Introduction

Suffering is a reality that human beings cannot avoid. From birth until death we meet suffering in its different expressions: loneliness, physical pain, moral defects, broken relationships, sadness, tiredness, guilty feelings, starvation, depression, oppression, alienation, anomie, anger, and varied forms of weakness.

Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II offers us a key insight from which to begin this consideration when he says: “…what we express by the word "suffering" seems to be particularly essential to the nature of man. It is as deep as man himself, precisely because it manifests in its own way that depth which is proper to man, and in its own way surpasses it. Suffering seems to belong to man's transcendence: it is one of those points in which man is in a certain sense "destined" to go beyond himself, and he is called to this in a mysterious way.” [1]

It is also clear that suffering and pain are frequently associated with the evil that is present in the world. On one hand, it can be considered a consequence of evil. On the other, we can say that suffering is itself an evil, a limitation, negation of a determined good. Suffering is evidence of our own limitations, our finitude, and regarding it from only this perspective prompts us to reject it.

The contemporary dominant culture, deeply marked as it is by hedonism, and tainted by the culture of death [2] has taken a clear position before the mystery of suffering and pain. The world flees from suffering, seeking a desperate escape, adopting an attitude which seeks to evade pain by all means.  However, the problem runs deeper than the mere avoidance of suffering. It concerns an immature and evasive position regarding life. On a cultural level, this position could be expressed by the maxim: “Seek pleasure and comfort always and everywhere in all the ways you can”.

Without faith, it is easy to identify pain as evil. Regarding pain as only an evil leads inevitably to desperation. That is a major reason why many people with an essentially secularist understanding of life invest tremendous efforts to escape from this reality.

Despite our formidable technological and scientific advances, humanity cannot rid itself of pain and death. Aware of these fundamental concerns regarding the person, Vatican II posed the question: “What is this sense of sorrow, of evil, of death, which continues to exist despite so much progress? [3]

Avoiding these questions will not make them disappear. We need to answer them. We can say that by engaging the problem of pain and suffering we respond to an imperative of our heart and open the doors to faith. In the depths of the human heart is an insistent need for answers on this matter, and one important imperative of faith is to respond to the call of the Lord to live and proclaim the answer that Jesus himself gives to the question of pain and suffering.

The Lord Jesus has not come to free us from suffering but to lead us through it to the discovery of its inner meaning. In his earthly life he lived the experience of suffering intensely. Nothing human is foreign to Christ, with the exception of sin. [4] In Jesus the Lord, all our questions about pain and suffering find their source of  meaning and come to resolution. In the suffering Christ we discover that pain loses its overwhelming load of negativity, and suffering becomes an occasion for growth in love and hope. The meaning of suffering has been uncovered, disclosed by the Cross and it points to a plentiful joy because of the Resurrection. By the light of the cross, we can discover the fundamentals of a sort of pedagogy of God. Jesus, our model and teacher, wants to shape and form us by this dialectic of “joy and pain” that is the pathway to life in its fullness.

When we speak of a pedagogy of “pain-joy” or “joy-pain” we are asserting that in the Christian life there is a dynamic process where both realities intertwine like the threads of a fabric. However, it is not a matter of successive moments of pain followed by joy, but the same dynamism where for the most part joy and pain occur in the same moment. Looking carefully at the life of the Lord and his Blessed Mother we can discover that “Christian joy” subsists even in pain,  just as hope rises in the midst of the most dramatic situations.

In this way, the cross is transformed from its original status as an instrument of torture and death, to a new significance as the sign and instrument of salvation, reconciliation, redemption, and hope. The Lord Jesus continually invites us to deepen our understanding of the mystery of human suffering and to allow it to become a process of spiritual growth and a source of redemption. That is what Saint Paul expresses in Colossians by saying: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church". [5]

In 1981, shortly after the assassination attempt which nearly took his life, Pope John Paul wrote a powerful Apostolic letter entitled “Salvifici Doloris”. While enjoying the status of authoritative papal teaching, this document also gives us a moving and experientially grounded testimony of the Holy Father’s own experience and reflection on the mystery of suffering. In the very first paragraph of this document we read:

“Declaring the power of salvific suffering, the Apostle Paul says: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church". These words seem to emerge at the end of the long road that winds through the suffering which forms part of the history of man and which is illuminated by the Word of God. These words have as it were the value of a final discovery, which is accompanied by joy. For this reason Saint Paul writes: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake". The joy comes from the discovery of the meaning of suffering, and this discovery, even if it is most personally shared in by Paul of Tarsus who wrote these words, is at the same time valid for others. The Apostle shares his own discovery and rejoices in it because of all those whom it can help—just as it helped him—to understand the salvific meaning of suffering.” [6]

Connecting our human experience of suffering with the suffering of Jesus offers a totally new interpretation of its mystery. Such a perspective challenges to their core the assumptions and presumptions of a consumerist culture of pleasure and instant gratification closed in upon itself. This vision invites us to enter more deeply into the notion of a ‘Divine pedagogy’ associated with the mystery of suffering.

