So today I had an interesting experience before evening Mass… every Sunday evening as an Acolyte I open the Parish Church at 5:30pm to set up and prepare for 6pm Mass. Today when I got to church and I noticed there was someone already inside, even though it was all locked. As I turn on the lights, visit Jesus in the Tabernacle and check how many hosts are there, I notice there’s a 60 year old man man here by himself praying alone who’s never here by himself. So I ask him if he’s ok and starts crying, he tells his wife has schizophrenia and goes through stages of not talking to him, she’s coming out of hospital soon and he’s feeling really overwhelmed. He struggles to look after himself, let alone her and says his son gets frustrated and yells at him instead of helping or supporting him. So I offered to pray for him and asked him if I could pray over him. I laid my hand on his shoulder and prayed over him. Afterwards he gave me a big hug and cried again.
I told him about the 24/7 counselling hotline that is provided by Beyond Blue and also suggested Carers WA because sounds like he has carers burnout, along with his own mental health issues and no support. So I went to the sacristy and wrote the numbers down for him on a peace of paper, he left here smiling, hugged me and thanked me for being a friend.
I reminded him he is not alone, that Jesus loves him and there is support available for him.
Sometimes we can easily overlook the importance of mental health in relation to our faith. Many Christians still have stigma around asking for help or think it means they have weak faith. It is important for us all to know we can reach out for help - but always to be willing to reach out to others and offer them help by listening to them, making them feel valued and loved, just as Jesus loves us.
If you know anyone who needs help or is struggling please refer them to Beyond Blue.
They have a 24/7 free counselling hotline 1300 22 4636
No comments:
Post a Comment