Vocation and mental/physical wellness

[mercygate]

Thanks, Stars. I just got back from daily Mass, and Fr. Addison Hart, our priest who is a former Anglican, was the celebrant. I asked him if he had heard of the Servants of the Sacred Cross, and he said no. However, he has heard of the group they are affiliated with, Forward in Faith, and he says they are quite reputable and in very good standing with the Holy See. He said if the Servants of the Sacred Cross are associated with Forward in Faith, then they are perfectly acceptable. He knows about the Anglican Use and is friends with the Priest at Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio. He had very nice things to say about their liturgy. He is also aware of the Traditional Anglican Communion and says they are in negotiations with Rome at this time, but no decision has yet been made. I also found a site on EWTN that corraborated that.

I am sooooo happy that the Servants of the Sacred Cross are kosher (sorry about the mixed metaphor!). Jesus just keeps opening doors! God is so good!

You can be safe with anything affiliated with FIF.

 

[Old_Convert]

Thanks, Mercygate !

 

[ziza]

Does anyone know the reason for this policy? I get why there would be a problem with fully cloistered convents, but not for apostolic.

It just seems like there’s a stigma, and that people with a call aren’t being allowed to pursue it. It is such a tiny fraction of people who are truly dangerous. And if I’ve been taking meds daily and been stable for over a decade, it’s not like I’m hearing voices out of the blue or something.

If it’s purely a fiscal issue, most of the major pharm companies (like GSK, which manufactures my particular medication) have charitable assistance programs which a nun/sister (I assume) would qualify for. And as the push for meds to go generic and be provided for $4, I really have a hard time seeing the logic for this policy.

Mental disorder is so (unfortunately) common, and it’s such a GOOD thing that through God’s grace breakthroughs have been made. If the Church insists (politically, I mean, not theologically) on barring this group of people, they’re missing out on a lot of valid vocations which they can hardly afford to do.

I pray everyday for my illness and those like me. But I believe that God helps those who help themselves. Isn’t it miracle enough that the medication has been found that those people who have been so long shunned and persecuted can be healed?

 

[mercygate]

Does anyone know the reason for this policy? I get why there would be a problem with fully cloistered convents, but not for apostolic.

It just seems like there’s a stigma, and that people with a call aren’t being allowed to pursue it. It is such a tiny fraction of people who are truly dangerous. And if I’ve been taking meds daily and been stable for over a decade, it’s not like I’m hearing voices out of the blue or something.

“Truly dangerous” is only a fraction of the issue. If you are stable and consistent with your medication there may very well be the key taht gets you in the door. But keep in mind that vocation is a two-way street. If it is not confirmed by a community, then it is not a vocation.

If it’s purely a fiscal issue, most of the major pharm companies (like GSK, which manufactures my particular medication) have charitable assistance programs which a nun/sister (I assume) would qualify for. And as the push for meds to go generic and be provided for $4, I really have a hard time seeing the logic for this policy.

Finances ARE important. Some communities that accept disabled or older candidates now require candidates to show up with their own insurance.

Clearly, no community can be expected to take on a known financial liability. I know more than one person who became ill within months or weeks of making their life profession and were sent packing.

Mental disorder is so (unfortunately) common, and it’s such a GOOD thing that through God’s grace breakthroughs have been made. If the Church insists (politically, I mean, not theologically) on barring this group of people, they’re missing out on a lot of valid vocations which they can hardly afford to do.

I pray everyday for my illness and those like me. But I believe that God helps those who help themselves. Isn’t it miracle enough that the medication has been found that those people who have been so long shunned and persecuted can be healed?

Every day you remain stable while on your meds adds an important piece of information to the data bank. Keep it up.

 

[ziza]

I guess I just don’t understand the full issue, then. If you took out fiscal arguments (which I believe could be circumvented), what’s preventing a convent from taking someone just for this reason?

I guess the feeling I’m getting from this entire discussion is that you could could match a group in every other respect, but then be dropped for needing to take a pill once a day.

It just seems a little ridiculous.

(Like I said, I truly believe the financial angle could be easily worked around; I’ve just graduated from college and am working my way through those medical finance hurdles anyways!)

 

[mercygate]

I guess I just don’t understand the full issue, then. If you took out fiscal arguments (which I believe could be circumvented), what’s preventing a convent from taking someone just for this reason?

I guess the feeling I’m getting from this entire discussion is that you could could match a group in every other respect, but then be dropped for needing to take a pill once a day.

