Parish Health Happenings- March I recently attended the funeral of my first cousin, Kevin, who at 31 years old, lost his life to the disease of addiction. There is so much sadness surrounding such a loss, but none so much as the realization that no matter how much love surrounded Kevin, he was unable to tap into that love and tried hard to fill that hole by using, and becoming addicted to, substances. I know this based on my last interaction with Kevin in September of 2020. He was in recovery at the time and was trying so hard to embrace a new life without what he referred to as “the crutch of opiates”. He and I were messaging back and forth on Facebook and Kevin wrote,
“I just need more love in my life. I am POSITIVE that is the hole I have been trying to fill. Love is the answer to everything.”
Without knowing he nailed it, Kevin nailed it. Sadly, he relapsed and ultimately, his addiction took his life here on earth. Most people realize that we are in the middle of a mental health crisis. We were already well on our way when the pandemic hit our world two years ago. This exacerbated the problem, making the elderly particularly vulnerable to its effects since the main means we used to protect them was isolation. I have been made keenly aware of this by my visits into the community, coming face to face with the loneliness and feelings of hopelessness in some of our homebound parishioners.
I know that I am seeing only the tip of the iceberg. The truth is that it is hard to feel loved when you are isolated. Because we were created by God, who IS love, the loss of connection to our external sources of love wreaks havoc on our mental health and spiritual health. As a parish community, we can live the Corporal Works of Mercy by bringing love to them through phone calls, visits, cards, meals and many other ways. I invite you to reach out to me if you would like to visit some of our homebound parishioners and radiate God’s love throughout the St. Ignatius community.
On March 31st, Parish Health is partnering with LaSalle High School and hosting a blood drive here on the St. Ignatius campus. Please see the flyer that has been posted on Flocknote, Facebook and in the bulletin and consider a life saving donation that day. Help us reach our goal of 40 donors! If you would like to join our Lenten fasting efforts, it is not too late. The benefits reach far and wide in both body and soul. If you need an intention, our Ukrainian brothers and sisters need the world’s prayers. As we know, our fasting can strengthen those prayers in a big way. Please continue to pray for peace!
Kate Rewwer Parish Health Coordinator
(513) 661-6565 ext 2742 krewwer@sainti.org
