Good Saint Dymphna, great wonder-worker in every affliction of mind and body, I humbly implore your powerful intercession with Jesus through Mary, the Health of the Sick, in my present need. (Mention it.) Saint Dymphna, martyr of purity, patroness of those who suffer with nervous and mental afflictions, beloved child of Jesus and Mary, pray to them for me and obtain my request.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.
Saint Dymphna, virgin and martyr, pray for us.
A traditional prayer.
St. Dymphna is honored as a virgin and martyr, and her feast is May 15. The earliest account of her life was written in the 13th century from oral tradition. It tells of the daughter of a pagan Irish king who became a Christian and fled to what is now Belgium with the priest St. Gerebernus to escape her father. When he found her at Gheel and she still refused him, he put her to death (EWTN).
“From time immemorial,” St. Dymphna has been invoked at Gheel on behalf of people suffering from mental illness. There, a long tradition grew up of families welcoming the mentally ill into their homes and caring for them (EWTN). Today Catholics turn to her for anxiety, depression and every affliction of the mind, for themselves and for those they love.
The Church teaches that “by his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion” (CCC 1505). Prayer is not a substitute for care. Alongside your prayer to St. Dymphna, please reach out to a doctor, counselor or priest, and to people you trust. If you or someone you love is in crisis, contact emergency services or a crisis line right away.
More prayers: Prayer Against Depression · Prayer for the Sick and for Healing · Prayers in Times of Trouble
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