If you’re so depressed you can’t get off the floor, how can you get into the confessional?
Talking about mental health isn’t easy. And when you throw faith into the mix it often becomes even harder. Many Catholics mistakenly think that needing mental health treatment amounts to a kind of spiritual failure. This week, we talk with writer Simcha Fisher, author of The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning, about how she learned to balance her Catholic faith and therapy.
Our conversation is about our own experiences with therapy and mental health struggles. We know it’s hard. If you’d like to share your experiences with us, feel free to write us an email, anonymous or not. However, none of us are mental health professionals. We can (and do) recommend that you seek professional treatment if you’re experiencing mental distress of any kind.
Many Catholics mistakenly think that needing mental health treatment amounts to a kind of spiritual failure.
And in Signs of the Times, for our listeners who have been anxiously awaiting an update, the stolen relic of St. John Bosco has been found—inside a teapot! In papal news, Pope Francis urges parents to “stop pretending to be adolescents”; and he meets with NFL legends, including Curtis Martin, Ronnie Lott and Franco Harris. We also pause to talk about Britanny Hamama, a University of Michigan junior whose Iraqi-Christian father was detained by ICE agents while her family was preparing to attend Mass.
And finally, following the acquittal of Jeronimo Yanez in the 2016 killing of Philando Castile, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis calls for unity and urges “individuals and parish families to be promoters of authentic dialogue and encounter” during these times.
You can subscribe to Jesuitical on iTunes. While you’re there, please leave us a rating and review! Also, tell your friends, roommates, classmates, campus minister, eucharistic minister and your Twitter fam about Jesuitical.
And, as always, we want to hear from you. Leave us a comment or a consolation and/or desolation here, write us at jesuitical@americamedia.org or find us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, @AshleyMcKinless, @OlgaMSegura and @zacdayvis.
Links from the show:
I thought Good Catholics didn’t need therapy. Then I went.
Italian police recover stolen relic of St. John Bosco
Pope: Don’t pretend to be teens; help youths see blessings of adulthood
Pope seeks “culture of encounter” during meeting with NFL legends
Archbishop Hebda Calls for Unity After Verdict in Philando Castile Case
Deporting my Iraqi-Christian dad would be a death sentence. Why I’m praying for justice.
What’s on tap?
Leftover monastic Belgian beers from Ohio from Steven Grant. Thanks Steven!