Prayer and Mental Health
Saint Thomas Aquinas (IIa-IIae, q. 83, a. 1., sc), quoting Isidore of Seville, wrote that prayer is an act of the intellect — for prayer is to speak.
Upon entering university and stepping into the realities of many young people, I was shocked to discover how many of them continue to suffer from defects in their mental health. Nevertheless, I understood that in their suffering, they were seeking not only our compassion, but most importantly, answers — answers beyond our ability to give.
In order to address and solve this issue, it may be time for us to put aside social media and gadgets, and return to prayer. Indeed, many scientific studies over the past months have proved the efficacy of prayer in resolving mental health issues. But we must remember that, before the advent of modern science, the Angelic Doctor (St. Thomas Aquinas) had already demonstrated — with the help of Scripture and the Church Fathers — that prayer has a real connection to our intellective powers. It should therefore not surprise us that prayer can help us alleviate our mental afflictions.
The very first article that Saint Thomas poses on his question on prayer was written in order to prove that prayer is an act of the intellect more than the appetitive power. Quoting Dionysius, he demonstrated that whenever we call upon God in prayer, we unveil our mind in His presence. Desire — for sure — will come in prayer, for the will moves the reason to its end (which is union with God); but approaching the Divine presence requires that we lift up our minds to God and ask of Him the desires of our hearts.
Our Lord instructed us to pray and not to faint; to pray with perseverance and trust. In these times of turmoil, we must be reminded of the necessity of prayer; of having recourse to God's help. It is sad to see how many of us have been deceived by propaganda to abandon our identity rooted in the image of God, and to turn instead to our frail selves and worldly deities for answers. But at last, beyond any other kind of therapy, prayer will always be effective in relieving our anxieties and worries in life.
The notion of transcendence must find its way back into our society. We must search once again for the Divine if we want to solve the difficulties of this age. Despair is the result of immanentism: those who look for answers within themselves can only find none. Indeed, God is the author of all good: to pray is to have confidence in Him who will bestow on us good things; for He promised that we must only ask and we shall receive. Let us pray unceasingly!
Mark Joseph Calingasan is a former member of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) and the current Managing Editor of The Brahmans' Journal, the official student publication of the University of Batangas — Lipa Campus (UBLC).