Depressed?
10/21/2018
Depressed?
Fr. Al Demos, October 21, 2018
Have you ever felt so down-trodden that you feel like you just want to give up? Have you ever been so downcast that you feel everything around you is hopeless…that there’s no light, no way to go, no direction, no future? Did you ever feel so depressed that you just wanted to die…to have it be all over…to just stop all the pain and sorrow? You could just die and not even care.
If you haven’t you are blessed. If you have, you are even more blessed. Why do I say that? Well, first of all, I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to have no direction, no hope, to reach a dead end and have nowhere to go. I know what it feels like to not even care…really not care if I died! So if you’ve been there too, then you have been very blessed. You have walked the way of Christ on His way to Golgotha. You know how St. Peter felt when He had to face the risen Lord Jesus after he had denied Him three times…ashamed, disgusted with himself,…depressed! You know how St. Thomas felt when he doubted that Christ was really resurrected. He had hoped. But how could the Saviour die like that – on a despicable cross? No one had ever raised himself up from the dead. Sure Christ was a great man. Sure God had worked miracles through Him. But if the others wanted Thomas to believe, he would first have to see the very wounds in Christ’s hands and the gaping wound from the spear in His side. No more dead-end streets for Thomas…he had it…he felt like Peter…he just wanted to die!
So dear friend, depressed as you may have been or perhaps are even now, you’re in good company. Let me ask you…looking back over your life…were there other times when you were depressed and felt this way? Oh yes, different circumstances, different situations, different people…but the same feeling. And what happened back then? You lived through it. The seemingly important situation of that time now seems so insignificant to you now. You might even find that job, position, place, etc., was not what you really wanted after all. You might find that the person you loved back then is of total disinterest to you today. And that person, in his or her entire being, might even appear unattractive or even repulsive today. And you were ready to die for that situation or that person? Aren’t you glad you didn’t?
Thomas saw the Lord. He put his fingers in Christ’s hands and his hand in Christ’s side. Thomas was so glad he himself didn’t die. If Thomas had, he would never have been so inspired as to go forth and convert thousands upon thousands to Christianity, who today have influenced and brought millions of faithful to the Church.
And you…maybe you don’t know all the answers. Maybe you don’t know your direction as yet. But it’s not a dead-end street…it’s an open road, clearly set before you. You just have to pray for the insight to see more clearly where you are going. Maybe you’ve been trying too hard to direct yourself. Why not ask God to guide you on your way? Keep up your good work. Do the best you can in what you are good at doing, and pray for God to enlighten you when and where to turn to find that opportunity or that person that will bring meaning to your life.
I pray that God will bless you to begin to re-experience that marvelous and meaningful gift of life…and for you to live and experience a most wondrous and gratifying journey!