The Problem of Guilt

Several years ago, I had a friend who was a psychiatrist. Very seriously, he came to me on one occasion and asked me to come to work for him. I said, “You must be joking. I don’t know the first thing about psychiatry. I’m certainly not qualified or capable to work in your office, dealing with people who are in therapy.” He says, “Oh, but you are.” I said, “Why is that?” He said, “Because the vast majority of the problems that I have to deal with as a psychiatrist are all bound up with guilt—guilt and its consequences, guilt that is paralyzing, guilt that is unresolved.” He said, “Most of the people I see don’t need a psychiatrist. They need a priest. They need to understand how to unlock this problem of guilt.”