Last year, I went through a bit of an upheaval after my dad passed, and I sought the advice of a Franciscan priest that I've known over the years to get his perspective from a religious point of view. I wasn't looking for medical advice from a priest, and I didn't need it as I have a good psychiatrist for that.
He asked me to tell him my story and what I've been through since converting to Catholicism as a young man and subsequently being diagnosed with a mental illness after having a breakdown in a seminary when I was 26 years old.
I gave him the abridged version of my life in about 20 minutes, and he immediately gave me 3 things to focus on.
1. Manage your sleep well.
2. Eat healthy food.
3. Live a boring life. He said a boring life is a spiritual life.
I laughed at that last one and said I think I can handle that. It took the pressure off of always trying to put on a show for other people. I am happy with my quiet life.
He said he has a regular communicant at the Franciscan shrine where he serves who has pretty severe schizophrenia, and he said you'd never know it to speak to her.
That shrine is dedicated in name to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, and it is in a beautiful setting next to a large gem of a municipal park.
I take my medications religiously and adhere to the good medical advice that I get from doctors, but I need to be fed spiritually as well, and he patiently listened to me and did that for me that day.
Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for us.
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