Original Sin

The perennial question concerning evil and its consequences is dramatically urgent at this point in human history. Why suffering? Why spiritual, psychological, physical pain? Why so many ruptures and disharmonies? When we contemplate the evil in the world and compare it with the goodness of creation we are impelled to seek answers, explanations. Through the contemplation of nature and by Revelation the human being can attain some understanding about the human vocation for communion and participation [7] , and also, about the presence of evil.

Created by God, we experience our being as a participation in God’s own being and love.  It is clear that the dynamism present at the core of our interiority, is an impulse in the direction of happiness tending towards the discovery of truth and meaning. [8] In consequence, our actions tend to strive towards horizons of infinity and plenitude. We feel a call in our inmost depths to respond in freedom to the Lord. [9]

We know that God, in an effusion of divine love, creates the human being and invites him to be in relationship with him. God also invites us to be in communion with ourselves and with other people. 

Due to the rebellion of our first parents, sin entered the world and is transmitted with its consequences from generation to generation. This rupture, which in the language of theology is described as “original sin,” has marred creation and given rise to the evil we see in the world. Human reflection across cultures, time, and even variant systems of religious belief concur that there exists a “fundamental” rupture close to our origins, and ascribe to this rupture the genesis of the evil we face. [10]

Though created in love, from the beginning human beings rejected the love of God, and thereby rejected life in communion with Him. Humanity opted to build a kingdom without God. Instead of paying adoration to the true God, it paid adoration to idols created by human hands, things of the world, and became self-adoring. That is the fundamental wound which humanity, in isolation from God, inflicts upon itself. The world has thus been opened to evil, death, violence, illness, hate and fear. Our happiness and inner harmony, and also the brotherly relationship between humans has been profoundly disturbed. Wounded and broken by sin at the core of his humanity, man severed his union with God, thereby becoming subject to the experience of various kinds of slavery and weakness. [11]

Now, as in the past, sin shows itself as rupture. Moreover, it is a dynamism of rupture, a sort of anti-love. This dynamism “will be a permanent obstacle for the growth in love and communion of human beings. This reality will manifest itself not only in the hearts of people but from the different structures created for the human person. The sin of our first parents has left indelible and destructive imprints” [12] in our anthropology at all levels of our existence, - spiritual, psychological and physical.

Despite this tragic moment of “the fall,” God’s promise nourished the hope of his children. Humanity witnessed the fulfilment of God’s wonderful promise in the Incarnation of the Eternal Word.

In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliation and Penance, published on December 2^nd, 1984 Pope John Paul develops a most insightful approach to the mystery of sin and evil and their consequences. His exegesis of the parable of the Prodigal Son gives us a clear understanding of how our rupture with God has caused us to suffer the consequences of ruptures within ourselves, with others and even with our environment. He has powerfully exposed the deepest desire of our hearts: to be reconciled with the Father, with ourselves, with our brothers  and sisters and with nature. Jesus is presented in this Exhortation as the Reconciler. [13]

Sin and its Attendant Consequences

Because of original sin, the fruit of a free but mistaken choice, evil is introduced tragically into human life and into the world. Even more, that first unfortunate choice has defined a pattern for further similar choices leading to the same poisoned fruit.

Every time a human person exercises his freedom he opts for his vision of  things,  and this vision, ratified by concrete choice and action, produces a culture. When freedom is activated in wrongful choice, man acts against God, and in a word, he sins. By doing so, and as a consequence of his option, he is introduced into a suicidal dynamic that brings into the present the tragedy of that original Fall in the garden of Eden.  Called to happiness in communion with God, self, with others and with nature, by sinning man refuses this call. The bonds of communion are broken or weakened and the heart becomes divided. Opting to define one’s own good without reference to God, the person so choosing moves forward on the road to spiritual death. [14]

The first victim of the choice of sin is the one who chooses to sin. By sinning a person denies the dynamism printed in the heart by God. The sinner plunges into a world of illusions and error. Sin’s interior rupture exacerbates the existent disorder already present in his wounded nature. Isolated and interiorly divided, the sinner becomes even more alienated in the awareness of being a creature loved by God and invited to participate in a communion of love, but now in refusal of that very communion that gives life. [15]

The consequences of personal sin are terrible and tragic for the sinner. Cut off from the source of life and profoundly divided within, the sinner is caught in a snare from which he cannot escape without the intervention of divine love. Sin does not stand alone in him. Even the more intimate and private sin extends its evil to other human beings and structures surrounding the person, thus manifesting in a negative way the unity and interdependence of humankind.

