‘tis the
season for upcoming vacations. The weather instills a yearning for easier and
more leisure living. Warm weather seems to entice us to engage in activities
that are less laborious and more personally refreshing.
What are
vacations for? I know when I was in school, it was a time to get caught up.
Most of my vacations were spent writing term papers. Without vacations, I don’t
think it would have passed many courses. Even now, I’m afraid to leave the
routine of daily living for fear of coming back to a pile of papers and a
computer full of emails.
No matter
who we are, everyone knows the vacations are to refresh us, spiritually and
physically and emotionally. We spend our vacations in such a variety of ways it’s
hard to enumerate them all. Some travel; some work on their second homes, the so-called
cabins; some do leisure reading; some develop a different skin color; some
totally immersed themselves in hobbies like: gardening, sailing, painting,
biking, blacksmithing, wood carving, and candle making; some spend time with
their families; some dedicate their vacations in doing nothing. Maybe you are
one of those who do a combination of a few of these things.
Whatever you
end up doing during the summer months, I pray that you have, that is, make time
for quiet and contemplative reflection on God’s presence and generosity. For
many of us, it is difficult to sit still for very long. It takes practice,
discipline and appreciation of the value of just sitting. Some would say that
this is doing absolutely nothing. The art of being present to presence is not
valued in this culture. How many of you have taken advantage of the opportunity
that the Saturday morning centering prayer affords us in the parish? Centering
prayer is truly a good way to develop another aspect of what it means to be on vacation.
If vacation means freedom from duty or measure of productivity, then centering
prayer can do much to teach us how to let go of agendas, performance, and
accomplishments. Centering prayer is allowing God to do the work. In this
prayer, we simply are. It feels, at times, like a spiritual vacation.
May the
upcoming vacations be safe, fulfilling, refreshing, and most of all gratifying
in the simple fact of being. If anything is accomplished or happens at all in
your vacation this summer, may you allow God to touch you in a way that you
know you are blessed, you are loved, and you are empowered by His Spirit to
make an eternal difference in this world.
This week, I’ve
decided to append an article to this blog. It is timely and it explains the
feast of St. Dymphna which is on May 15. She is the patron saint of those who
suffer from mental illness. I believe strongly in the power of prayer to heal
us. I strongly believe that we need help in praying about our illnesses.
This is why I have decided to include this article which was given to me by one
of our parishioners, Carol Couchot.
The Centering Skipper
A Healing Prayer-- by Carol Couchot
The topic of abuse always hits home to me, as my mother was very
abused all her life, mentally, physically and sexually by both her father and
mother. Feeling rejected and unloved, my mother committed suicide at the age of
50, when she felt life was no longer worth living.
My daughter, Elizabeth, has her MSW degree and lives in Gillette,
WY. She has recently started the Mary Jane Brining Project (named after my
mother) with a goal to eliminate the Stigma of Mental Illness and promote
better care and concern for those affected by abuse.
Being Catholic, we turn to Patron Saints, asking for their
intercessory prayers for various needs. We recently learned about Saint
Dymphna, patron of mental illness. Dymphna vowed a life of chastity to God. She
was martyred (beheaded) by her father at the age of 15 because she rejected his
sexual advances. Saint Dymphna was canonized a saint on May 15, 620 – 640 AD. I
began just praying for her intercession of prayer, then was called to make the
chaplets and bracelets, which you have been blessing for me. From some of the
testimonies, it is evident God has graciously blessed St Dymphna and hears her
prayers for those afflicted with mental oppressions.
As I dug deeper into Saint Dymphna’s history, I learned that there
is a National Shrine dedicated to her in Massillon, OH which is only about 3
hours away from my home town of Piqua, OH,where my family lived. It is
ironic that we lived that close and that my mother was buried on May 15,
which is the same day Saint Dymphna died and now dedicated to her feast day. I
only wish I had known about Saint Dymphna years ago. Maybe her prayers of
intercessions would have made a powerful difference my mother’s life, breaking
the chain of abuse for her, and our family as well.
The Mary Jane Brining Project, a foundation to help eliminate the Stigma
of Mental Illness and promote care and concern for those suffering from mental
abuse.
My daughter, Elizabeth, has always had a way of helping people
with a problem, even as a young girl. As she got older, the problems became
harder and she realized she would need education to appropriately help people
overcome their issues and be able to move ahead in society. She went to college
and then on to earn her MSW degree in social work in 2006.
Liz, never knew her grandmother (my mother), who this project is
named after, because she died before Liz was born. As Liz became an adult, the
questions about how her grandmother lived and died brought answers she did not
like. She knew that people with mental disorders do not get the concern and
care they need or deserve. With this in mind the Mary Jane Brining Project
became her goal.
We read and hear about unnecessary tragedies every day, many of
which have to do with someone’s mentality. In the aftermath of the recent
school shootings and other devastating incidences with tragic endings, Liz
finally organized the Mary Jane Brining Project to promote care and
prevention for people with mental illness. Liz worked with the Campbell County
Community Resource Coalition in Gillette, WY, through which the project
received its 501© status. She also established a pilot intervention
program to help women better access mental health resources through working
with primary care physicians to promote better treatment and care. Her next
step include plans to become part of the Substance Abuse Advisory Council.
Needless to say, I am very proud of my daughter and support the
project she has founded for the protection and care for the mentally disabled.
Please read her letter below and visit her Facebook or BlogSpot to read the
stories and testimonies and how it is possible to help people with mental
illness to reclaim their lives.
Elizabeth’s mother,
Carol Couchot
Mary Jane
Brining Project
Thank you,
Mary Jane Brining Project
Elizabeth Pierson, LCSW
