Has Anyone Been In This Situation?

[Blue.Rose]

Has anyone wanted or tried to enter Religious Life but not been able to due to a health problem?

How did you cope with life after this?
Did you have to rethink your potential vocation?
Do you have the opportunity to become consecrated or a member of a third order?
Any advice for someone who is going through disappointment of not being able to enter due to illness?

Thank you so much in advance.

[BarbTherese]

I did realize when I entered monastic life in my forties that bipolar was going to present problems at some point.  I had to go off all medication as a condition of entering in the first place.

Life after was a struggle for a while after I left.  I have a rule for myself "hang in there until it all unfolds". It did.

I don't think I had to rethink my vocation so much.  I realized during the "hang in there" period that in entering monastic life, I was probably running away from a lifestyle that could be a fair bit of pressure and noise at times.

What I found was that third orders etc. in Australia were probably more reluctant to consider a person with bipolar than possibly monastic life had been - strange as that probably sounds.  I did 'apply' to a couple of third order type organizations here in Australia, but decided in the end it probably would not work for me and due to bipolar.

 

The answer to my own problem of not being able to enter monastic life was spiritual direction.  Certainly during the post monastic period of hanging in there, I did decide that all indications were that bipolar could present me with problems - except if I returned to the way of life I had run from and took up private vows once more.  That way if bipolar got nasty and presented problems, I really only had myself to be concerned about - I could deal with an episode without upsetting too much others around me and certainly not some type of community of formation.

I did feel quite rejected for a while, perhaps a fair while - but eventually I surmounted that and in taking up my original lifestyle and private vows, I just never looked back and found rest certainly in much reflection on the Permissive Will of God - through  that I found my Joy and Peace.  Nowadays I know I made the right decision but it was a journey and not an overnight event - at least it was for me and spiritual direction for me was central and very important.

 

I do feel very strongly that as long as one is attracted to some particular vocation to not give up on it and to seek spiritual direction.  For me, spiritual direction has been my guide at all points in my journey and I regard a sound spiritual director as absolute spiritual gold.  What spiritual direction did lead me to was to consider was I after what I wanted or was I seeking what God might be indicating and through His Permissive Will.  I don't think that this is the answer for every person however.  And for me, I know no other way than sound ongoing spiritual direction.

All in a nutshell :)

 

God bless, keep and guide you!

[Blue.Rose]

Thank you for sharing BarbaraTherese.
Spiritual Direction has been very helpful for me so far and I'm sure it will continue to help me in the future.

[BarbTherese]

:)

[salveregina10]

Great questions BlueRose.  I know how difficult it can be to come up against obstacles we can't control in our discernment.  I can share that one of the first communities I met was very encouraging and had me apply.  I resigned from my job and got out of the lease on my apartment.  When they read in my health file that I took a small dose of medication for ADHD from childhood, they terminated the application process with no warning.  This was devastating to me.  Yet, somehow the grace came to pick up, cry to God, and move forward.  I later found out that community had an internal problem and just wasn't ready for new candidates at that time.  Fortunately, I am in a wonderful community now and very happy.  I have since ceased that medical treatment, but am grateful our community strives to help each of our Sisters be as healthy as they can be.  I would encourage you not to give up, to keep praying, discerning, going to Mass and seeking God's will for your life.

I can also share that a friend of mine who has a similar medical condition to bipolar considered these Sisters who welcome those with medical challenges - http://www.benedictinesjc.org/aboutUs.html

Blessings to you on your journey.

[krissylou]

This is not really what you're asking, but I think this article cannot be shared enough.

 

It's published in an Evangelical magazine but the author is a Catholic priest (diocesean).

 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/june-online-only/bipolarpriest.html

[BarbTherese]

Excellent article to share and worth a read especially to anyone who has found their aspirations of the highest spiritual order crashed or crashing to the ground. 

[BarbTherese]

Great questions BlueRose.  I know how difficult it can be to come up against obstacles we can't control in our discernment.  I can share that one of the first communities I met was very encouraging and had me apply.  I resigned from my job and got out of the lease on my apartment.  When they read in my health file that I took a small dose of medication for ADHD from childhood, they terminated the application process with no warning.  This was devastating to me.  Yet, somehow the grace came to pick up, cry to God, and move forward.  I later found out that community had an internal problem and just wasn't ready for new candidates at that time.  Fortunately, I am in a wonderful community now and very happy.  I have since ceased that medical treatment, but am grateful our community strives to help each of our Sisters be as healthy as they can be.  I would encourage you not to give up, to keep praying, discerning, going to Mass and seeking God's will for your life.