What is said of rupture in the personal realm can also be applied to the culture in which we live. Pope John Paul has called these processes and manifestations a culture of death. [16] In this forum we do not have the leisure to consider further development of this theme, except to remark its formative influence on what some have described as a “depressive society”. Certainly, in those nations sometimes described as “developed,” we can observe that the dominant secular culture in this twenty first century has scant understanding of suffering because of its horizontal preconceptions and the closed paradigms of materialism and individualism. This dominant culture has a profound impact on our understanding and way of life. The necessity of an evangelisation of culture [17] is one of the most important tasks before us as Church.

Addressing the theme of social sin, Pope John Paul observes: " . . . by virtue of human solidarity which is as mysterious and intangible as it is real and concrete, each individual's sin in some way affects others. This is the other aspect of that solidarity which on the religious level is developed in the profound and magnificent mystery of the communion of saints, thanks to which it has been possible to say that "every soul that rises above itself, raises up the world." [18]

Drawing these observations together, there is no doubt about the importance of our striving for holiness as a personal and a social imperative. We already have the grace we need to co-operate with the call to holiness. Our striving leads us to seek to be fully reconciled [19] with the Lord, regaining our inner harmony, health and self-mastery in a deep experience of communion with God, ourselves, others and with nature.

Depression

We turn now to a more immediate consideration of the topic of depression. It would be totally unfair, untrue, and harmful to suggest that all the suffering we experience is a consequence of our own particular sins. However, the particular sins of each of us influence the fabric of the human community of which we are part. We suffer the consequences of evil acts, whether our own or those of others, and this kind of “solidarity in sin” extends to the whole human family.

During this conference we are addressing the specific human experience of depression which in its complex reality affects vast numbers of persons, and is the cause of incalculable and frequently intense suffering. Faith reflection on this ubiquitous human problem cannot fail to explore its meaning and seek for remedies within the context of a Christian anthropology. This perspective both invites and challenges a rich dialogue with the fields of medicine, psychiatry, psychology, and social science. Fifty years ago Pope Pius XII in a discourse regarding the appropriate orientation of Psychology and Psychotherapy noted that: “ . . . man is a transcendent unity in tendency toward God” –(L’homme comme unité transcendante en tendance vers Dieu)”. [20] This affirmation proposes a truth about the human person that needs to be regarded as the corner stone of all else that we say concerning human health.

According to the American National Institute for Mental Health,
”a depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression.”

Throughout this address I refer to “depression” with this descriptive definition in mind and drawing upon biblical data that confirms our understanding of depression as a complex bio-psycho-spiritual experience. [21] Some data and observation from the world of science will be instructive as to the extent of the disorder and its relationship with the spiritual and religious dimension of the person.

According to a recent “Psychological Bulletin” published by the American Psychological Association: “Depression and depressive symptoms are among the most common of all mental disorders and health complaints. Throughout the world, as many as 330 million people may suffer from depression at any given time, with prevalence estimates ranging from 2%-3% for men and 5%-12% for women (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Approximately 20 million visits to physicians in 1993-1994 involved reports of depressive symptoms (Pincus et al., 1998).” [22] If these numbers represent an accurate description of the extent of the phenomenon, they challenge us to look  deeply at our readiness to respond to this specific kind of suffering of so many brothers and sisters in our particular churches.

In an informative research article published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, March 2002, entitled “Canadian Psychiatric Inpatient Religious Commitment: An Association with Mental Health,” we find the following research results: “A total of 59% (of the research sample) believed in a God who rewards and punishes, 27% had a high frequency of worship attendance, 35% prayed once or more daily. More frequency of worship attenders had less severe depressive symptoms, shorter current length of stay, higher satisfaction with life, and lower rates of current and life time alcohol abuse, when compared with those with less frequent or no worship attendance. In contrast, private spirituality was associated with lower depressive symptoms and current alcohol use only, and prayer frequency had no significance associations”. [23] The information captures our attention.

