221; in the sense of having nothing but living as if God matters to make them stand out. She was an administrator, author, composer, and scientist before &#8220;science&#8221; was a thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Others \u2014 well, living on a pillar where folks can watch them not eat will get attention, no matter what&#8217;s motivating the behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I haven&#8217;t forgotten about Saints, depression, and making sense; but first I&#8217;ll take a quick look at Saints who chose unconventional career paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A very quick look, since I don&#8217;t feel up to sorting through my available resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between a previous century&#8217;s taste for schmaltzy &#8216;lives of the Saints&#8217;, and living in a culture that&#8217;s been occasionally dominated by folks who think Henry VIII&#8217;s personal church is entirely too Popish<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#4\">4<\/a><\/sup> \u2014 finding the Saint under the schmaltz and screed is a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, with the disclaimer that these are sketchy descriptions, here goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"joao\"><\/a>Jo\u00e3o Duarte Cidade, AKA Saint John of God<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brooklynmuseum.org\/opencollection\/objects\/678\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20240129ff\/20240320-Brooklyn_Museum_-_St._John_of_God_-_Pedro_Nolasco_y_Lara_-_overall-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Anonymous artist's 'St. John of God', oil on canvas, in the Cuzco School style. (ca. 1701-1800) Brooklyn Museum via Wikipedia, used w\/o permission.\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;St. John of God&#8221;, 18th century painting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>St. John of God started life as Jo\u00e3o Duarte Cidade. He was kidnapped, seduced, or became the student of a priest \u2014 take your pick. Then he was a homeless orphan or apprenticed to a shepherd or maybe a farmer \u2014 again, take your pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The farmer wanted Jo\u00e3o to marry his daughter, but Jo\u00e3o signed up with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V&#8217;s army, under the Count of Oropesa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After <strong>not<\/strong> being executed for alleged collusion in theft, he went back to the farm. Four years later, he re-joined the Count of Oropesa. A few stops after that, he was in Africa, herding sheep. Which gave him time to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long story short, Jo\u00e3o renamed himself John of God, peddled books in Granada, where he listened to John of \u00c1vila. Then \u2014 by standards of his day \u2014 he snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The year was 1537.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acting like a lunatic \u2014 publicly beating himself, begging for mercy, repenting his sins \u2014 got him dropped into a local loony bin. There he was chained, flogged, and starved: which was standard therapy at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my youth, he might have been lobotomized. Times change, and we learn: slowly, but we do learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John of \u00c1vila had his own problems. He&#8217;d said that wealth doesn&#8217;t buy tickets to Heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That offended the usual suspects, and got John of \u00c1vila turned over to the Spanish Inquisition: but since the charges were bogus, that ended with his being cleared and released. The Spanish Inquisition \u2014 is yet another topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long story short, Jo\u00e3o Duarte Cidade became a health care worker of sorts: suspected by decent folks, due to his mental health issues; supported by priests who realized that he was helping folks who needed help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These days we know him as Saint John of God.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#5\">5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"saint\"><\/a>Saint Benedict Joseph Labre<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Benedict_Joseph_Labre\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20240129ff\/20240321-459px-Cavallucci_-_San_Benedetto_Giuseppe_Labre-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Antonio Cavallucci's 'Saint Benedict Joseph Labre', oil on canvas. (1795)\"><\/a>&#8216;Stories of Seriously Sappy Saints&#8217; don&#8217;t top my reading list. But I realize that some really did fit the swooning Saint stereotype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of those is Benedict Joseph Labre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was the oldest child of a well-to-do or middle class \u2014 like I said before, take your pick \u2014 family. As a child, Benedict was studious, and \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;Even at that tender age he had begun to show a marked predilection for the spirit of mortification, with an aversion for the ordinary childish amusements, and he seems from the very dawning of reason to have had the liveliest horror for even the smallest sin. All this we are told was coexistent with a frank and open demeanor and a fund of cheerfulness which remained unabated to the end of his life&#8230;.