A00063 - A Day with Bernadette, A Few Moments with Moses the Ethiopian

Per my previous post, on Tuesday, August 2, I went to Los Angeles and spent the day with Saint Bernadette.  Beginning at 10 am, I stood in line for almost an hour within the voluminous Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in order to spend a moment next to Saint Bernadette's reliquary.  I then spent a half hour in the gift shop and another half hour in the cathedral cafe before reentering the Cathedral for the noon time mass.  After the mass, most people left but having not slept the night before, I retired to my car which was parked in the cathedral's parking garage and took a nap.  After two hours "sheltered" in my car, I emerged to once again line up for the reliquary so that I could have some of the items I purchased in the gift shop be blessed by having the attendants press the items against the reliquary and to spend a little more quality time before the reliquary without the rushed press of a long line of people. Being able to pay my respects to Bernadette after some 59 years, was a blessing indeed. 

Paying my respects to Bernadette lasted until about 5pm.  The Cathedral was scheduled to close at 6pm so in my remaining time, I got to know the Cathedral better.  

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is unlike any other Cathedral that I have visited.  It is very contemporary in its design and its interior is beautiful and inspiring.  You can read about some of the controversy surrounding the Cathedral at  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Our_Lady_of_the_Angels

and you can read some of the Cathedral produced informational material  here

https://www.olacathedral.org/

However, for me, the most impressive feature in the Cathedral was the installation of the 25 tapestries, each one of which has life size depictions of Catholic saints from all over the world.  Many of the saints (Mary of Jesus Crucified, Mother Teresa, Junipero Serra, Joan of Arc, Bernadette, John XXIII, Thomas Aquinas) are already part of my memory.  However, in an effort to be as inclusive as possible, there were many saints listed who were new to me.  Andrew Dung Lac, Marie Rose Durocher, Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, Lucia Khambang, Maria Venegas, Kateri Tekakwitha and so many others have been added to my list for additional research.  However, the one I begin with today is the one listed as Moses the Ethiopian or as Wikipedia lists him ... Moses the Black 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_the_Black

If you ever visit Los Angeles, I commend you to visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.  If your experience is like mine, then I believe that you too will feel blessed.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Fairfield, California

August 4, 2022

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Wed, Jul 27, 2022 5:40 am
Subject: National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: The Cultural Variants of Schizophrenia

One of the key takeaways from reading Tanya Luhrman's  Our Most Troubling Madness: Case Studies in Schizophrenia Across Cultures is that schizophrenia is not a uniform disease.  Schizophrenia has variations depending upon culture, class and caste

https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/schizophrenia-by-culture/

A diagnosis of schizophrenia appears to have a timeframe component.  From what I have observed, what is deemed to be schizophrenia today may not have existed in the past and, with advances in science and medicine, may not be the same tomorrow. 

Once culture, class, and caste are analyzed within the context of the time, the current higher than proportional existence of schizophrenia within the male African American population that resides on the streets and in our prisons begins to make a great deal of sense given that there are very real omnipresent indicators that hostile forces exist that make being an African American male particularly hazardous.

Alas, those are my observations. 

Peace,

Everett Jenkins

  

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Mon, Jul 25, 2022 5:21 am
Subject: National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: The Delusions of Saint Bernadette

As we agonize over the impending demise of the Amherst College listservs, I find myself intrigued by a previously unimaginable occurrence.  For the first time, the relics (certain sanctified parts of the body) of Saint Bernadette are on a tour of United States cities.

https://stbernadetteusa.org/ip.php

For those not familiar with her story, Saint Bernadette is famed for the miraculous events that occurred in Lourdes, France, in 1858 and for the miraculous cures associated with drinking the water from Lourdes which have continued to occur ever since.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Soubirous

The 1943 movie starring Jennifer Jones as Bernadette Soubirous was one of the formative movie experiences of my youth.  The notion that Bernadette saw a divine lady that no one else could see and heard a voice that no one else could hear sounds so much like an all too common affliction that can be seen on the streets of this fair land.

Indeed, per my recent studies, I have learned that today Bernadette might be deemed to suffer from a form of religious delusion 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_delusion

and that she follows in a long line of religious icons that may have suffered from similar mental ailments.  After all, how can one explain Muhammad's Night Journey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isra_and_Mi%27raj

or Joan of Arc's visions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc

or the somewhat disturbed pronouncements of a so-called carpenter from Nazareth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_of_Jesus

And yet, I find that much of my faith stems from a belief that these individuals did what they did, and saw what they saw, and  heard what they heard. Their acts and the inexplicable acts of so many others that I have found in history have convinced me that there is truth to their stories and that what they did, what they saw, and what they heard was indeed divine. After all, Bernadette did find water in the grotto and that water has somehow led to some miraculous cures.  . 

I cannot go to Lourdes, but some of Bernadette is coming to Los Angeles.  So "crazy" as it may seem, I think I shall go to see her... and perhaps experience some religious delusions of my own.

Peace,

Everett Jenkins

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Mon, Jul 4, 2022 2:46 am
Subject: National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: Our Most Troubling Madness: Case Studies in Schizophrenia Across Cultures

Those who have followed my posts will note that I have a particular interest in mental health issues.  That interest is heightened during the month of July because July is National Minority Mental Health Month.

https://nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Bebe-Moore-Campbell-National-Minority-Mental-Health-Awareness-Month/Learn-About-Bebe-Moore-Campbell-National-Minority-Mental-Health-Awareness-Month

This year my focus is on the interesting oddity that has come to my attention concerning the prevalence of schizophrenia throughout the world.  From what I now understand the prevalence of schizophrenia is statistically the same throughout the world.  However, the severity of the illness and the societal acceptance of those afflicted with the illness varies depending upon the cultural norms that predominate with the local people.  Of particular note, in reviewing the programs presented at the May 2022 American Psychiatric Association convention held in New Orleans, I was intrigued by the title of a presentation made on Monday, May 23, 2022.  The title of the program was  "The Voices of Spirit and the Voices of Madness" and the presenter was Tanya Marie Luhrmann.   I am not a member of the APA but I was able to find Ms. Luhrmann's profile on wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanya_Luhrmann

and I was able to find her Stanford University profile

https://profiles.stanford.edu/tanya-luhrmann

After reading all this, I was hooked.  I immediately ordered her book Our Most Troubling Madness: Case Studies in Schizophrenia Across Cultures.  I plan on reading it during this month of July and quoting some of the salient passages.  For those who may be similarly inclined, please consider reading the book with me.

Peace,

Everett Jenkins