Many people I meet in the office and corridors at work speak of having rushing thoughts, a racing heart and tiredness where sleep is no cure. Many of the people I encounter are refugees and asylum seekers, women, single mothers, eking out a precarious life in the informal sector and, in many ways,
excluded from accessing services to prevent the impacts of chronic stress and trauma on the mind and body. The people I encounter are a small representation of a much broader concern. We have a silent pandemic – mental health.
It is fitting that October marks Mental Health Awareness Month with the continued strain of the past ten months and remaining months of this year, which have largely been plagued by the loss of certainty, jobs, routine, family and friends, and increasing levels of poverty and violence. It seems there is little holding us together. The growing mental health needs in South Africa need to be urgently addressed.
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), a non-profit organisation trying to fill a gaping hole in South Africa’s health system, provides free mental health services and counselling support, shared worrying statistics earlier this month.
Despite the growing nature of mental illness in South Africa and its social and economic consequences for individuals, families and communities, little is being done to manage this silent pandemic. As we ready ourselves for the last months of 2021, take a moment to consider what would need to change at various levels (individually, in your community and at the health and policy level) for our society to be more attentive and responsive to those experiencing the
current silences around mental health.
How can we assist those we know who are currently in the darkness of anxiety and depression. If perhaps you feel the endlessness of the night ahead, read this blessing.
A Blessing for the Longest Night
All throughout these months
as the shadows
have lengthened,
this blessing has been
gathering itself,
making ready,
preparing for
this night.
It has practiced
walking in the dark,
traveling with
its eyes closed,
feeling its way
by memory
by touch
by the pull of the moon
even as it wanes.
So believe me
when I tell you
this blessing will
reach you
even if you
have not light enough
to read it;
it will find you
even though you cannot
see it coming.
You will know
the moment of its
arriving
by your release
of the breath
you have held
so long;
a loosening
of the clenching
in your hands,
of the clutch
around your heart;
a thinning
of the darkness
that had drawn itself
around you.
This blessing
does not mean
to take the night away
but it knows
its hidden roads,
knows the resting spots
along the path,
knows what it means
to travel
in the company
of a friend.
So when
this blessing comes,
take its hand.
Get up.
Set out on the road
you cannot see.
This is the night
when you can trust
that any direction
you go,
you will be walking
toward the dawn.
Jan Richardson
|
Listen to this week's Sunday Scripture Reflection by clicking the image below
|
Upcoming retreats at the Jesuit Institute
Healing your Soul
9-11 November 2021
This preached retreat will take place at St Ignatius House Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Using scripture, inspired writings and poetry, Fr Russell Pollitt SJ will guide you in reflecting where you may need healing and how God heals.
This retreat is for you if you are:
· Looking to slow down, relax and find healing.
· Yearning for a deeper connection with God, who is our healer.
· Working too hard.
· Wanting to get in touch with yourself.
· Seeking space and time to rest and reflect in a beautiful setting.
There will be a gentle rhythm, with plenty of time for personal reflection and rest. The beautiful gardens, silence and inspiring view will help you relax and seek the healing you desire.
There are two options for this retreat:
You can live-in at our self-catering retreat centre. The rate for this option is R3250 (discounted to R3000 if you pay before 22 October 2021). You will be accommodated in en-suite rooms that will give you the space and time you need to enter this time of reflection. Included in the price is the accommodation, use of the facilities, presentation, one-on-one consultation and the printed materials of the retreat.
You can also choose to live at home and come in daily. The rate for this option is R1500. Included in the price is the use of the facilities, presentation and printed material of the retreat.
The daily structure will be:
an input at 09h30,
a mediation at 12h30,
an input at 15h00
and the celebration of the Eucharist at 18h00.
Spaces are limited, so to avoid disappointment, book your place now email
Hildegard of Bingen Retreat
13-14 November 2021
Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell will help you pray with Saint Hildegard of Bingen at St Ignatius House in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. This twelfth-century mystic’s spirituality has much to teach us in our times.
Hildegard was recently declared a Doctor of the Church. She was a visionary, healer, prophet, preacher, composer, writer and natural scientist. Her insights and way of seeing will help us deepen our own spiritual life and prayer.
This will be a silent retreat with inputs on various themes from her spirituality. There will be time for personal prayer and reflection in the beauty of creation.
The retreat begins at 9h00 on Saturday and ends at 16h00 on Sunday.
There are two options for this retreat:
You can live-in at our self-catering retreat centre. The rate for this option is R1800 (discounted to R1650 if you pay before 25 October 2021). You will be accommodated in en-suite rooms that will give you the space and time you need to enter into this time of prayer and reflection. Included in the price is the accommodation, use of the facilities, input, and the printed materials of the retreat.
You can also choose to live at home and come in daily. The rate for this option is R1000 (discounted to R800 before 25 October 2021). Included in the price is the use of the facilities, inputs and printed material of the retreat.
For those living in, there will be the option of an evening Mass on Saturday. For those living out, the Saturday sessions will end at 16h00 on Saturday.
Spaces are limited, so to avoid disappointment, book your place now by emailing retreats@jesuitinstitute.org.za.
|
|