&#8221;<br>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/02442a.htm\">St. Benedict Joseph Labre<\/a>, Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) via New Advent)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Already you know which way this is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benedict tried to sign up with the Trappists, but didn&#8217;t qualify. Among other things, he was too &#8220;delicate&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He didn&#8217;t, however, die during an epidemic that killed his uncle. They&#8217;d both been working with the sick and dying; so I figure that if nothing else, young Benedict had a robust immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two other monastic orders turned him down, so Benedict settled on becoming homeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;Foolishness for Christ&#8217; has precedents: like Alexius of Rome and Saint Roch. And we&#8217;ve got mendicant religious orders: focusing on working with the poor, relying entirely on handouts and the good will of neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually, malnutrition and exhaustion caught up with Benedict. He died in April of 1783, after being taken \u2014 against his wishes \u2014 to a house behind the Santa Maria dei Monti in Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There you have it: the intelligent son of a decent middle-class family turned his back on conventional values and rejected the materialistic mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From some viewpoints, he must have been nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Me? I grew up in the Sixties. I wasn&#8217;t, by a wide margin, the craziest of &#8216;those crazy kids&#8217;. But opting out of the rat race?<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#6\">6<\/a><\/sup> It&#8217;s a decision I could and can understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buying stuff I don&#8217;t need, with money I don&#8217;t have, to impress people I don&#8217;t like \u2014 never made sense to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"poverty\"><\/a>Poverty, Terminal Illness, and Ham Sandwiches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/jobs-friends\/#accepting\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150124-800px-Victor_Dubreuil_-_Money_to_Burn_oil_on_canvas_1893-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Victor Dubreuil's 'Money to Burn', oil on canvas. (1893)\"><\/a>Given my native culture&#8217;s assumptions, I&#8217;d better re-emphasize that world-class poverty and terminal illness are <strong>not<\/strong> what make Saints saintly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s &#8216;living a life of heroic virtue or remaining faithful to God through martyrdom&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Malnutrition can be a by-product of extreme focus on something other than keeping body and soul connected. But I&#8217;m not at all convinced that self-starvation is a good idea. Researching that would involve more time and energy that I have this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe it&#8217;s not obvious, but I think Saints are genuinely holy folks. And I think visions really happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also think that swoons are real, that they&#8217;re not necessarily visions, and that eating a ham sandwich or two can be a really good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;\u2026These swoons should be eliminated as much as possible; they should be resisted and the organism strengthened by more substantial food\u2026.&#8221;<br>(&#8220;The Three Ages of the Interior Life: Prelude of Eternal Life,&#8221; Part 4, Ch. 51; Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (1938-1939) via <a href=\"https:\/\/christianperfection.info\/tta102.php\">christianperfection.info<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, about Saints and making sense \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Were John of God and Benedict Joseph Labre loonies? Maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are they Saints? Definitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does than mean (all) Saints are crazy? Hardly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"doing\"><\/a>Doing My Daily Prayers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/cancer-in-the-family\/#another\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170218-Fog_near_Baden%2C_Austria-trim-greyscale-329.JPG?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Sb2s3's photo of a foggy road near near Baden, Austria. (2015) via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.\"><\/a>Oh, boy. Knew I&#8217;d forgotten something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An explanation for that prayer request I got.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the few things I can do for my neighbors is pray. That&#8217;s why I signed up for my parish&#8217;s intercessory prayer chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Intercessory prayer&#8221; is a fancy name for praying on another person&#8217;s behalf. I think it makes sense: but I&#8217;ll grant that it assumes God, my neighbors, and me exist \u2014 that we&#8217;re all people \u2014 and that&#8217;s a whole mess of topics for another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point is that I&#8217;ve got a pile of Post-it<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> notes in a file folder. Each has at least one prayer request on it. The pile is about halfway through my &#8216;daily prayers&#8217; sheets. When a new request comes in, I put it on top of the pile, removing the oldest request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I won&#8217;t claim that this is the best way to handle such things. But for me, it&#8217;s how I make sure I actually do my prayers each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s Friday afternoon as I&#8217;m writing this, so you&#8217;re in luck: there&#8217;s no time