Wisdom from the Saints: A Postmodern Hermeneutics in Interpreting the Hagiographies of the Saints and Venerables for Mental Health Advocacy

Melvin Barete; Fremativo Vergara; Evan Taja-on

doi:10.55927/ijcet.v4i3.112

Authors

Melvin G. Barete San Isidro College
Fremativo Vergara San Isidro College
Evan Taja-on University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/ijcet.v4i3.112

Keywords:

Hagiographies, Saints and Venerables, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Education, Postmodern Hermeneutics

Abstract

The lives of saints and venerables hold meaningful insights that can guide individuals through emotional and spiritual struggles in today’s world. Re-examining their stories through a postmodern lens opens new possibilities for promoting understanding, compassion, and healing in mental health advocacy. Through layered interpretation and careful selection of sources, the study uncovered meaningful insights from the lives of seventeen saints and venerables that connect deeply with present-day approaches to mental wellness. The study's findings reveal that the lives of saints and venerables offer powerful models for understanding mental health, highlighting themes of compassion, community, and resilience. The study highlights how their experiences align with contemporary values in mental health, such as empathy, personal agency, and holistic care, by examining their stories through a postmodern lens.

References

Augusté, N. N. (2020). Christian Female Saints. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_200172.

Carnes, A. G. (2024). Healing Inside Out: The Church and Mental Health [Doctoral dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary]. Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Psychology ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

Cook, S. (2022). Biblical Pastoral Counseling: An Integrative Approach to Healing [Doctoral dissertation, Liberty University]. Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3493. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3493.

Dein, S. (2020). Religious healing and mental health. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 23(8), 657-665. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2020.1834220.

Gill, M. J., Gill, D. J., & Roulet, T. J. (2018). Constructing trustworthy historical narratives: Criteria, principles and techniques. British Journal of Management, 29(1), 191-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12262.

Goodich, M. E. (2024). Lives and miracles of the saints: studies in medieval Latin hagiography. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003553939.

Gschwandtner, C. M. (2024). Postmodern Hermeneutics. In: R. T. Michener, M. A. Lamport (eds.) Handbook on Postconservative Theological Interpretation, (pp. 17-28).

Head, T. (2018). Medieval hagiography: an anthology. Routledge.

Humphries, M. (2017). Saints and Hagiography. In: The Early Christian World (pp. 501-514). Routledge.

Johnson, D. E. (2023). Understanding the relationship between mental health and spiritual warfare for pastoral care ministry [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/965.

Jones, L. G. (2020). Holiness, Saints, and Sanctity in Christianity. In: A. C. de la Rosa & L. G. Jones (eds.) Saints and sanctity in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (pp. 42-64). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315142562.

Khan, A. H., & Dixon, S. (2020). Christianity and healing in mental health. In: The Routledge International Handbook of Race, Culture and Mental Health (pp. 238-249). Routledge.

Kuuliala, J., Peake, R. M., & Räisänen-Schröder, P. (2019). Introduction: Hagiography and Lived Religion. In: Kuuliala, J., Peake, RM., Räisänen-Schröder, P. (eds) Lived Religion and Everyday Life in Early Modern Hagiographic Material. Palgrave Studies in the History of Experience. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15553-7_1.

Naik, N. N., & Santikellur, P. (2025). A Comparative Analysis. In: S. Fong, N. Dey, & A. Joshi (eds), ICT Analysis and Applications: Proceedings of ICT4SD 2024, 1162. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-8605-3_15.

Palginõmm, K. (2022). Saint Dymphna By Goossen Van Der Weyden–An Up-To-Date Princess. Baltic Journal of Art History, 24, 135-158. https://doi.org/10.12697/BJAH.2022.24.06.

Ramos, C. (2022). Accompaniment in Times of Suffering: Liberating Images of God [Doctoral dissertation, Loyola Marymount University]. LMU Theses and Dissertations. 1138. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/1138.

Republic Act 11036 (RA 11036) Mental Health Act § 28 et seq. (2018) https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2018/ra_11036_2018.html.

Ritchey, S. (2019). Health, Healing, and Salvation: Hagiography as a Source for Medieval Healthcare. In: Hagiography and the History of Latin Christendom, 500–1500 (pp. 417-436). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004417472_022.

Spencer-Hall, A. (2017). Medieval Saints and Modern Screens. Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048532179.

Svensson, L. (2021). Contextual analysis: A research methodology and research approach. Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, Göteborg, Sweden. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/68413.

Sydorchuk, A. (2023). Exploring Female Sanctity in Old English Hagiography. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14247/24976.

Taja-on, E. P., & Vergara, F. A. (2025). The advocacy blueprint: A Delphi study on promoting and strengthening mental health programs and services in higher education. Educational Point, 2(1), e112. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/15991.

Warren, T. (2017). Holy Horror: Medicine, Martyrs, and the Photographic Image 1860–1910. 19. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century 24. https://doi.org/10.16995/ntn.782.

Watanabe, K. (2021). Latent semantic scaling: A semisupervised text analysis technique for new domains and languages. Communication Methods and Measures, 15(2), 81-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2020.1832976.

Watkins, B. (2015). The book of saints: A comprehensive biographical dictionary. Bloomsbury Publishing.