The past few days have been spiritually and emotionally challenging...
In addition to the pall of sadness surrounding the September 11 remembrances and memorials for the dead, several men have made suicide attempts. And one of these cases was very serious. A young man had come very close to dying. I know him and had tried to speak with him on several occasions, He is a recluse.
I have been praying for this man for about a year. He lives in a lonely world of self-imposed social isolation, never speaking to others unless he needs a cigarette or a light. From the moment I first saw him my heart took pity on him.
Only recently did he begin to nod hello to me when he would see me. For the longest I would say hello to him. I would say his name and wish him a good morning. And it must have been about ten months before I first began to get a slight nod of response.
I knew he was a loner, but I did not know how depressed he was, and how full of self-loathing. I recognized these dark feelings in him. These feelings were written on his face, plus I have the Holy Spirit's discernment to know when someone is troubled, hurting or sick. However, I was not as sensitive to his plight as I should have been, and I feel a little guilty. For I just found out that earlier today, shortly after the breakfast meal, this man returned to his cell and tried to take his life. He failed. But he cut his wrist terribly and had to be rushed to the prison's infirmary.
D.B.
I have been praying for this man for about a year. He lives in a lonely world of self-imposed social isolation, never speaking to others unless he needs a cigarette or a light. From the moment I first saw him my heart took pity on him.
Only recently did he begin to nod hello to me when he would see me. For the longest I would say hello to him. I would say his name and wish him a good morning. And it must have been about ten months before I first began to get a slight nod of response.
I knew he was a loner, but I did not know how depressed he was, and how full of self-loathing. I recognized these dark feelings in him. These feelings were written on his face, plus I have the Holy Spirit's discernment to know when someone is troubled, hurting or sick. However, I was not as sensitive to his plight as I should have been, and I feel a little guilty. For I just found out that earlier today, shortly after the breakfast meal, this man returned to his cell and tried to take his life. He failed. But he cut his wrist terribly and had to be rushed to the prison's infirmary.
D.B.