In research reported in the “Handbook of Religion and Health” concerning the role of health and religious professionals in interaction with patients in hospitals in the United States, evidence is given regarding the positive influence of religion in the healing process. Speaking of health professionals it is said: “After...reviewing the research on religion and health, we explored the implications of this research for doctors (medical physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists) and for other health professionals (such as nurses, social workers, counsellors, and physical and occupational therapists). We focused on how the research findings apply to the everyday work of caring for patients...Medical education is increasingly training physicians to address the religious and spiritual needs, or at least to consider the religious backgrounds of patients when making decisions about health care”. [24]

Regarding religious professionals, we read in the same research: “The research that demonstrates a link between religious or spiritual factors and health, particularly mental health, has significant implications for clergy. This is especially true for chaplains because of the increasing pressure placed on them by hospital administrators to demonstrate the impact of their work on health outcomes. The research has shown us that the vast majority of patients, both medical and psychiatric, have religious and spiritual needs that likely impact their ability to cope with illness and affect the speed at which they recover. Chaplains are uniquely positioned to meet spiritual needs of patients, and they are the only professional in the health care setting that is trained to do this”. [25]

The infiltration of secular humanism into many aspects of academic life has significantly impeded the presentation of a religious or Christian perspective of the human person. Especially in many medical and nursing schools, there is an absence of a solid theologically grounded understanding of suffering and of hope. It is also true that a general understanding of the bio-psycho-spiritual unity of the person has been greatly diminished. These are cogent and compelling reasons for us to seek new opportunities to make present to the world of science, medical education and practice the rich heritage of Christian anthropology.

While depression has risen to a new prominence in our age, it is not a phenomenon that is peculiar to our times. The early monastic tradition generated some especially interesting approaches to depression. Terms like “sadness” or the trilogy of characteristics of “acedia-sloth-sadness” associated with depression are very well described and treated in the monastic experience of earlier times in the Church, as for instance in spiritual masters like John Casian. [26] Early monasticism sometimes viewed the experience of depression in association with capital sins and prescribed for its cure the biblical remedies of conversion of mind and heart. [27]

For multiple and complex reasons there is an explosive emergence of depression-related illness in our present time. While clearly a medical and mental health concern, this also points to a cultural crisis that requires attention. Depression is an illness that affects particular people, but we also need to take stock of the cultural references that may contribute to the disorder. The cosmic vision and manner of understanding and interpreting life are significant contributory influences to depression. Secularism, post-modern relativism, hedonism and the different epistemological crises prevalent in many sectors of contemporary society generate a culture that places people at high risk of a loss of meaning in life and a consequent state of hopelessness.

On a cultural level, we find a “functional agnosticism” [28] in the understanding and life style of many men and women of our time. Many people, including those who profess religious adherence, live as though faith has no relevance to the real issues and questions of life. At the level of concrete daily life, they conduct their lives according to the closed horizons of rationalist functionalism. The criteria and values of this “functional agnosticism” are closed to the Gospel. Also, the quest for comfort and sensate gratification as ultimate goals in this culture truncate the human yearning for the infinite. Together, these factors build a real “culture of acedia” in which the inner dynamism that seeks transcendence and profound meaning in life are dormant. The result is a certain renunciation of human identity.

In stark contrast to this functional agnosticism is the vision of a Christian anthropology that regards the human person as created by God and called to participate in God’s own being and divine love.  The dynamism present at the core of our being orients us to seek for ultimate happiness and profound meaning. Living and acting in accord with this dynamism opens our horizons to the infinite and the quest for the fullness of life. When the human spirit is formed in this vision, we become alert to the call in our inmost depths to respond with freedom to the Lord.

Influenced by the “culture of death” many people in the world today either reject or ignore the quest for the infinite. Consequently, there is a diminishing understanding of the meaning of suffering from a Christian perspective and a withering of the ground of hope. An eclipse of coherent belief in the mystery of the Incarnation leads to an impoverished understanding of the goal and potential of human existence. Lacking an adequate self-understanding, and with a weak or absent theology of the cross and its promise of a share in the joy of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, many of our contemporaries become prey to the seduction of the culture of death.

