We end our list of resources with the two that may be closest to home…the Catholic faith and your local parish.
The Catholic faith has been around for more than two thousand years and it is probably safe to say that it has provided a foundation for the of mental health of billions of people. With Mass, homilies, the sacraments, prayer groups, Bible studies, volunteer and social justice ministries, choirs, Stephen ministries and pastoral counseling, your local Catholic parish is a great place to start. Getting out and joining with others in faith can be beneficial for your mental health.
Go to Mass in person if possible and since some parishes provide coffee and pastries after Mass, stay after Mass and start talking to people if you can. Most parishes have the times of weekend and weekday Mass schedules posted on their websites. In addition to going to Mass in person, most parishes now offer some Masses online. No matter how you attend, the homilies as well as the liturgies can have a profound effect on your mental health.
So too can the groups that are already meeting in just about every parish. So ask whether there are any groups that already meet in your parish, like Bible Study or faith sharing or affinity groups or men’s/women’s groups or Stephen Ministries. One reason the church has survived for more than two millennia is that it has met the psychological and social needs as well as the spiritual needs of billions of people. It could do the same for you!