What if the Saints could be your therapist?
November starts with the celebration of All Saints Day. It’s an amazing time to explore the many ways they can influence our perception of self and our journey to heaven. It's worth examining the therapeutic lessons we can take away from their stories and choices.
What does it mean to be a saint when we consider our psychological development?
It means they had a “true north” perspective on the spiritual growth necessary to get to heaven.
To be declared a saint is to have the church proclaim with confidence that the person is in heaven. What canonization doesn’t mean is that they were psychologically perfect within the scientific understanding of what optimal mental health might be.
This should make them highly relatable for us, because NO ONE has optimal mental health.
Even though the saints didn’t necessarily have perfect mental health, they understood that they could work to improve in this area during their lives.
Much like our body needs constant maintenance, nourishment, and care... so too does our mental health need that same care.
So what did the saints do to take care of their mental health? They kept two priorities in mind while they lived:
Primacy of Faith: We must always keep in mind the priority is salvation of our soul and that the Catholic Church is the most perfect guide in this.
Primacy of Will: We must understand our need for agency. When we work to build ourselves in a way to have greater interior freedom in our choices, we will choose the virtuous path more completely.
The saints fully implemented these priorities during their lives despite their unique situation. In this way, they found ways to approach mental health from the limited resources at their disposal.
In upcoming posts we will occasionally visit specific lessons that have therapeutic benefit from the lives of different saints, with this two part foundation in mind.
For now. Remember to activate and prioritize Faith and Will in your own daily experience of caring for your mental health.