With horizons closed to what lies beyond the horizontal plane of existence, the dominant secular culture leaves us with an incapacity to face pain, suffering, or any form of discomfort. In combination, the premises of this culture close out the possibility of a dialogue with the deeper implications of human experience, leaving only a form of superficial psychologized self-understanding that does not have the capacity to propose adequate or lasting remedies for the disorder of depression.  Even in these circumstances, the quest for wellbeing continues to emerge as a deep impulse of the human heart.  In the timeless words of Saint Augustine of Hippo we discover the depth of psychological and spiritual wisdom of Catholic tradition concerning this quest when he writes in the opening meditation of his confessions: “ . . . you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” [29]   It is only in the discovery of God and the gracious design of providence that the human striving for ultimate happiness and completion can be realized. In affluent societies this reflection regarding the quest for happiness is a fruitful way to invite people to rekindle the search for truth and for God.

Bio-Psycho-Spiritual Illness

Depression is a disorder, an illness. The term “depression” is not properly applied to a light or even an intense state of sadness, if it is situational and transitory. Everybody at one time or another experiences sad or blue moments. The disorder we call depression has characteristic symptoms. For clarity in this presentation I will summarize from the professional descriptions available to me the chief indicators or symptoms by which the illness is recognized.

There seems to be agreement in the scientific literature that in order to consider a person to be suffering from the illness of depression, several of the following symptoms would need to be simultaneously present for a significant period of time (minimally one week):

Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood; feelings of hopelessness, pessimism; disproportional feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness; loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed; decreased energy, psychomotor retardation or agitation, fatigue, being “slowed down”; difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions; insomnia, early morning awakening, or over-sleeping; appetite and/or weight loss or over-eating and weight gain; panic or anxiety attacks; thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts; restlessness or irritability; persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain. [30]

Even a cursory view of the noted symptoms reveal what a burdensome load this disorder constitutes for someone suffering from it, especially if there is no “meaning” for the experience.

Studies reveal that certain types of depression run in families, indicating that inheritance may play a role in contributing to biological vulnerability to the disorder. Families in which members of successive generations suffer from bipolar disorder show that those who have the illness manifest a somewhat different genetic makeup than those who do not become ill. Curiously, the reverse is not true; not every family member who has the genetic vulnerability to bipolar disorder necessarily has the illness. This seems to indicate that other factors such as stress may be the precipitating cause of the onset of the illness. While there is evidence of generational transfer of major depression in families, it can also occur in people who have no family history of the disease.  The disorder is often associated with changes in brain structures or brain function. Frequently, the onset of depression is triggered by a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors, in particular intensely stressful events or situations. Subsequent episodes of the illness may be triggered by only mildly stressful experiences, or even none at all. Whatever the cause or precipitating circumstances for the onset of depression, the role of religious experience and firmly held convictions of faith occupy a key position in the restoration of mental balance and healing from the disorder. [31]

Saint Paul offers us an anthropology that is clear in its definition of what he calls  “pneuma” (spirit) as distinct from -“psiqué” (soul),“kardia” (heart), and “nous” (mind). He also distinguishes “pneuma” from those aspects of the person which he names “soma” (body) and “sarx” (flesh). The significance of these distinctions is that they give foundation to the theological and philosophical tradition that considers “pneuma”,  the spiritual element of our anthropology,  as constitutive of the human reality and different from our psyche and/or reason. For instance, we read in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians: “May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May He preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. [32] The Augustinian and Thomist traditions also witness to the value and singular presence of the “spirit” or “anima” in the human being as distinct from the body, from reason and from emotions.

Refinements and development of these, and similar subtle distinctions in anthropology are beyond the scope of this presentation. I mention them only in support of the proposition that the human person needs to be considered as a “biopPsycho-spiritual” unity. Failure to maintain this perspective is what contributes most to the incompleteness of some contemporary psychological theories. Regarding the human person as a unity of all three elements or dimensions calls for taking each aspect seriously and seeing them in their interconnected relationship and meaning.

For any discourse on illness and healing to be complete, the totality of the elements or aspects that constitute the human person need to be considered. The “bio-psycho-spiritual” dimensions of a human person are different aspects of our anthropology, always united and in total interactivity. In this vein we might take account of the impact of God’s grace and the power of the Sacraments as important factors that contribute to achieving and maintaining psychological and bodily health, in addition to their immediate spiritual effects, as we can witness in pastoral experience. There are demonstrable instances in daily pastoral life of authentic healings that come about by someone accepting the Word of the God, by receiving the grace of the sacraments, by prayer, or by performance of the works of mercy. While consideration must also be given to the power of autosuggestion, clearly the influence of grace accomplishes marvellous things.

