“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

As I was writing this post about the peace prayer I found out that the brother of someone I care very much about killed himself.  Even though he was dealing with depression lately no one thought that he would take his own life. 

My heart is broken for her and her family.  She is inconsolable.  It is hard to imagine someone wanting to take his own life, but depression is a very serious mental disorder.  

I pray for comfort and peace for my friend and her family. I pray for peace for her brother’s soul. 

If you or anyone you know is feeling down and depressed please reach out to someone.  Reach out to family or a friend and talk about it. You are not alone.  Share your feelings.

You can reach out to me.  I will be happy to talk to you and reassure you that whatever you are feeling at this moment it will pass. Life is still good even in the dark times.

“There is no point treating a depressed person as though she were just feeling sad, saying, ‘There now, hang on, you’ll get over it.’ Sadness is more or less like a head cold- with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.”― Barbara Kingsolver,  The Bean Trees

But sometimes just a listening ear and someone to talk to doesn’t help.  Often someone needs the help of a medical professional accompanied by medication.  Don’t be afraid to see a professional and take medication.

My mother was diagnosed with depression a few years ago and she is still under doctor’s care and medication.  I will be eternally grateful for her doctor.  He has been godsend. Professional help works!

In the US – Suicide Prevention Hotline -1-800-273-8255

In Brazil –  call 188 – https://www.cvv.org.br/

The prayer below and in the video is known as the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic Friar, but no one knows for sure who wrote it.  It has been said that it was attributed to him because at one point the prayer had been printed on a prayer card that had Saint Francis’s face on.  

No matter the origin, it is a prayer that I often think of and try to emulate.  I aim to do no harm and whenever possible to always bring joy.

And today, more than ever, I wish peace in the heart of every human being.

Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.