for a long look at prayer, prayers, praying, and all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The short version is that prayer is important. It&#8217;s always possible. But it&#8217;s not always easy. (Catechism, 2697-2865)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s more about intercessory prayer, the Saints, and being part of a (huge) family of faith. (Catechism, 954-959)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if I talk about that, there&#8217;ll be no time for the dark night of the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"dark\"><\/a>Dark Night of the Soul<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kofc.org\/en\/news-room\/columbia\/2010\/june\/light-amid-darkness.html\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20240129ff\/20240319-mother-teresa-satue-article-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Photo and opening paragraphs of 'The Light Amid the Darkness \/ Understanding the Heroic Faith and Love of Mother Teresa In View of Her Dark Night of the Soul, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, Missionaries of Charity; Columbia Magazine; Knights of Columbus (June 30, 2010)\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;The Light Amid the Darkness&#8221;, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, Missionaries of Charity (June 30, 2010)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Saint John of the Cross \u2014 he&#8217;s one of 39 Doctors of the Church \u2014 they&#8217;re folks who&#8217;ve been recognized as significantly adding to what we know about what we believe \u2014 and if I go down that rabbit hole, I&#8217;ll still be writing this next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>St. John of the Cross was in prison during the late 1570s. He was, from one viewpoint, conspiring with <a name=\"teresa\"><\/a>Teresa of \u00c1vila: and that&#8217;s yet again another topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or maybe not so much. A pattern I&#8217;ve noticed with Saints is that they often get in trouble with the powers that be. Then again, some of them <strong>were<\/strong> the powers that be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point is that time in prison gave St. John of the Cross time to think. Odds are very good that he sketched out his poem, &#8220;La noche oscura del alma&#8221;, then. In my language it&#8217;s called &#8220;Dark Night of the Soul&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few years later, in 1584 and 1585, he explained the poem, one stanza at a time. It&#8217;s his &#8220;Declaraci\u00f3n&#8221; treatise.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#7\">7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I gather that one of the points in &#8220;Dark Night of the Soul&#8221; is that dry patches happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That knowledge is comforting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, \u2014 make that quite often \u2014 I don&#8217;t feel much like praying. Apparently it&#8217;s not just me. (Catechism, 2728, 2731)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m no Saint \u2014 that&#8217;s a goal and emphatically a work in progress \u2014 but &#8220;dark night of the soul&#8221; strikes a chord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doing what is needed at the moment, even though all the light and color has drained out of my world, has often been just the way things were. It&#8217;s been like that since my 12th year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happily, faith is a matter of the will and reason, not how I&#8217;m feeling at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"moment\"><\/a>&#8220;&#8230;The Moment Passed&#8230;.&#8221;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/mother-teresa-the-moment-passed\/#ready\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/Thomas_Cole_-_The_Voyage_of_Life_Youth_1840_Munson-Williams-Proctor_Arts_Institute-329-detail.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Detail, Thomas Cole's 'The Voyage of Life: Youth', oil on canvas. (1840) Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio; via Wikipedia, used w\/o permssion.\"><\/a>Not everyone \u2014 and not all Saints \u2014 experience spiritual dryness, a stretch of life that&#8217;s singularly devoid of the emotional perks folks associate with \u2018being spiritual&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But some have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And Mother Teresa of Calcutta may hold the world record for experiencing a spiritual &#8216;dry patch&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s been a while since I&#8217;ve read expressions of shock and horror over a Saint not conforming to my culture&#8217;s notion of &#8216;being a Saint&#8217;. Can&#8217;t say that I miss them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was going to talk about Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity,<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/#8\">8<\/a><\/sup> but it&#8217;s late: and I still have today&#8217;s prayers looming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here&#8217;s something Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;Often I wonder what does really God get from me in this state \u2014 no faith, no love \u2014 not even in feelings. The other day I can&#8217;t tell you how bad I felt. \u2014 There was a moment when I nearly refused to accept. \u2014 <strong>Deliberately I took the Rosary and very slowly and without even meditating or thinking \u2014 I said it slowly and calmly. The moment passed<\/strong> \u2014 but the darkness is so dark, and the pain is so painful. \u2014 But I accept whatever He gives and I give whatever He takes. People say they are drawn closer to God \u2014 seeing my strong faith. \u2014 is this not deceiving people? Every time I have wanted to tell the truth \u2014 \u2018that I have no faith&#8217; \u2014 the words just do not come \u2014 my mouth remains closed. \u2014 And yet I still keep on smiling at God and all&#8230;.