{"id":5774,"date":"2011-07-31T19:53:24","date_gmt":"2011-07-31T23:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/deaconsbench\/?p=5774"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:40:13","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:40:13","slug":"lisa-graas-is-crazy-about-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2011\/07\/lisa-graas-is-crazy-about-the-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Graas is crazy about the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

And she has been posting some wise and brave thoughts about that \u2014 and specifically, about her own struggles with Bipolar Disorder<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To one concerned reader, she writes: <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is nothing in this but the Cross\u2026but that is the whole point. Jesus is our leader, and we follow Him in carrying the Cross. If we have that, we have everything. There is nothing that I can say apart from Jesus, and nothing I can do apart from carry His Cross with Him. That is the only \u201cmessage\u201d I could ever give because it is the only one I know to give.<\/p>\n

\u201cObtaining normalcy\u201d is not the goal. Sharing the life of Christ is all there is to obtain. Know this, and you will know how to deal with this condition.<\/p>\n

There are very likely not ever going to be any saints named by the Church who were known to have been mentally ill, because it is likely that the Cross of the mentally ill person is to be rejected by those who have the most \u201csense\u201d. I\u2019ve yet to show an ability to accept that burden\u2026but I am trying.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And she later elaborates, with some instructive thoughts about what the Church says about this disorder<\/a><\/strong>, beginning with a quote from Pope Benedict:<\/p>\n

The Church, particularly through the work of her chaplains, will not fail to offer you her help, well aware that she is called to express Christ\u2019s love and concern for those who suffer and for those who look after them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But she then notes:<\/p>\n

About that \u201cexpressing Christ\u2019s love and concern\u201d, I\u2019ve yet to see this happen from among the average lay Catholics \u2018on the street\u2019 who are very close to someone with Bipolar Disorder. Calling someone an ugly name while you\u2019re delusional isn\u2019t like having a broken arm\u2026.except to Jesus and the Pope, I guess. For everyone else, it still generally means that you\u2019re a dirty sinner who probably doesn\u2019t deserve to have any friends, least of all faithful Catholic ones, and most certainly not them personally.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s much more.\u00a0 Visit her blog<\/strong>.<\/a> It\u2019s something every Catholic should read \u2014 especially if you know or love someone struggling with mental illness.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And she has been posting some wise and brave thoughts about that \u2014 and specifically, about her own struggles with Bipolar Disorder. To one concerned reader, she writes: There is nothing in this but the Cross\u2026but that is the whole point. Jesus is our leader, and we follow Him in carrying the Cross. If we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[151,528],"class_list":["post-5774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-great-links","tag-bipolar-disorder","tag-lisa-graas"],"yoast_head":"\nLisa Graas is crazy about the Lord<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"And she has been posting some wise and brave thoughts about that -- and specifically, about her own struggles with Bipolar Disorder. 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