And with Lent turning all of our minds to prayer, I thought I'd pen a Catholic Nook post today. These posts tend to favor a discussion of chaplets, because I love them so much. :) And here we have another one!
Allison made this chaplet for me, that is in fact my St. Dymphna chaplet posing in the photo for this post. She almost always has a St. Dymphna chaplet in her Etsy store (like this one), or you can ask her to custom make one for you.
St. Dymphna is the patron saint for those suffering from mental illness. She has a rather sad story, involving her father trying to attack her, and ultimately killing her. The mental illness patronage comes into play since what father not afflicted by mental illness in some way would treat his daughter like this? St. Dymphna forgave and prayed for him, and now we can ask her intercession for matters involving mental health. For me, I've struggled with postpartum depression in the past, and so I'm very sensitive to this issue. I find this chaplet soothing to pray if I'm feeling anxious or down about something.
The traditional colors of a St. Dymphna chaplet are red (symbolizing martyrdom), white (symbolizing virginity), and green (representing mental illness). To pray with this chaplet:
- On the St. Dymphna medal, ask for her intercession and lay out your intention.
- On the two "drop" beads, pray 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary.
- Then, on the other beads, pray the Glory Be 15 times, in honor of the 15 years of St. Dymphna's life.
I'm also very sensitive to this issue, with loved ones who've suffered from anxiety and depression. I've prayed to St. Dymphna, but never done her chaplet. I think I need to get one of these (heading over to Etsy now...).
ReplyDeleteCatholic devotionals are so soothing and comforting! I love them. Thanks for sharing!