What can build up our mental health

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

“I WILL praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.” That’s from Psalm 30,2, sometimes used as a Responsorial Psalm in some Holy Masses. It’s a psalm that is most worthy to keep in mind and heart always, for it does nothing other than to assure us that no matter how our life goes with all its drama, Christ takes care of everything. There is actually nothing to worry.

Of course, given our human limitations, we oftentimes cannot help but react to certain things in our life with overwhelming worries and sorrows. But we should learn to overcome them as quickly as possible, since we know, if we are guided by our Christian faith, that everything works out for the good as long as they are referred to and lived with Christ. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

We obviously have to avail of all that our medical sciences can offer to alleviate if not solve our problems in the area of mental health. But we should not forget that the ultimate way to handle issues that have a great, albeit adverse, bearing on our mental health is by strengthening our faith in God’s loving and merciful providence.

This is where the value of piety comes in, playing a crucial role in keeping us healthy mentally, emotionally, psychologically and even physically. Piety is our relationship with God. It is nourished by God’s gifts of faith, hope and charity to which we have to correspond knowingly, freely and lovingly.

We have to realize more deeply our need to have a genuine life of piety to be truly healthy, first in the spirit and then in the body. We have to spread this Good News widely. It hardly involves money or some material things. What only is needed is an act of faith, which is something spiritual, a matter of our will and intelligence and, of course, God’s grace which is always given.

How important it is that we get to have a clear idea about the intimate relationship between faith and psychology! At the moment, it seems that psychology is largely grounded and ruled by one’s feelings, moods, temperament or some organic elements alone, if not by some cultural or social factors, then even by mere ideologies.

There are even those who develop their psychological life along lines of mere techniques, or worse, by some drug-induced sense of stability and calmness or other escape and defense mechanisms.

Yes, the human and medical means are important, but what is truly indispensable is to develop an authentic life of piety. For this, we really have to learn to pray, to refer everything to God whom we have to regard as our Father who never fails us. Our belief and love for him should be such that we trust him for everything, even in those things that humanly speaking cannot anymore have human solutions.

This means that we also have to develop a certain sense of abandonment in the hands of God. It should be such that whatever happens in our life, we can still remain calm, cheerful, optimistic and confident.

Let’s not leave behind this need for piety even as we look for human solutions to our problems and challenges, and develop good mental health! Let’s strengthen our belief that, as mentioned, in the psalm cited above, Christ has rescued us already. We are assured of that. What should remain in our mind and heart is the joy and peace that come with our praising God always. This is what truly builds up our mental health!

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com