Message from Our Pastor Fr. Aaron Pierre, S.J.
Seen, Known, and Accompanied (Part 1)
Among us are people carrying things no one sees: anxiety, a sadness that won’t lift, sleepless nights, exhaustion from overwork, homesickness for family far away, a grief that never ends. Some come to Mass, work, care for their families, and smile at everyone, while inside they carry an enormous weight. All of us have carried something like it.
A few years ago I was taken aback to hear a friend say, “My psychologist told me…” He said it without shame. How many of us stay silent about our suffering, thinking it weakness, or that no one would understand?
This month, Pope Leo asks the Church to pray for those who struggle with their mental health. His prayer begins with a beautiful truth about God: “You know the innermost depths of our hearts—the light and shadows within us, the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.” What others cannot see, God sees. And God does not turn away. Psalm 139 says it too: “You knit me in my mother’s womb… you understand my thoughts from afar.” Jesus knew that anguish in Gethsemane: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death” (Mt 26:38).
Some wounds come from childhood, loss, or the hardships of leaving home. Illness is real, but it is never the whole truth about us. From Genesis on, every person bears the image and likeness of God, and no struggle erases it. Our concern for those who suffer begins not with a diagnosis, but with dignity. Yet we have sometimes added shame, suggesting that someone just needs to “pray more,” or that depression is a lack of faith or a punishment from God. In his prayer, Pope Leo asks forgiveness “for the times we have looked the other way, feeding the stigma and discrimination.”
“You call them by name, with tenderness, and in You they find dignity and hope.” Our suffering does not diminish our dignity; so we should never be ashamed to receive the care we need. May our parish be “a community that accompanies and never excludes, that listens without judging and draws near without fear.”
If you or someone in your family needs help, don’t wait: speak with a priest or call the parish office at (414) 645-7624. If it is an emergency or you are thinking of harming yourself, call 988 or 414-257-7222 anytime 24/7.
| 