&#8221;<br>(Letter to Bishop Lawrence Trevor Picachy (September 1962), as quoted in &#8220;Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light&#8221; (2009) by Brian Kolodiejchuk, 2009, p. 238; via <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Mother_Teresa#1960s\">Wikiquote<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s the sort of faith I can take seriously: something that still works, even when emotions are pulling the other way, and starting prayers is an act of cold determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve talked about that, and vaguely-related stuff, before:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/prescription-quest-another-months-epic-saga\/\">Prescription Quest: Another Month&#8217;s Epic Saga<\/a>&#8220;<br>(September 9, 2023)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/euthanasia-for-the-mentally-ill-not-a-good-idea\/\">Euthanasia for the Mentally Ill: Not a Good Idea?<\/a>&#8220;<br>(January 18, 2023)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/st-jude-judas-thaddaeus-patron-saint-of-desperate-cases\/\">St. Jude, Judas Thaddaeus: Patron Saint of Desperate Cases<\/a>&#8220;<br>(August 13, 2022)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/still-rejoicing\/\">Still Rejoicing<\/a>&#8220;<br>(July 2, 2017)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/mother-teresa-the-moment-passed\/\">Mother Teresa: &#8216;The Moment Passed&#8217;<\/a>&#8220;<br>(September 4, 2016)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> A young Saint:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dominic_Savio\">Dominic Savio<\/a> (Domenico Savio)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cevang\/p_missionary_works\/infantia\/documents\/rc_ic_infantia_doc_20090324_boletin12p11_en.html\">Saint Dominic Savio<\/a><br>(&#8220;So Young and Already So Holy&#8221;), Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.franciscanmedia.org\/saint-of-the-day\/saint-dominic-savio\/\">Saint Dominic Savio<\/a><br>Saint of the Day, Franciscan Media (March 10)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"2\"><\/a>2<\/sup> Saints and a stereotype:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carmelites\">Carmelites<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_Eugene_IV\">Pope Eugene IV<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila\">Teresa of \u00c1vila<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/ldysinger.stjohnsem.edu\/@texts2\/1208_carmelites\/00a_start.htm\">The Carmelites<\/a>,&#8221;<br>Resource for a workshop held at Saint Andrew&#8217;s Abbey, Valyermo, California; St. John&#8217;s Seminary (1990)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/VictorianNovelDisease\">Victorian Novel Disease<\/a><br>TV Tropes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>My take on two troublesome Teresas and Juan\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/mother-teresa-the-moment-passed\/\">Mother Teresa: &#8216;The Moment Passed&#8217;<\/a>&#8221; (September 4, 2016)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/mother-teresa-the-moment-passed\/#teresa\">Teresa: a Troublemaker<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/mother-teresa-the-moment-passed\/#juan\">Juan: Hardcore Faith<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"3\"><\/a>3<\/sup> Saints, a little background:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Canonization\">Canonization<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_John_Paul_II\">Pope John Paul II<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Peter\">Saint Peter<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pre-apostle jobs of Peter and his brother Andrew; James and John, sons of Zebedee\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/matthew\/4#48004018\">Matthew 4: 18<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/matthew\/4#48004022\">22<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/mark\/1#49001016\">Mark 1:16<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/mark\/1#49001020\">20<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/luke\/5#50005001\">Luke 5:1<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/luke\/5#50005011\">11<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/offices\/public-affairs\/saints\">Saints<\/a><br>Public Affairs, USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"4\"><\/a>4<\/sup> Attitudes, assumptions, a little history, and a Saint:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-Catholicism_in_literature_and_media\">Anti-Catholicism<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-Catholicism_in_literature_and_media\">Anti-Catholicism in literature and media<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-Catholicism_in_the_United_Kingdom\">Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-Catholicism_in_the_United_States\">Anti-Catholicism in the United States<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-Catholicism\">Anti-Catholicism<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Church_of_England\">Church of England<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Desert_Fathers\">Desert Fathers<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Henry_VIII\">Henry VIII<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hildegard_of_Bingen\">Hildegard of Bingen<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maria_Monk\">Maria Monk<\/a> (author of the perennial best-seller &#8220;Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk, or, The