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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Daughter no longer takes Holy Communion	anon	Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Question: Dear Brother Ignatius Mary My daughter has been suffering from anxiety, depression and is unable to leave the house to work, study or use public transport. The only time she goes out is if a family member takes her. This began about one year ago. We were lucky that she finished High School but she has not been able to function in the community since. She comes to Mass with us on Sunday and she sometimes leaves at the time of The Consecration. She will not receive Jesus in Holy Communion and has told me she no longer believes in Jesus or the Catholic faith. She has received Specialist medical help. She is currently being treated by a Catholic Doctor who has been open with us about her treatment. Legally he or my daughter do not have to share any aspect of her treatment with us .She has severe anxiety and depression .She seems to be progressing very slowly. I contacted you twice in the past and have been praying consistently. The last time I wrote was in May about the " strange poem" in her room. She has only handed it over today to be destroyed. Please help me if you can. I would like to have the child back who said many Rosaries ,who attended Eucharistic Adoration, would wait to put Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. She was doing all of these things approximately 14 months ago .She has a beautiful Statue of Our Lady of Fatima blessed by The Franciscan (FI) friars.She took it out of her room and gave it back to me saying she no longer wanted it. Please pray for us . Thank you
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dean Anon: We will certainly pray for your daughter and for your whole family. Since your daughter is an adult, she must come forward for help. If she did that, perhaps I could help her, I don't know. Certainly any psychiatric issues need to be handled by a psychiatrist. Most of what you describe, even her not believing in the Faith anymore, can be a result of severe depression. So, on the first measure, encourage her to seek out, or to continue to seek out, psychiatric care and to remain on her medications. On the spiritual level, even though she is an adult, she is still, within the wider context, in your household. Thus, you and your husband can stand in as "head of the house" in the spirit and have an authority that I or others would not have. The prayers I already suggested to you I would continue to pray. I would add to those prayers the Prayer Rebuking Particular Spirits. The spirits that you may want to ask God to rebuke are the spirits of depression, anxiety, despair, lack of faith, and any other spirit (named by attribute) that you may think be involved. This is going to be an issue of perseverance. There are no magic bullets or magic prayers to bring back your daughter to the way she was. Your daughter has free will (which God will not intrude upon) and she has whatever problems she has psychologically. The doctors will hopefully handle the psychological problems, you can deal with the spiritual problems by proxy by virtue of being her parents. A devotion to St. Monica would also be in order. She is the Patron of Perseverance in prayer about one's children. We will keep your daughter in our prayers. God loves you and loves your daughter. Trust in Him. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Daughter no longer takes Holy Communion

anon

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Question:

Dear Brother Ignatius Mary

My daughter has been suffering from anxiety, depression and is unable to leave the house to work, study or use public transport. The only time she goes out is if a family member takes her. This began about one year ago. We were lucky that she finished High School but she has not been able to function in the community since.

She comes to Mass with us on Sunday and she sometimes leaves at the time of The Consecration. She will not receive Jesus in Holy Communion and has told me she no longer believes in Jesus or the Catholic faith.

She has received Specialist medical help. She is currently being treated by a Catholic Doctor who has been open with us about her treatment. Legally he or my daughter do not have to share any aspect of her treatment with us .She has severe anxiety and depression .She seems to be progressing very slowly.

I contacted you twice in the past and have been praying consistently. The last time I wrote was in May about the " strange poem" in her room. She has only handed it over today to be destroyed.

Please help me if you can. I would like to have the child back who said many Rosaries ,who attended Eucharistic Adoration, would wait to put Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. She was doing all of these things approximately 14 months ago .She has a beautiful Statue of Our Lady of Fatima blessed by The Franciscan (FI) friars.She took it out of her room and gave it back to me saying she no longer wanted it.

Please pray for us .
Thank you

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dean Anon:

We will certainly pray for your daughter and for your whole family.

Since your daughter is an adult, she must come forward for help. If she did that, perhaps I could help her, I don't know.

Certainly any psychiatric issues need to be handled by a psychiatrist. Most of what you describe, even her not believing in the Faith anymore, can be a result of severe depression.

So, on the first measure, encourage her to seek out, or to continue to seek out, psychiatric care and to remain on her medications.

On the spiritual level, even though she is an adult, she is still, within the wider context, in your household. Thus, you and your husband can stand in as "head of the house" in the spirit and have an authority that I or others would not have.

The prayers I already suggested to you I would continue to pray. I would add to those prayers the Prayer Rebuking Particular Spirits. The spirits that you may want to ask God to rebuke are the spirits of depression, anxiety, despair, lack of faith, and any other spirit (named by attribute) that you may think be involved.

This is going to be an issue of perseverance. There are no magic bullets or magic prayers to bring back your daughter to the way she was. Your daughter has free will (which God will not intrude upon) and she has whatever problems she has psychologically. The doctors will hopefully handle the psychological problems, you can deal with the spiritual problems by proxy by virtue of being her parents.

A devotion to St. Monica would also be in order. She is the Patron of Perseverance in prayer about one's children.

We will keep your daughter in our prayers.

God loves you and loves your daughter. Trust in Him.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.