It just seems a little ridiculous.

(Like I said, I truly believe the financial angle could be easily worked around; I’ve just graduated from college and am working my way through those medical finance hurdles anyways!)

Are you free of college debt?

 

[ziza]

I do currently have some debt, but I’m working on paying that off as quickly as I can. I do realize that being debt-free is essential. (And I don’t want that debt over my head even if I can’t become a religious! )

 

[SisterSnowflake]

Hello, Ladies and Gents…

I encourage you to keep searching…if your depression, etc. is controlled and stable, I believe some congregation will accept you if you have a vocation to their particular community. Men and women who need diabetic meds, or, as in my own case, asthma meds, etc. are NOT “ruled out”, and I have a few friends from various communities who take depression meds.

The key is absolute honesty and being totally up front about your condition/situation (which I see you all have!). A friend of mine applied to a congregation, told them she was on medication for depression, did not think she’d be accepted, and, happily, WAS accepted with great joy! The superior at the time said, “We’d accept you if you were a diabetic; why would this be any different?” She has been with them for nearly as long as I’ve been with my community, and we both attended each others’ profession of final/perpetual vows. SO, there is hope…keep searching!

I can see how perhaps a cloistered, totally contemplative order would not be a good match for someone with depressive disorders, but I would think most active congregations where you teach, etc. should be a good fit under most circumstances.

I’ll be praying for you! Please keep us updated!

 

[SisterSnowflake]

P.S.

OOPS…I forgot to mention: proof of your long-term stability is GREAT (i.e., you have held X job for X number of years, you completed your education with no problems, ability to support yourself, you’ve been active in your parish, etc.).

 

[Old_Convert]

Dear SisterSnowflake:

Thank you so much for your positive and upbeat reply to our posts! I’m going to print your reply and take it to my meeting with the Franciscan Sisters of Mary next week. I think what you said may make a difference especially since one of the members of the FSM is a medical doctor who should know about these things. I want her to see this part (quoting you):

“A friend of mine applied to a congregation, told them she was on medication for depression, did not think she’d be accepted, and, happily, WAS accepted with great joy! The superior at the time said, “We’d accept you if you were a diabetic; why would this be any different?” She has been with them for nearly as long as I’ve been with my community, and we both attended each others’ profession of final/perpetual vows. SO, there is hope…keep searching!”

Again, thank you so much. Pray for us all!

In Jesus and Mary,

 

[mercygate]

Dear SisterSnowflake:

Thank you so much for your positive and upbeat reply to our posts! I’m going to print your reply and take it to my meeting with the Franciscan Sisters of Mary next week. I think what you said may make a difference especially since one of the members of the FSM is a medical doctor who should know about these things. I want her to see this part (quoting you):

“A friend of mine applied to a congregation, told them she was on medication for depression, did not think she’d be accepted, and, happily, WAS accepted with great joy! The superior at the time said, “We’d accept you if you were a diabetic; why would this be any different?” She has been with them for nearly as long as I’ve been with my community, and we both attended each others’ profession of final/perpetual vows. SO, there is hope…keep searching!”

Again, thank you so much. Pray for us all!

In Jesus and Mary,

WOW! They took a diabetic? That’s amazing. Go for it!

 

[BarbaraTherese]

“A friend of mine applied to a congregation, told them she was on medication for depression, did not think she’d be accepted, and, happily, WAS accepted with great joy! The superior at the time said, “We’d accept you if you were a diabetic; why would this be any different?” She has been with them for nearly as long as I’ve been with my community, and we both attended each others’ profession of final/perpetual vows. SO, there is hope…keep searching!”

It is not only amazing that a diabetic was accepted into a religious community but awesome that a person on medication for depression should be also!!! This does auger well for our hope that we are heading for a more enlightened, educated and realistic future and view of sufferers of MI (depression is a MI) with medication keeping them stable …and even being admitted into more religious orders and that The Lord does indeed give some sufferers a religious vocation and that hence they are able to live it out given an opportunity.

I think often perhaps dated concepts of MI and sufferers are drawn from a now defunct time (although not all that long ago) when psychiatric treatments for MI together with available medications were not as effective and affective as they are today. Many sufferers today are able to return to their workplace or professional careers and quite successfully. Some have returned to an education process and quite successfully and establish careers from there.

God bless this religious order, Sister Snowflake! Spread the word!!!

