The Benedict Joseph Controversy

New YouTube Video on Benedict Joseph Labre-Needs Correction- Our Patron Did Suffer from Mental Illness

Hello Everyone,

There seems to be a growing contraversy over whether or not our saint had mental illness. We have to be advocates for the truth about our saint.. The research and books say he did experience darkness. At that time they did not have the word depression in their vocabulary and on some levels did not even know how to express mental illness in terms.

There is a nice new video on St Benedict Joseph Labre by Sensus Fidelium. It is very well done. However, I must comment and to tell you to BE AWARE they are not correct in saying that Benedict Joseph did not suffer from mental illness. Mostly all of the books state (even the one by His confessor Fr Marconi) mentions that the Abbot in Sept Fons...states that they "feared for his reason". Our saint refused to receive communion for periods of time because he felt God had rejected him. And they had suffered black darkness which today we call depression. However, it was just after his experience in the monastery in Sept Fons that God would heal him; from the moment he left the monastery he realized his true vocation was to be out in the world but not of the world. He was healed and thus offered his life as a monk in the world and gave everything to God and embraced all of the eccentricities of mental illness and homelessness to become one of the greatest saints. Our saint desired abandoment to God and rejection without endless measure to become the personifcation of the rejected suffering Christ.

CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO THE VIDEO

St  Teresa of Calcutta

Mental Illness is represented by Jesus' Crown of Thorns

 

 

 

 

 

Please pray that pershap one day I too might be able to make video series of our patron's life. I do suggest watching the video it is very well done.

 

Timothy Duff

Guardian/ Co-Founder