A Prayer for Those Dealing with Depression

Despair does its best to claim us every day. Some of us are engaged in a daily battle with this beast, while others only have to face it once in a while or at certain seasons of the year. Whichever case is true, the fact remains that depression is a powerful force for evil in this world. By some accounts, it has never been more powerful than it is today.

This article from Aleteia has an interesting perspective on depression, along with an attached prayer written by Padre Pio. If this monster has been clawing at your mind recently, readers, then this might just be the ray of light you need. Take a look at the article below and remember to reach the next time you feel despair pushing down on you:

When we’re depressed or feeling blue, this prayer from Padre Pio is a way to reach out

Margaret Rose Realy, Obl.OSB | Jan 10, 2018

If you find yourself in a state of darkness, the key is “to reach.”

The small framed unsigned print reads “Reach up as high as you can today, and God will reach down the rest of the way.” It’s my go-to quote for those times when I feel an emotional darkness—depression—coming on. For many of us this darkness is a familiar not-so-good old friend, the Black Dog mentioned by Sir Winston Churchill—or seasonal affective disorder.

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) has clinical definitions for depression, and there is as well the spiritual darkness that St. John of the Cross writes about in Dark Night of the Soul. However you’ve come to a depressive state, and for whatever history brought you there, the key in both of those dark times is to reach.

The state of darkness and depression is not a void. It is a space filled with insights that we are momentarily blinded to. When we try to go it alone, we are often too wearied to keep from going under, instead succumbing to the waves of hopelessness.

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