Near to tears at Resurrection House today.

He was sitting in the Chapel at Sarasota’s “Resurrection House” when I arrived there today for the prayer service which I lead each Wednesday.

I know him well as a regular “Res House” guest.  I greeted him warmly.

He barely responded.

I said “you look very sad today”.

“I am” he replied.

“Why is that?” I asked.

His response was curt.  “It’s because everyone hates me”.

“That’s not true”, I countered, “I do not hate you”.

It was clear that he did not believe me.

So I asked “why do you think that everyone hates you?”

“Have you heard of the Illuminati?” he asked.

I responded that I was familiar with them.

“Well”, he said, “the Illuminati are out to get me. There are rich and powerful people who want to see me locked up in jail.  They are writing songs against me”.

(Please use Google to find out more about the historical Bavarian Illuminati, and for information regarding 20th/21st C ‘”conspiracy theories”)

It was at this point that I realised that the man with whom I was chatting was utterly convinced that he was a victim of a supposed Illuminati plot.

There was no point in arguing with him.

I simply had to respond by knowing that his fears were real.

So I said “Yes, but remember that God’s love and power is stronger than the Illuminati”.

He was unconvinced.

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 I was so f-cking sad and mad  that this nice young man is gripped with a needless fear.

I was sadder than sad that his “world view” is based on a myth which brings such misery to his life.

Of course I recognised  a level of mental illness.  But as a priest (not a psychiatrist or psychologist - whose disciplines I respect and admire) I could do no better nor worse than to offer him a glimpse of the love of God.