Is Sagrario the best psychiatrist?

Sometimes people tell me that the best psychiatrist is Sagrario. To which I usually reply: yes, and also the best gynecologist and the best orthopedist. They don't find it funny, but God does, who is the best comedian.

But what could be hidden behind this reference to Jesus as a psychiatrist? Perhaps it is that people turn to psychiatrists to resolve issues that are not so much about mental health as spiritual health, to address problems in life that are not medical; or that they are asked to remove suffering that is necessary to go through as a complete human being who is developing. Science tells us that a true spiritual life—regardless of religion—facilitates better mental health through the consequences of acceptance, letting go, connection with oneself, transcendence toward nature and people, and the capacity for understanding and compassion.

Some persist in explaining to me why Jesus Christ is indeed the best psychiatrist, while I imagine Jesus Christ saying, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's,” and that he has not come to resolve inheritance issues or other human affairs. 

God can perform miracles and heal any illness, but He usually encourages us to go to the doctor, use the means at our disposal, attend to His ordinary presence in the hands of others, and not ask for what we ourselves are responsible for resolving, healing, or attending to. It does not seem that the adolescent Jesus resolved the difficulties of Joseph's craftsmanship. 

Seeing Jesus as responsible for resolving my health issues would be like considering the guardian angel to be the best courier service because he delivered letters to Saint Gemma, or Padre Pio to be the best anti-aircraft gun because he appeared in the air to some bomber pilots and drove them away from his village. To God what belongs to God, and to the doctor what belongs to the doctor, and let everyone scratch their own backs.

Can a mentally ill person be loved by God and love God? Some people are very surprised when I tell them that there are canonized saints who had mental health problems: Saint Louis Martin, Teresita's father, spent three years in an asylum; Saint Camillus de Lellis was a compulsive gambler; St. Josemaría suffered from insomnia; Josephine Bakhita had symptoms of post-traumatic stress due to the abuse she suffered; St. Mary of Egypt had a sex addiction; and St. Oscar Romero had obsessive-compulsive disorder. In short, they were normal people like you and me, who loved God and needed a doctor.

Can a relationship with God promote mental health? There are four ways in which a personal relationship with God could facilitate mental health:

1.- You are good. God loves you just because you are. You are His favorite, loved before, and you don't have to do anything special for God to love you. He already does, even if you don't ask Him to. He invites you to the feast of Love, and if you want, you can join in and enjoy yourself. This is very powerful for your self-esteem, for the way you relate to others and develop your style of attachment, and for your self-confidence: how can you not be calm, confident, and optimistic when God himself is in love with you! You are a worthy, valid, unique, authentic person. 

2.- You have energy, and that energy is good. Human beings develop, enhance their abilities, are capable of having ideas, inventing, creating art, transforming matter. Grow, multiply, and rule the earth! You have inherited all that power from God. Take advantage of it. Don't stand still. Develop your talents. Learning all this in catechesis will encourage you not to be afraid of progress, of your own strength, of your freedom, of being aware that you can direct your own life. Of course, let your actions personalize you, authenticate you, and enhance your own identity, far from the culture of success and comparison.

3.- You have limitations, so take care of yourself. God loves you and loves your projects, but at the same time reminds you that you are not God and that it is therefore necessary to take care of yourself, to rest, to manage your expectations, to set limits, to ask yourself what is good for you, and to realize that not everything is right for you. 

4.- You need to be transformed. Like the Trinity, human beings are relational; thanks to interpersonal relationships, your identity develops further. It is no longer a question of your freedom ending where mine begins, but rather that my freedom is improved, enriched, and enhanced thanks to the encounter with yours, in daily contact with so many people. It is not only God who transforms me, but the presence of God in each of the people with whom I interact challenges me to be present and to practice loving others as myself, with the paradox that by giving myself, I possess myself more.

There are many psychiatrists, but there is only one Salvador.