SAN DIEGO — The annual Diocesan Mass for Mental Health Awareness will be celebrated on Sunday, May 18, at Holy Spirit Parish.
The special event will include the Vietnamese (9 a.m.), English (10:30 a.m.) and Spanish (noon) Masses, as well as a Mental Health Resource Fair that will run from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The homily, prayer intentions, and a brief witness talk after Communion will all bring attention to the theme of mental health and how our Catholic faith informs the way we respond to mental health challenges,” said John Prust, director of the diocesan Office for Family Life and Spirituality.
Resource tables will be arrayed outside the main entrance, where Mass-goers can peruse them on their way in and out of the church.
Several organizations and ministries will be represented at the fair, including NAMI San Diego (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Mental Health America, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) and Recovery International, as well as the Diocesan Mental Health Ministry Network and representatives from local parishes with active mental health ministries.
The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency’s Live Well on Wheels (Live WoW) Bus also will be present.
The Mass and resource fair coincide with the traditional observance of May as Mental Health Awareness Month, as part of an effort to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.
Wendy Baez, an associate director in the Office for Family Life and Spirituality, drew a connection between this year’s event and the ongoing Jubilee Year being observed by the Catholic Church through Jan. 6 of next year.
Jubilees are special periods dedicated to repentance and striving for greater holiness. The theme of Jubilee Year 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope.”
“In a true spirit of this year’s Jubilee Year,” said Baez, “the Diocesan Mental Health Awareness Mass invites the faith community to a pilgrimage of hope and walk alongside with our brothers and sisters — and their families — who are affected by mental health illness.”
The staff of the Office for Family Life and Spirituality firmly believes that the Church can – and should – be involved in the area of mental health.
Janelle Peregoy, another associate director, said that it is one of her “pet peeves” that “the billion-dollar wellness industry often co-opts wording around mental health and self-care.”
“Whether one has a diagnosable mental illness or lives with chronic stress, we understand that life-giving practices such as prayer, spending more time with those we love, exercise, etc., help mitigate negative effects on our mental health,” she said. “Jesus subverted so many paradigms and, by echoing the call of the Gospels, the Church is uniquely qualified to define what it actually means to live a purposeful and meaningful life.”
Prust said that he hopes those who attend the upcoming Mass and resource fair will receive the message “that they’re not alone, that help is out there, and that the Church is a safe place for them to come and to be vulnerable about their hurts and failings.”
“Only when we do that do we allow the grace of the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us,” he said. “Some of our greatest saints through history probably had diagnosable mental health conditions, as we would define them today, but that didn’t make them any less holy. In fact, their mental health challenges were probably sources of sanctity that inspired even greater compassion and empathy for those in need.”
The Office for Family Life and Spirituality will host a “Mental Health Ministry 101” workshop series, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., May 20 (“Why Mental Health Ministry?”) and May 27 (“Developing a Parish Mental Health Ministry”), at the diocesan Pastoral Center. English and Spanish workshop options will be available both evenings. For information, call John Prust at (858) 490-8256.