Hidden Secrets of a Nun&#8217;s Life in a Convent Exposed&#8221; (1836))<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Popery\">Popery<\/a> (Popish Papism: the offense of being insufficiently anti-Catholic)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Popish_Plot\">Popish Plot<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Roch\">Stylite<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"5\"><\/a>5<\/sup> Two Saints, and psychosurgery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_of_%C3%81vila\">John of \u00c1vila<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_of_God\">John of God<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lobotomy\">Lobotomy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) via New Advent\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/08469a.htm\">Bl. [now Saint] John of Avila<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/08472c.htm\">St. John of God<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"6\"><\/a>6<\/sup> More Saints, and something I opted out of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alexius_of_Rome\">Alexius of Rome<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Benedict_Joseph_Labre\">Benedict Joseph Labre<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Foolishness_for_Christ\">Foolishness for Christ<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/La_Trappe_Abbey\">La Trappe Abbey<\/a> (home of the Trappists)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mendicant_orders\">Mendicant orders<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rat_race\">Rat race<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Roch\">Saint Roch<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Santa_Maria_ai_Monti\">Santa Maria ai Monti<\/a> (AKA Santa Maria dei Monti, Madonna dei Monti)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trappists\">Trappists<\/a> (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Latin: Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, formerly known as the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) via New Advent\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/01307b.htm\">St. Alexius<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/02442a.htm\">St. Benedict Joseph Labre<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/13100c.htm\">St. Roch<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"7\"><\/a>7<\/sup> Saints and faith:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul\">Dark Night of the Soul<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Doctor_of_the_Church\">Doctor of the Church<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_of_the_Cross\">John of the Cross<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kalighat_Home_for_the_Dying\">Leopold III, Margrave of Austria<\/a> (former Margrave of Austria, Saint)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Missionaries_of_Charity\">Saint Thorlak<\/a> (Thorlak Thorhallsson, former Bishop of Sk\u00e1lholt, patron saint of Iceland)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/William_of_Gellone\">William of Gellone<\/a> (former Duke of Toulouse, Saint)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) via New Advent\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/14621a.htm\">Mystical Theology<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/08480a.htm\">St. John of the Cross<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"8\"><\/a>8<\/sup> A 20th century Saint:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kalighat_Home_for_the_Dying\">Kalighat Home for the Dying<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Missionaries_of_Charity\">Missionaries of Charity<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mother_Teresa\">Mother Teresa<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/church\/news\/2021-12\/india-mother-teresa-missionaries-foreign-funds-fcra.html\">Missionaries of Charity face delayed approval of foreign funding<\/a>&#8220;<br>Linda Bordoni, Vatican News (December 28, 2021)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kofc.org\/en\/news-room\/columbia\/2010\/june\/light-amid-darkness.html\">The Light Amid the Darkness<\/a>&#8220;<br>Understanding the Heroic Faith and Love of Mother Teresa In View of Her Dark Night of the Soul, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, Missionaries of Charity; Columbia Magazine; Knights of Columbus (June 30, 2010)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I did a Google search for [patron saint depression] the other day, and got this gem: &#8220;How did the Saints deal with depression?&#8221;[redacted][August 2023] &#8220;There is no evidence they had depression, they lived in faith, that Everything is controlled by &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/saints-depression-assumptions-and-me\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"How I see faith, Saints, depression, making sense, and emotions. Along with a quick look at John of the Cross, Benedict Joseph Labre, and ham sandwiches.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Saints, Depression, Assumptions, and Me","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[215,154,192],"tags":[63,64,27,85,91,62,115],"class_list":["post-7881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-being-catholic","category-discursive-detours","category-journal","tag-dark-night-of-the-soul","tag-faith","tag-history","tag-mental-health","tag-prayer","tag-saints","tag-suicide"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-237","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7881"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8964,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7881\/revisions\/8964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}