I can also share that a friend of mine who has a similar medical condition to bipolar considered these Sisters who welcome those with medical challenges - http://www.benedictinesjc.org/aboutUs.html

Blessings to you on your journey.

 

 

"Nothing will separate us from the love of God …" Not even mental illness. (from link in post by salaveregina).  Mental illness per se cannot separate any person whatsoever from God since mental illness is not sinful and very often those who suffer MI do not have sufficient freedom of will to commit mortal sin in the first place.  Only mortal sin separates from God.
 

[BarbTherese]

ADELAIDE, Australia, FEB. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is an excerpt of an address Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, prepared for World Day of the Sick. The main events of the World Day were held Feb. 9-11 in Adelaide. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/the-mentally-ill-patient-a-faithful-image-of-god

 

"...................Therefore, once the mental illness has caused such a disorder as to take away from the mentally ill patient any responsibility for his actions -- qualifying them as separation from the divine will, as a sin -- the mental patient cannot separate from God.

In other words, the image of God in him cannot be distorted. In this case his knowledge or his volitive option is no longer sufficient to motivate any human action that separates him from God. His bodily and psychic conditions do not allow him to commit a grave sin, given that in his state of disequilibrium he does not have that full knowledge and ability of assent required to sin.

If we approach the argument from this point of view, whereby the mentally ill patient does not have the knowledge or the faculty of full consent required to commit a mortal sin, his is not a deformed image of God, since that image can only be deformed by sin. Certainly, it is the suffering image of God, but not a deformed image. He is a reflection of the mystery of the victorious Cross of the Lord. Inspired by the image of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 53:1-7) we are drawn to a conscious act of faith in the suffering Christ...........".............

 

 It is very heartening and encouraging to note that in some countries mental illness does not of necessity disqualify one from some form of religious life and public vows i.e. the consecrated state.  I think too, however, that something needs to be done in The Church for those who do suffer MI and desire to give their lives totally to The Lord and His Church - but due to their illness and its severity may be unable to live even those forms of mental illness that religious institutes are prepared to embrace.

It will be a journey and perhaps a painful one for those who, at this point, do not qualify for what currently exists in The Church.  I think that there are options at this point, but it will take sound spiritual direction and by sound directors who are not afraid of directing a person who does suffer MI - as well as sound directors who are perhaps somewhat visionary.

If Cardinal Barragan is correct in his theological musings related to mental illness, it seems to me to be  more than strange that those who do reflect an image of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh do find that they are excluded most everywhere in The Church.  That is where we are now it seems to me - but the future will unfold as journey insofar as we are as a Church and The Mystical Body of Christ on earth willing to see the contradiction.

Meanwhile, however, many suffer and as a living image of the rejected Christ.

[Blue.Rose]

I don't suffer from a Mental Illness but I hope those links can help anyone who does! :)

[BarbTherese]

I did start a post in OpenMic rather than allow this thread to drift off topic onto mental illness alone and planned to put a link into this thread.  But Phatmass keeps timing out on me and stating "Webpage has expired" and I loose what I wanted to post.  Rather than let this thread indeed drift into a discussion on mental illness etc. alone (and my bad!), a thread could be initiated in Open Mic linking to the posts on the subject in this thread.

 

Original question posed in this thread:

Has anyone wanted or tried to enter Religious Life but not been able to due to a health problem?

How did you cope with life after this?
Did you have to rethink your potential vocation?
Do you have the opportunity to become consecrated or a member of a third order?
Any advice for someone who is going through disappointment of not being able to enter due to illness?

Thank you so much in advance.    

 

      

[Antigonos]

I did start a post in OpenMic rather than allow this thread to drift off topic onto mental illness alone and planned to put a link into this thread.  But Phatmass keeps timing out on me and stating "Webpage has expired" and I loose what I wanted to post.  Rather than let this thread indeed drift into a discussion on mental illness etc. alone (and my bad!), a thread could be initiated in Open Mic linking to the posts on the subject in this thread.

 

Original question posed in this thread:

 

Occasionally I've found it useful to write offline using Word, then "copy and paste" my composition onto a web post.  This allows me to complete whatever it is I'm trying to say, and make sure I don't want any re-edits, before posting.  It also solves the "time out" problem.
 

[BarbTherese]

Occasionally I've found it useful to write offline using Word, then "copy and paste" my composition onto a web post.  This allows me to complete whatever it is I'm trying to say, and make sure I don't want any re-edits, before posting.  It also solves the "time out" problem.
 

 

Thank you - I resolved to do this some times ago, but keep forgetting.  You are correct, I think that writing posts into Word will eliminate the problem of a blank page coming out "Page has expired" and one has lost the post completely.  Writing in Word can also solve the short "time out" problem.  I just have to remember to remember!