June 2009

Pentecost Is when the church is born
The priest wears red to remind us of the flame that was over the heads of the apostles.

When we were confirmed we received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and were filled with grace

Some of us were confirmed in Kalamazoo, some in Willamette and some in Nebraska.  In all places it is still the same Spirit. 

The Bishop came and tapped our face or put his hand on our shoulders and we chose new names because we would be new people filled with the Holy Spirit.

Our sponsors prayed with us and for us.    They showed us how to be the people God calls us to be

Because we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are able to live a good Christian, Catholic life.  The Spirit gives us the strength to do right.

---

May 2009

The Beacons of Faith have invited a friend who has mental illness to share a reflection about St. Dymphna the patron saint of persons with mental illness.  Her feast day is May 15.

Hi! I am MSA and I am so happy to share my knowledge of St. Dymphna the Patron Saint of the emotionally and mentally ill.

Dymphna who? I never heard of St. Dymphna until my early 20’s while I was in a hospital for the criminally insane—no I was not a criminal, I had just been booted out of a regular state hospital after 10 straight years for being incorrigible.  I am a person who has a long standing mental illness.  In 1970 some nuns I met gave me a statue, which I still have of St Dymphna and told me her story.  I now I will share what I know with you.

St. Dymphna was an Irish princess whose mother, the Queen was a Christian and her Father, the King was still Pagan.  The King was totally in love and adored the Queen.  Dymphna’s dear mother shared her faith with her daughter and so Princesses Dymphna was a devout Christian.  The household was stable until the Queen died suddenly The King was inconsolable and went  into a deep depression. 

He longed for his dead wife and the people around him could do nothing to sooth him.  One day he called together his soothsayers  and demanded their help.  The soothsayers/astrologers told the king to find another wife as much like the dead queen in appearance and demeanor as possible and wed her.  The King searched his kingdom but there was no young woman who could follow in the footsteps of the late queen.  The soothsayers told him the closest he could get to his beloved wife was his daughter..  So the king in his despair and depression began to court his own daughter.  Dymphna was appalled.  She knew what her Father had in mind was an unholy unthinkable mortal sin. So she rebuffed his advances. 

Dymphna knew that marrying her own father was a grievous sin so she and her confessor seeing no way to stop the King decided to flee which they did.

Dymphna and her confessor ended up in Gheel Belgium. They hid there in plain sight with the ordinary people of the town.  It soon became obvious to all that Dymphna was special she was loving, humble, kind and charitable and the villagers grew to love her.  Dymphna was in Gheel for some time but her Father still Pursued her and sent spies out to find her, and they did.

The King came to Gheel and promised Dymphna gold, riches half his kingdom if only she would marry Him.  Dymphna stood fast in her Christian Belief and said “no” the King went into a psychotic rage and slashed off the head of his only child Dymphna.  Her confessor was beheaded also.  The King went raving away, who knows where.

The villagers hastily buried Dymphna in a care fearing her father might come back and desecrate  her Body. 

miracles were attributed to her and her fame spread as did the village of Gheel.

In Gheel today there is a basicallica and mental hospital holding St. Dymphna’s remains But the exciting thing to me is the villagers who became known for taking in mentally ill people and treating them humanely.  They have to this day a tradition of keeping persons with mental illness in their homes treating them like family, giving them jobs and treating them with total inclusion and integration in their community.

Our Country could use a little of the “Gheelean” sensitivity in the treatment of persons with mental illness.

What impressed me most about St. Dymphna is that she stayed true to her faith and fulfilled God’s commandments of Love God and love your neighbor, this is something I admire and try to emulate as to be like St. Dymphna. 

Though St. Dymphna was not herself mentally ill her father killed her in a mentally ill state.  Later in my life I found out that my father and St. Dymphna’s father had a lot in common which only added to my fight for sanity.

So, this is how St. Dymphna  helped me with my own illness and by following her tradition helping my family which is all persons suffering from a mental illness that I come in contact with

---

A Good Lent Will Give You A Happy Easter!

Lent means Easter is coming and we have to get ready for it.  Here are some thoughts about Lent and getting ready.  We would like to hear your ideas too.

Make a goal for Lent either give up something or do something extra.

Do your best even if you don’t make you goals

Don’t make a goal you know you can’t do.

Don’t cheat; don’t give up spinach if you hate spinach and never eat it anyway.

Read a book or watch a movie about the suffering of Jesus. Some that we like are: The Passion by Mel Gibson,  Jesus of Nazareth & The 10 Commandments

Try to really love your neighbors as yourself even when it’s hard.

Be careful what you say. Don’t use Lent as an excuse to be grumpy.

Don’t just “do” Lent, think about it and become closer to God

Show yourself and show God you can do it.

Read your bible and pray your rosary

Instead of giving up TV just watch better things on TV.

We hope you have a good Lent and are ready for a joyful Easter