For a thorough understanding of depression, all of these elements of the human person must be considered. Even with a firm grasp of the “bio-psycho-spiritual” unity of the person, there remains a further risk of separating out one or other of these dimensions. This is what we might call a psycho-spiritual reductionism. One can deny or minimize the physical or biological aspects of depression. No matter what causes an episode of depression, all the three elements of the person are affected and need to be treated. While avoiding a bio-psychological bias in treating depression, it is also important to avoid psycho-spiritual ones. There is a biological and organic aspect of depression and it needs to be included in any adequate approach to understanding or treating the disorder.  At times psycho-spiritual problems may have a somatic cause, as in other cases physical disorders may have a psycho-spiritual foundation. The point here is that all three dimensions of the human person relate in a constant interaction and one cannot treat one aspect without having an impact on the others. Clinical experience shows that in treating certain forms of depression appropriate medication may be the most effective first response, followed by psychological, spiritual and communitarian support that allows the patient to regain their health and inner equilibrium.

It is important to note that there are many and varied causative influences that contribute to depressive disorders. At times a person may simply experience the confluence of demands and situational pressures in life as beyond one’s capacity to sustain. Especially, when one’s circumstances of life lose their significance and the structures that support meaning are weakened, intense pressure or stress can bring on a depressive response. The process has its own dynamism and whether or not the person is conscious of the lack of adequate support in his personal environment and framework of meaning, the consequence is a situation of disequilibrium.

As someone suffering from depression becomes more aware of their need for support and regains the ability to assess their situation with some objectivity, recovery becomes much more probable. In most cases in which the disorder persists, it seems to be related to the inability to escape from a completely subjective perception of the factors that cause us pain. [33]

Processes and methods of interpreting one’s experience are frequently a more relevant consideration than the simple presence of stress factors. It is not uncommon for depression to be triggered by intense personal frustration occasioned by unrealistic expectations of our performance, by false interpretations of reality, by internalizing feelings of inferiority or inadequacy, or by clinging to inappropriate aspirations incapable of fulfilment. Other factors that may play a significant role in contributing to depression, particularly in the values of the current dominant culture are the inordinate stress on the perfection of bodily image, pressures to excel achievable models of physical performance as we see in the world of sport competitions, an inordinate assessment of the value of material wealth, success, fashion or pleasure.

While there are many organic causes and consequences of depression, the rediscovery of an integrated Christian vision of the person and of society holds an immense potential for effective responses to this disorder. The objective and hopeful interpretation of personal life and of social realities that Christian belief brings offers a powerful antidote to the frenetic pressures in a secularized world. To discover meaning in life and its struggles, and to interpret one’s personal and social framework with evangelical criteria offer powerful sources for authentic healing. Different therapies need to keep in mind the essential unity of the human person, and the potential for growth and positive change. This process of interior transformation, which in biblical language is called “metanoia,” points to the capacity in the human person for profound personal change through the action of grace working upon the mind and the heart. This interior conversion or “metanoia” leads to a reconfiguration of feelings and the evangelisation of our behaviour. [34]

Pastoral Reflections

Some of the new expressions of the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church today, such as the rise of new ecclesial movements and new communities of Christian life, hold great promise in terms of addressing the real and urgent needs of our day. In many of these movements there is a developed sensitivity for understanding the influence and impact that secular culture and its values bring to bear on life in the contemporary situation.  The new ecclesial movements offer promising interpretations, creative solutions and pastoral insights to many contemporary challenges. [35] Various insightful pastors have understood this interesting evidence of the work of the Spirit in our day, providing us with thoughtful and engaging studies. [36]

What we find in some of these movements is a re-discovery of the ancient wisdoms of the Church brought forward with new vigour and in new expressions. The ardour with which these new “ecclesial expressions” interact with the culture creates what at times is a powerful source of deeper comprehension of certain challenges and problems of our day. This is especially true of those movements which have embraced the importance of solidarity, communion, and compassionate understanding of the suffering that results from the absence of meaning.

Some of the successful experiences we have witnessed in the life of certain new communities can be related to the intensely hopeful vision of life that is fostered by their integration of the perspective of faith into daily life. This is much more than a mere cheerfulness or optimism. Nor is it a matter of measuring the greater or lesser incidences of depression amongst adherents of the movements. What they offer is a clear spiritually informed and grounded understanding of life that draws upon the fonts of meaning in the confession of Christian faith. Alert to God’s pedagogy in daily problems and struggles, they foster a strong climate of mutual accompaniment among their members. Some of these movements seek to recreate the life of the first communities who celebrated their faith in Christ -crucified and risen in glory, living profound bonds of solidarity and loving communion. [37]