Barb

 

[mercygate]

It is not only amazing that a diabetic was accepted into a religious community but awesome that a person on medication for depression should be also!!! This does auger well for our hope that we are heading for a more enlightened, educated and realistic future and view of sufferers of MI (depression is a MI) with medication keeping them stable …and even being admitted into more religious orders and that The Lord does indeed give some sufferers a religious vocation and that hence they are able to live it out given an opportunity.

I think often perhaps dated concepts of MI and sufferers are drawn from a now defunct time (although not all that long ago) when psychiatric treatments for MI together with available medications were not as effective and affective as they are today. Many sufferers today are able to return to their workplace or professional careers and quite successfully. Some have returned to an education process and quite successfully and establish careers from there.

God bless this religious order, Sister Snowflake! Spread the word!!!

Barb

This is so true. I know a person who spent years in treatment and in mental hospitals with multiple personality disorder and other schizophrenic manifefstations, who periodically slashed herself . . . She his now middle-aged, and in her third year of college, where she is getting 4.0 GPAs, publishing papers in scholarly journals (as an UNDERGRADUATE), delivering papers at scholarly meetings, and being mistakenly addressed as “Professor”.

She is amazing. NEVER have I seen so much as the teensiest inkling of her illness. She has become rigorous in taking her medication and every day she has a new success in life, it brings her further out of her past.

 

[OrdainedPraise]

If it is any consolation to you - I have chosen the vocation to homeschool my children while I have been diagnosed with PTSS and have been on meds and seeing a psychiatrist my entire married life. My children are flourishing now and I have learned to manage my symptoms. Nevertheless, I am a new member of CAF too and I’ve managed to ‘mess up’ my thread I started. I will have to call the administrator to see if they can ‘fix it up’ and I will have to refrain from posting to it for a good while.

 

[Old_Convert]

Hi All:

I just had the most wonderful one-hour long telephone conversation with Mother Wendy James, SSC, of the Servants of the Sacred Cross.

She is a retired nurse, and we discussed depression and other “mental” illnesses in relationship to a vocation in her order. She does NOT consider depression to be a prohibition for entry into the society for those who will be living in their own homes. Debt is not a factor in this case either. If one should desire to enter their contemplative/active house in Halifax, Nova Scotia, all debts would have to be paid first; however, a person with a history of controlled depression would certainly be considered for entry in the contemplative/active house. She said she might require a letter from a physician, but that is very little to ask when one considers how most American contemplative/active communities reply to an applicant with controlled depression.

For any of you interested, here is the website again:

thesacredcross.org/main.htm

I left a voicemail message for her only yesterday, and she returned my call today! The order has 14 members throughout the world, two in Australia. They will be receiving more postulants (after discernment with Mother Wendy) this September–if both mother and the woman feel that the woman is ready to be a postulant. They have no age limit, except that you must be 18 or older to enter. If you have been finding nothing but closed doors, I urge you to give Sr. Wendy a call. The number to call is on their website. They accept Anglicans of the Traditional Communion, Roman Catholics (check out the positive comments from the Vatican on their website!) and Eastern Orthodox. I talked to my parish priest about this order yesterday, and his reply was very positive!

I am just thrilled after talking to her. The Servants of the Sacred Cross may be the answer to prayers for many women who have found nothing but discouragement when speaking with other communities!:extrahappy:

Praised Be Jesus Christ!

 

[mercygate]

Hi All:

I just had the most wonderful one-hour long telephone conversation with Mother Wendy James, SSC, of the Servants of the Sacred Cross.

She is a retired nurse, and we discussed depression and other “mental” illnesses in relationship to a vocation in her order. She does NOT consider depression to be a prohibition for entry into the society for those who will be living in their own homes. Debt is not a factor in this case either. If one should desire to enter their contemplative/active house in Halifax, Nova Scotia, all debts would have to be paid first; however, a person with a history of controlled depression would certainly be considered for entry in the contemplative/active house. She said she might require a letter from a physician, but that is very little to ask when one considers how most American contemplative/active communities reply to an applicant with controlled depression.

For any of you interested, here is the website again:

thesacredcross.org/main.htm

I left a voicemail message for her only yesterday, and she returned my call today! The order has 14 members throughout the world, two in Australia. They will be receiving more postulants (after discernment with Mother Wendy) this September–if both mother and the woman feel that the woman is ready to be a postulant. They have no age limit, except that you must be 18 or older to enter. If you have been finding nothing but closed doors, I urge you to give Sr. Wendy a call. The number to call is on their website. They accept Anglicans of the Traditional Communion, Roman Catholics (check out the positive comments from the Vatican on their website!) and Eastern Orthodox. I talked to my parish priest about this order yesterday, and his reply was very positive!

