What a psychiatrist taught me
A great retired psychiatrist that used to teach in one of the illustrious universities in the UK once taught me a big lesson. He told me: People hardly realise that Christ lives in them.
It was St Paul, in his famous letter to the Galatians, which wrote to them and to us too in our time: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20). How beautiful is the comment Pope Francis made on this verse in his weekly catechesis of 1st September 2021:
Paul could not have found a more convincing expression than what he had probably repeated to them several times in his preaching: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2: 20). Paul did not want to know anything other than the crucified Christ (cf. 1 Cor 2: 2). The Galatians must look to this event, without letting themselves be distracted by other proclamations. In short, Paul’s intention is to put pressure on Christians so that they could realise what was at stake, so they would not allow themselves to be enchanted by the voice of the sirens who wanted to lead them to a religiosity based solely on the scrupulous observance of precepts. Because they, the new preachers who had arrived there in Galatia, had convinced them that they should turn back and also return to the precepts they had observed and that led to perfection before the coming of Christ, which is the gratuitousness of salvation.
But this is not the only verse that shows us that Christ lives in us. The Bible keeps reminding us of this very important reality. It says: But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness (Rom 8:10). Then in the letter of 2 Corinthians we find: For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us (2 Cor 4:6-7). In the first chapter of the Letter to the Galatians we come across the following verse: But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood (Gal 1:15-16).
The same letter also reminds us that Christ is formed in us. My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you! (Gal 4:19). Then, the letter to the Ephesians brings forth the fact that Christ wants to make His home deep within our hearts. Here is the wish of the apostle: that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Eph 3:17). On the same lines, the letter to the Colossians remind us that Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27). Finally, the Second letter to the Thessalonians tells us that the Lord Jesus comes on that day to be glorified in his saints (2 Thes 1:10).
All these Scriptural quotes remind me of what the priest St John Eudes (1601-1680) writes: Christ belongs to you, but more than that, he longs to be in you, living and ruling in you, as the head lives and rules in the body.
Inspired by these beautiful words of the Holy Spirit put in the mouth of St John Eudes let us pray:
Lord Jesus, I come before you, just as I am, I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In your Name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give you my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite you into my life, Jesus. I accept you as my Lord, God and Savior. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul, and spirit.
Come Lord Jesus, cover me with your Precious Blood, and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I love you Lord Jesus. I praise you Jesus. I thank you Jesus. I shall follow you every day of my life. Amen.
What a great lesson a retired psychiatrist has taught me!
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
