A number of us have asked a good question about our upcoming mental health ministry: How can our facilitators help people if they have no formal training in psychology or counselling?

Here’s the answer from Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, whose resources we’re using and whose advisory board is full of doctors and psychologists: ‘The Sanctuary Course is not a therapeutic intervention.  It is not designed for people in acute crisis, nor is it a form of peer counselling or psychological treatment.  It is an educational resource and a small group experience designed for the whole community… to build a shared language and framework for mental health.  Its purpose is to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and equip ordinary people to support one another well: to know how to show up for someone who is struggling, and crucially, to know when and how to refer someone to professional care.”  So, this is the goal.  But communities have something important to offer, “There are simply not enough professionals to meet the need [of the mental health crisis], and those who are most under-resourced are often the ones least able to access professional care.  What the church can offer… is the gift of sustained, informed, compassionate community.  A good therapist might see someone for fifty minutes once a month.  That person spends the rest of the month needing friends who know how to support them…  This doesn’t diminish or replace the vital role of mental health professionals — it complements it.’

In the Second Reading, St. Paul says: “Brothers and sisters, put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor 13:11).  This letter, Second Corinthians, shows the influence people around us have, for good and for bad.  The Christian community in Corinth had been dividing: Some were turning away from Jesus to worship false gods because they were following popular culture; others were no longer following St. Paul because people outside their community said he wasn’t a qualified apostle.  So, he was trying to reconcile his relationship with them, so that his influence will keep them close to Jesus, leading to eternal life.

One time, some friends and I were going to a reserved dinner and a woman showed up, who only knew one of us.  Because we didn’t know she was coming, she said, ‘Don’t worry about it.  You go without me.’  But the organizer, who didn’t know her, said, ‘No, we’ll make it work!’  During dinner, she shared how she recently became Catholic and was so touched by her church community, and added, ‘And that guy tonight [the organizer].  He’s so…’  She was tearing up.  I said, ‘He’s so sincere.’  She said, ‘Yeah!  He doesn’t want anything from me.  He’s just going out of his way to help.  My whole life I was searching.  I tried everything: partying, drugs, casual relationships.’  She was overwhelmed at finding real community, which is what all churches are meant to be.

St. Paul ends the letter, “Greet one another with a holy kiss [Nothing lustful, but a common practice in the ancient near east].  All the saints greet you [a human love which reflects the love of the Trinity].  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (13:12-13).  This is Who we celebrate today, the Most Holy Trinity: three Persons in one God.  Let’s try to give an explanation of how this is possible, because it relates to our need for community:

Whenever we think about ourselves, the idea we have isn’t completely accurate: Some of us think we’re more beautiful and smarter than we are.  Some of us think they’re unloved when they’re not.  In these cases, our ideas aren’t truthful because they don’t correspond to reality.  The more accurate our idea is the more real it is.  Now, with God, if He were to think of Himself, because He has perfect knowledge, His idea of Himself would be perfect—it’s so accurate, perfect, and real that it’s a distinct Person: the Son.

And when we love each other, it’s never perfect.  We don’t sacrifice everything for each other; the martyrs’ love is relatively perfect, not absolutely perfect like God’s.  So, the more perfect a love is, the more real it is; and the less perfect love is, the less it’s real love.  So, when the Father and Son love each other, it’s perfect love and so real that it’s another distinct Person, the Holy Spirit (Frank Sheed, Theology for Beginners, 33-36).

Because we’re made in the image of these three Persons, we’re made to know the truth about ourselves and to live in loving relationships.  So, e.g., when we read the Bible, we’re getting truth: We’re made by an infinite Father, loved by Him, He has a plan for us, and we’re called to become like Him.  When we scroll on our phones, we often get falsehoods: instant gratification can fill us; virtual relationships are just like real ones.

Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is a psychiatrist and Director of Residency Training at the University of California.  In this book, The Catholic Guide to Depression, he writes, “It is good for one’s mood to be with others (the right kind of people, at least), even if it does not feel so good in the moment.  Waiting too long in the morning before encountering another person is not good for one’s mental health…  Try to find ways to avoid eating alone, and try to seek out cultural or social events with others” (129).

Does anyone come from a family where there’s drama all the time?  We come home?  Drama.  During dinner?  Drama.  Driving?  Drama.  I know some people that, if there’s nothing exciting going on, they’ll create problems so that there’s drama!  But what if we’re surrounded by a community that speaks calmly and thinks rationally, not emotionally, who prays with us and for us?  Regular contact with these people would provide us with a foundation of love, rationality, and spiritual support.

Let’s finish with a quote (incorrectly attributed to St. Clare but still valid) and a call to action: ‘We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.  If we love things, we become a thing.  If we love nothing, we become nothing.’  For months, the Holy Spirit has been inviting us to spend time with Jesus in adoration: 500 of us by January 1, 2027.  Being with Jesus is like being in the sun: just being there allows His light and warmth to touch us.  And, if we go to Him with faith, He will transform our lives.  Regular contact with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is actually the main community with Whom we’re meant to be!  They want us to be with Them and our human community!

In the seminary, we had this star basketball player who received many scholarships before studying for the priesthood.  But he had an aggressive side, ready to argue, ready for a fight.  One time, when we were washing dishes, one of the monks was rude to him.  He was literally taken aback, but I smiled, trying to de-escalate the situation.  I walked him out of the kitchen and he said, ‘I don’t know what this place is doing to me.  A few months ago, I would have decked him.’  He became more like Christ.  Spending time daily with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit helps us to live in the truth and in love.