Parish clergy and staff are often on the frontlines, dealing with mental health issues, and we know it can be a challenge. After all, you provide spiritual care, not necessarily psychological care – though the two are completely intertwined. If you’re looking for some informal assistance while you are busy helping parishioners, check out the Saint Dymphna’s Playbook podcast. Host Tommy Tighe is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a committed Catholic. He dedicates entire episodes to questions of scrupulosity, depression, anxiety in prayer, and so on. He often interviews guests who are also licensed in various mental health specialties and are active Catholics.
According to Franciscan Media, “…Shortly after her death, five “lunatics” wandered to the countryside where she was killed, and slept the night there, only to awaken cured. She has since been invoked as the patron of those suffering from nervous, mental, and spiritual afflictions. A church was built on this site, only to be destroyed by fire in 1489, and rebuilt in 1532. The church remains to the present day, and has been joined by a house for the mentally ill that often houses as many as 1,500 patients.”
If you find a favorite episode, let us know and we’ll share it with your fellow CSM subscribers! Again, that’s the Saint Dymphna’s Playbook podcast, available here. And while you’re at it, make sure you also check out Every Knee Shall Bow for evangelization tips.