I would like to mention some means or ways drawn from pastoral experience in the life of the new movements that seem to hold special promise for our focus on the disorder of depression and the quest for wellbeing:

a)     Conversion of the mind and heart – the experience of “metanoia”: “Transform yourselves by the conversion of your mind...”. In the permanent contact with cultural aggression some movements have developed clear Catholic positions and criteria for the formation of their members. We note the concern and the contribution of many of the founders of these movements for the analysis of contemporary culture, and the proposal of effective pastoral solutions to various crises and problems.

b)    Emphasis on a vibrant spiritual life, growing in an effective and affective relationship with the Lord. Different methodologies or spiritualities are espoused by various movements, but with real ardour.

c)     Sacramental Life: promoting an openess to the grace of God as a source of strength in daily life.

d)    Appreciation for the beauty and power of the Church’s liturgy to evangelize and transform our lives, by bringing us into contact with the most sacred realities

e)     Sustained encounter with the Word of God which as a “two-edged sword .....” penetrates  and shapes our thoughts, feelings and actions according to the  mind of the Lord.

f)      Living life as a celebration. This is expressed in the joy of being in community, by the production of art and music and poetry, and in the consecration of temporal realities to God’s purposes.

g)     Clearly identifying the role of the community in the Church and heeding the universal call to holiness through different ministries and vocations.

h)     Commitment to solidarity with needy people and those who are suffering.

i)       Fostering a realistic position before life that is rooted in a mature faith and hope. Integrating faith with the challenges and difficulties of daily life within a broad understanding of life according to the gospel.

j)       Deep experiences of reconciliation and of self-acceptance.

k)     The integration of personal talents with professional, technological and secular formation for the transformation of culture according to God’s plan. Heightened awareness of the importance of work.

l)       Faithfulness to the Church, her Magisterium, and her pastors.

m)  Creativity in methods of evangelisation.

n)     Seeking to have an undivided Catholic heart; loving the Church and thinking with her.

o)    Engagement with the apostolic endeavours of the Church.

p)    Commitment to life in community, marked by a joyful openness to new members. Friendship fostered as a motivational and ascetical way to conversion.

q)    Formation of those members called to Holy Orders that is consistent with the spirituality of the movement; fostering sound homiletic, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral training.

r)      Embrace of a well-grounded Mariology that understands and promotes the role of our Blessed Mother in the lives of the members.

s)     Cherishing and supporting the family as a “school of virtue” and as the locus for a strong commitment to the Church and in testimony of love to the culture.

t)       Coherent witness of life in secular environments. Living life in a positive and hope-filled way while engaging the struggles of the day as a means to evangelize the culture.

u)     Knowledge and use of traditional and new methodologies within the Church’s life.

v)     Openness to spiritual accompaniment or spiritual direction.

Most of the ways and means of life mentioned above are concrete, appealing and attainable for almost any person seeking the experience of Christian community. When embraced, these methods - “always old and always new,” hold great promise for the re-building of our parishes and communities with a new Gospel-rooted vitality. The importance of the formation of an authentic Christian community is that it provides an environment for personal and communal growth. It also creates a climate in which healing from the wounds and stressful experiences of life, is enhanced through the wisdom of a faith imbued vision of the “mystery of man.” Faith, and its communal expression in community does not dissolve the tensions of life, but it offers a pathway to that destination which lies ahead of us and for which we yearn with certain hope.  In the rich and profound insight of Monsignor Luigi Giussani about the nature of the Christian community we read: “Alone, we cannot be ourselves. The company, which will be called the Christian community, is essential for man’s itinerary.  . . .  The Christian concept of human existence foresees that the human community will never wholly adhere with its freedom to the condition to which Jesus harkens us. Therefore, the life of humanity in this world will always be sorrowful and confused. But the task of those who have discovered Jesus Christ – the task of the Christian community – is precisely to bring about, as much as possible, the solution to human problems on the basis of Jesus’ call.” [38]

Our parishes and communities need to become more fully conscious of their role as centres of meaning, and as places for healing and belonging. The joy and purpose that comes from an engaged life of faith, the strong bonds of solidarity and communion, and a vibrant awareness of the presence of God are potent features in the life of a Christian community that diminish vulnerability to the ravages of stress and depressive disorders. Special pastoral attention might be given to the formation of counsellors who are well versed in the human sciences and in theology so as to be ready to offer effective help to the growing number of persons who struggle with depression and the management of high levels of stress in their lives.  We need the very best of insights, the most effective therapies that science can offer, but even more, we need the certainty and joy of faith in the mystery of the Incarnation as the event which has transformed history, the truth of which we are called to recognize with love. “The task of the Christian is to fulfil the greatest function in history – to announce that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, is God.” [39] To take this mystery seriously means that the struggles and problems of life as expressions of the reality of the world are not foreign to faith or to the intervention of God.

