How can people with mental illness or impaired mental function have a relationship with Jesus?

[cantenucci04]

I’ve struggled with severe physical disability along with depression and mental issues my entire adult life. Sometimes people of faith tell me Jesus knows what I’m going through cause He suffered more than we could ever imagine. But that raises this question for me: I know Jesus suffered immense physical and mental pain during his passion and death on the Cross. But He didn’t suffer from depression or mental illness as far as I know. So how can I relate my unique form of suffering to His?

My physical disease has gotten so bad that it’s destroying my brain and causing me to slowly lose my mind. I can no longer control my thoughts most of the time, and I can’t do any of the mental tasks a healthy person can do. To me, the worst kind of suffering is when you lose your mind, because you’re basically a prisoner of your own brain, and you’re completely helpless to do anything to get better, it’s completely out of your control.

I know Jesus is all-knowing so He understands what I’m going through, but how can He relate to it if He didn’t suffer from any kind of mental illness or depression while He was living on Earth? He was always in total control of His mind and thoughts.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear friend,

On Calvary, Jesus demonstrated His love for us, suffering His passion in both his body and in His mind. In fact, in the garden He suffered His whole passion in His mind before He suffered it in His body. Such mental anxiety was so great, that it caused Him to sweat blood.

He was betrayed into the hands of His executioners by one of His own; the Apostle Judas. His Apostle Peter denied Him publicly three times. The rest of the Apostles all abandoned Him. His persecutors wanted him more than dead; they wanted Him to suffer—despite the fact that He was innocent. But what hit Him the hardest was the silence of His Father. Intellectually, He knew the His Father loved Him. He even sent angels to comfort His Son. But when Jesus was in the midst of such rejection, He FELT very abandoned and alone. As for control: He was hardly in control, hanging on the cross. He couldn’t even scratch His nose and His pain was extreme.

He has allowed you to share some of His passion. I urge you to unite your suffering to His as an expression of your love for Him. You are in our prayers.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.