Have Mercy On Us And On The Whole World
The digital edition of this column comes out four days after Divine Mercy Sunday; the print edition arrives in mailboxes a day later. I chose the headline above for that reason, but I really was thinking about something far different from Divine Mercy Sunday.
I was thinking about a study published on April 17 that led to headlines like this one from CBS news – “More Americans suffering from stress, anxiety and depression, study finds.”
It may shock you to read this next sentence, but I believe it to be true.
This is not news, friends. We should not be surprised by things that have been happening since Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit.
I bet you’ve heard a definition of sorts – that insanity involves doing the same thing(s) over and over, and expecting a different outcome(s).
From here, that’s not insanity; that’s simply turning away from God.
During Lent, we heard readings from the Old Testament in which God was ready to destroy the very people he created because they had fashioned a molten bull and worshipped it as their god. From here, it’s a good bet that their impatience led to the same kinds of stress, anxiety and depression reported in a 10-day-old study.
Time after time, generation after generation, century after century … people have turned away from God instead of turning toward Him and fortifying their faith. In every instance, they have been left feeling stressed, anxious and depressed. Maybe others have called them by different names; but rest assured, those people had those three emotional crises working in their lives.
What’s this have to do with the latest study, you ask? The one mentioned above?
Our friends at Pew Research reported almost two years ago that belief in God and practice of religion – virtually all religion – was in decline in America. By and large, the numbers appear small and would not serve ass cause for alarm – taken on their own.
What I see, however, is the slippery slope of faithless stress, anxiety and depression causing more people every day to slide off into dark, sometimes-really-bad places.
“What can I do about that,” you ask? “Yeah … I do ask. I’m only one person. I go to Mass every week and I’m active in my parish; but I’m not coming into regular contact with the kind of people who represent the results of that survey on stress, anxiety and depression.”
You don’t think so?
Look around. People in the midst of emotional and spiritual crisis are everywhere. Some of them do a really impressive job of hiding it – so impressive that you might never see the tiniest of telltale signs.
Any time you encounter someone who leaves you sensing that they might have anxiety or stress in their lives, you know what you can do? Ask them if you can pray for them. If they say yet, do it – on the spot. Pray the Our Father … the prayer Jesus taught us.
When you finish that prayer, add this simple prayer – “God in Heaven, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Next Thursday – May 4 – is the National Day of Prayer across our country, and the theme this year focuses on forgiveness and healing. Together, they will eradicate any stress, anxiety or depression in our lives.
Only God can forgive and heal us; he enabled his only begotten Son to die for us to provide healing and forgiveness. Never forget that; never turn you back on God. Oh … and forgive yourself; not doing so creates way to much stress, anxiety and depression in our world already.