Humility and Hope

Precisely because of God’s choice to send His Son to us in concrete human nature, we need to recognise and accept the totality of our human condition with all of its fragility and potential for greatness, with its misery and its dignity, as aspects of the profound mystery of humanity. To live in this truth of our real identity before God, the source and origin of our being, is to be like the Virgin Mary - humble and free in the complete acceptance of her status as a creature, entirely open to God.

The virtue of humility is indispensable in the healing process because it opens the suffering person to the profound meaning of his experience, and elevates the human struggle to its highest dimension as the yearning for the fullness of “salus-health-salvation”. [40]   We recall that magnificent passage in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus tells us: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." [41]

Every person who is willing to enter into the depths of his humanity through suffering, discovers on the one hand a desire for fullness and infinitude, and on the other - his fragility and contingency. In the experience of our own frailty and vulnerability we discover that whatever physical, psychological or spiritual limitations we encounter, the Lord invites us to respond to his call and to find in him our strength and salvation. The truth of our humanity is revealed to us by suffering in that it brings us to the source of truth, "the Word was the real light that gives light to everyone". [42] Hope is the gift and promise of our encounter with the Incarnate Word. This encounter is the opening to our true life, as so eloquently expressed in the Council document on the Church in the Modern World:

“He Who is "the image of the invisible God", is Himself the perfect man. To the sons of Adam He restores the divine likeness which had been disfigured from the first sin onward. Since human nature as He assumed it was not annulled, by that very fact it has been raised up to a divine dignity in our respect too. For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. He worked with human hands, He thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, He has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin. As an innocent lamb He merited for us life by the free shedding of His own blood. In Him God reconciled us to Himself and among ourselves; from bondage to the devil and sin He delivered us, so that each one of us can say with the Apostle: The Son of God "loved me and gave Himself up for me". By suffering for us He not only provided us with an example for our imitation, He blazed a trail, and if we follow it, life and death are made holy and take on a new meaning”. [43]

What we said earlier concerning the mystery of suffering is brought to its fullest meaning when we understand our experience as a participation in the life and suffering of Christ.  Without meaning, suffering crushes us and drives us to despair. Set in the light of Christ’s suffering love on the Cross, our suffering becomes a means to bring us beyond the limits of our finitude. It remains, nonetheless profoundly mysterious. Pope John Paul captures this exquisitely when he writes:

“…Human suffering evokes compassion; it also evokes respect, and in its own way it intimidates. For in suffering is contained the greatness of a specific mystery. This special respect for every form of human suffering must be set at the beginning of what will be expressed here later by the deepest need of the heart, and also by the deep imperative of faith. About the theme of suffering these two reasons seem to draw particularly close to each other and to become one: the need of the heart commands us to overcome fear, and the imperative of faith—formulated, for example, in the words of Saint Paul quoted at the beginning—provides the content, in the name of which and by virtue of which we dare to touch what appears in every man so intangible: for man, in his suffering, remains an intangible mystery.” [44]

Conclusion

The object of pastoral care in the presence of human suffering is ultimately to nourish that hope that is born of the Gospel. This is the hope that does not disappoint. [45] Walking humbly on the journey of life with our fellow travellers, we are all subject, one way or another, to the burden of suffering and pain. Taught by the mystery of Christ’s Cross, we are invited to embrace our human struggle as the pathway to that fullness of life that is our deepest longing. This is what we have called the divine pedagogy of the Cross. The voice of love calling out to us from the One who hangs upon the Cross, invites us to respond, to accompany Him in His anguish, to look with Him beyond the limits of the encroaching darkness to where the brilliant light of eternity shines upon us. This is the call of the Infinite that stirs us to the utter depths of our existence.

Nourished by the divine promises, the Christian, aware of being a pilgrim in this earth, lives in a permanent “tension-toward.”  Relying on Christ’s promises and not on our own strength we move forward through the dark mystery of suffering enlightened by Christ.  Even in the midst of trials and suffering we are offered joy in the sure knowledge that God is with us and that our cries are heard.  Yearning with all our strength for the fullness of life and wellbeing, we turn to the Lord of life, saying:

Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end. [46]

† James M. Wingle
Bishop of St.Catharines