Depression and Anxiety and Faith
Fr. Jim Van Vurst brings hope of God's love to oppressed
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Many people would say we are currently living in an “age of anxiety and depression.”
You may have heard people refer to our present time (world-wide) in this way and it’s not hard to understand why. I remember when National TV News was just getting started in the late 50s and early 60s. It began with a fifteen minute segment. It wasn’t long before someone suggested it should expand to 30 minutes. More than a few scoffed saying, “There is not enough news to fill a 30 minute slot.” And we smile now with dozens of news sites on 24/7, with breaking news multiple times per day.
In the US, it is estimated that about 40 million adults age18 and older, (18% of the total population) suffer from anxiety and depression (Source: National Institute of Mental Health). Anxiety and depressive disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering actually receive treatment. The anxiety that is mentioned here is much more than “feeling nervous at times” or “being down in the dumps for a while.” True cases of anxiety and depression can be debilitating and paralyzing.
There are good reasons for concern and angst in today’s world. And with those feelings, the most normal question is, “Why doesn’t God do something about all that’s going on.” And, of course, we look for a miracle and a solution that will put everything in the right order again. But that’s the problem. Humanity is wounded and has been since the beginning. It always will be. Just think by the end of the century (just 83 years from now) there may well be humans on other planets! But if we back up 83 years to 1934 we realize how rapidly we were advancing in science and medicine then with many new discoveries. And that was prior to the nuclear age and pre-computer era. Go back 83 more years to 1851 and you begin to realize how distant that is from our present moment … pre-civil war days.
What all this means is that today’s societies and the world at large may experience the feeling that we are out of control with all the power we have discovered--power enough to end everything.
Well, where does this put those of us who describe ourselves as “people of faith?” Ultimately and simply it means that God, the creator and redeemer of the universe, is still in charge. But God is not the “manipulator” of humanity, as though we were chess figures and God is playing a game. Remember, we were given free will. Further it means that God already knows what will happen into eternity.
That belief and understanding is what enables us to turn to the Lord when we experience great pressures and struggles. Not for instant solutions but rather to look at ourselves and ask if we are living as a person in touch with and in love with our Lord and creator … the one who gave us life and the ability to make choices. Generally our area of influence is fairly limited. But if we take upon ourselves the value system Jesus gave us in his teaching and example, we will discover that although we do not isolate ourselves from all that is going on in the world and around us we will not lose our footing or balance. If we live by Jesus’s command, “Love God and love one another,” we can live our lives with understanding and gratitude, in the certainty that we never walk alone or in the dark.
Fr. Jim
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St. Anthony was devoted to prayer to the Lord, read his words at St. Anthony Prayers.
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Fr. Jim answers more questions in the Ask a Friar feature by Franciscan Media. Last year he did an eight-part Lenten video series. Click here to watch his answer to, "What does Lent mean to you as a Franciscan?"
Posted in: Jesus, Newsletter, Prayer