I am just thrilled after talking to her. The Servants of the Sacred Cross may be the answer to prayers for many women who have found nothing but discouragement when speaking with other communities!:extrahappy:

Praised Be Jesus Christ!

I am so happy for you!

I see a lot of movement towards unconventional ways of living consecrated life these days.

Although my form of life goes back to 1221 A.D., in some ways, it is also “novel” in that I am married but live a consecrated life under vows, praying the entire Divine Office, along with daily Mass, Scripture study and meditative/contemplative prayer daily and with a stiff dress code and rule of fasting (whilst “passing for normal”). Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do!

May you be blessed in your vocation.

 

[SisterSnowflake]

Hi All:

I just had the most wonderful one-hour long telephone conversation with Mother Wendy James, SSC, of the Servants of the Sacred Cross.

I am just thrilled after talking to her. The Servants of the Sacred Cross may be the answer to prayers for many women who have found nothing but discouragement when speaking with other communities!:extrahappy:

Praised Be Jesus Christ!

HOORAY! That is great news! We will be praying for you!

 

[BarbaraTherese]

This is so true. I know a person who spent years in treatment and in mental hospitals with multiple personality disorder and other schizophrenic manifefstations, who periodically slashed herself . . . She his now middle-aged, and in her third year of college, where she is getting 4.0 GPAs, publishing papers in scholarly journals (as an UNDERGRADUATE), delivering papers at scholarly meetings, and being mistakenly addressed as “Professor”.

She is amazing. NEVER have I seen so much as the teensiest inkling of her illness. She has become rigorous in taking her medication and every day she has a new success in life, it brings her further out of her past.

We had some years back a clinical psychologist from either the USA or the UK who had been confined to a back ward of a psychiatric institution with a schizophrenic diagnosis, heavily medicated, who fought and fought a verbal battle on many levels and was eventually allowed to leave. She is now a practising clinical psychologist, on medication, and tours giving hope and encouragement to fellow sufferers and to persist in their goals.
We used to have functioning here a Bipolar Group and I met there a woman and Bipolar sufferer who is a practising lawyer, another was a high school or College teacher. We have many success stories here in South Australia…but not one religious or nun, reflecting I do think a prevailing attitude in The Church from a defunct and now outdated time. The Church broadly speaking still has great distrust and suspicion, incorrect persistent attitudes, where sufferers of MI are concerned…at least here in Sth. Aust.

Barb

 

[BarbaraTherese]

If it is any consolation to you - I have chosen the vocation to homeschool my children while I have been diagnosed with PTSS and have been on meds and seeing a psychiatrist my entire married life. My children are flourishing now and I have learned to manage my symptoms. Nevertheless, I am a new member of CAF too and I’ve managed to ‘mess up’ my thread I started. I will have to call the administrator to see if they can ‘fix it up’ and I will have to refrain from posting to it for a good while.

Welcome to CAF OP!!! …we are a motley crew as we were from the first 12. I don’t know what post to which you are referring, but dont be too upset…most all of us mess up in posts from time to time!!! …Barb

 

[mercygate]

We had some years back a clinical psychologist from either the USA or the UK who had been confined to a back ward of a psychiatric institution with a schizophrenic diagnosis, heavily medicated, who fought and fought a verbal battle on many levels and was eventually allowed to leave. She is now a practising clinical psychologist, on medication, and tours giving hope and encouragement to fellow sufferers and to persist in their goals.
We used to have functioning here a Bipolar Group and I met there a woman and Bipolar sufferer who is a practising lawyer, another was a high school or College teacher. We have many success stories here in South Australia…but not one religious or nun, reflecting I do think a prevailing attitude in The Church from a defunct and now outdated time. The Church broadly speaking still has great distrust and suspicion, incorrect persistent attitudes, where sufferers of MI are concerned…at least here in Sth. Aust.

Barb

Well, looking at it from the “inside”, the community takes a huge responsibiity in accepting a candidate for profession. When someone is professed, the community becomes responsible for them – medically as well as otherwise. It’s like marriage but – especially in apostolic communities – there is a job to be done and each member is reasonably expected to be able to further that mission. It is in deference to the charism of the community that many groups accept only candidates in good health.