Ministries

Many people who seek the help of a counselor come because they describe themselves as depressed. But what is depression? Is it merely feeling down, discouraged, or blue? Or is there more to it than that?

Disease and sickness can push us to doubt if God truly wants to heal. While most people of faith say that they believe He can, too often they don't see Him come through and heal them or their loved ones any more than their unbelieving neighbors. And that leaves one to grapple with faith in a healing God who doesn't respond like we'd expect Him to.

Being told that you have a terminal illness is probably one of the most dreaded situations that you will ever face. And yet, for many, it is a reality that they are living with. Knowing that you are in the battle for your life can really mess with your heart and mind as well as your body. Facing that challenge with grace and courage requires a change in perspective.

Retirement is an invention of the modern world. Too many people work all their lives with the goal in mind of finally quitting, living on the funds they've saved up, and doing what they've always wanted to do and couldn't do while working. But is there anything about that kind of thinking that is biblical?

Death is the final enemy that we all must face. Few of us know when we will die, but we all know that we will eventually die. How we view death can have a major impact on how we view life and the choices we make about how we are going to live our lives. The Bible has much to teach us about dying well because we've lived well

We live in a world where most people are obsessed with youthfulness and avoiding all signs of aging as much as possible. Staying as young as you can for as long as you can seems to be the ultimate goal. However, while aging is inevitable and death is sure, how we embrace our aging makes all the difference in how we live each day.

Pastors are often the first line of defense when it comes to hearing about a person's struggles. While pastors and the church are very helpful in many areas, they can often feel overwhelmed or ill equipped to help with some types of problems that seem very complex or have some physical components to them. That's when they need to make a referral.

The terms "mental illness" or "mental health issues" are often scary and misunderstood because they conjure up images of psych wards in state mental hospitals. And while there is a broad spectrum of mental health issues, too often people tend to narrowly define it as feeling good about themselves. However, good mental health goes far deeper than just feeling good.

Mental health describes a broad continuum of struggles from the mildly depressed to those with full-blown psychotic and personality disorders. Because pastors are often the first-responders in some of these situations, it's important to understand how pastors tend to view mental health issues and their part in providing support and encouragement to those with significant struggles.

Many Christian struggle to know how to address the issues of mental illness and to define what is good mental health. Some write it all off as being a lack of faith. Others confine it to the realm of the demonic that requires deliverance. And still others make it purely an organic disorder that requires medical treatment. A balanced perspective is needed that takes all these perspectives into account.

Feeling good about myself and positive about my circumstances is what many people describe as good mental health. But unfortunately, that describes an unbalanced and unrealistic perspective on good mental health. On the other hand, the Bible provides a perspective on mental health that revolves around how we handle relationships with others, including God.

Sunday Gospel Comment (in Italian). VI DOMENICA DI PASQUA (ANNO A) www.sabinasantacroce.org

Examine the area of your life where the enemy has stolen from you. It’s time to put a demand on it. It’s payday!

Even though Christians have been commanded not to worry, we still do. Why? Could it be that we simply don't trust that God is up to the task of providing everything we need to be the man or woman He's calling us to be? Was Oswald Chambers right when he wrote that the root of all sin is in the suspicion that God is not all that good? Maybe simply trusting God is the solution to our worry.

Shame is one of the most effective tools of the Evil One for sabotaging meaningful relationships. Shame has to do with our fear of being seen as flawed and deficient and then be discarded instead of loved. God comes along and offers us unconditional love as His remedy to our shame.

When we are truly honest with ourselves, we are all painfully aware of our failings and inadequacies that leave us vulnerable to rejection. The fear of exposure leads to shame, and shame is one of the most powerful forces for shaping human behavior. How we learn to handle shame will determine how we respond in relationships with others.

Shame was one of the first feelings that Adam and Eve experienced after the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The fear of exposure, of being seen as flawed and then being discarded as unlovable is a devastating feeling that not only shuts down the heart, but effectively sabotages any possibility for a person to give or receive love.

Marriage does provide an end to a certain kind of loneliness that a single person experiences. However, many couples feel lonely in their marriages in spite of the fact that they are not alone. Loneliness can come from a lack of meaningful connection with one's spouse. But it can also come from a realization that our core loneliness can only be filled by God Himself and not our spouse.

From the beginning of the human race, being alone wasn't a good thing. But, we can be lonely even when we're not alone. Loneliness is the experience of being isolated or disconnected from someone that we love. While the experience is pain, we can learn much about who we are and how God made us through our experience of loneliness.

Loneliness is a reality that all human beings live with at the core of their being whether they're happily married or single. Loneliness is a constant reminder that we were designed for a perfect relationship with God that was marred at the Fall and will not be restored until heaven.