Measures of mental health have dropped sharply in Western nations over the past decade, especially among youth. This era is marked by dis-integration, felt from the level of the individual soul to age-old institutions to the level of national and global affairs. Amid such fracturing, very ordinary Christian practices offer extraordinary gifts. They are graces — both special and common — conveying benefit even for those who do not acknowledge their Source (Matthew 5:45). And as the gravity of our day pulls outward and apart, these simple actions pull inward and together — to the reintegration of a soul … and also ultimately of families, communities, institutions, and perhaps even nations.
