"If I keep doing this, it might get better. Because Jesus promised it would get better." | Tori Polhill

After a mental health diagnosis that helped to shed light on much of the darkness Tori experienced throughout her life, she was trying to determine where she was headed and considered the possibility of pursuing a life of ministry. When she committed to spending time in adoration during Lent when she was 19, she ended up having a powerful encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist that transformed her discernment and gave her confidence in her next steps.

Show notes:  

00:39 Leah and Fr. Mario welcome Tori Polhill, the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at St. Peter’s in Mt. Clemens, who shares a bit about the work she does with young people. She describes how when she was 19 years old, she had resolved to go to adoration for Lent and during one of her visits to the adoration chapel, she received a message from Jesus, assuring her of her worthiness. 

03:50 Fr. Mario asks Tori about her experience with bipolar disorder and depression, which she described in her story published on iamhere.org. and Tori shares candidly about the experience of having a mental illness and trying to seek the Lord in the midst of the darkness she was experiencing. Tori recalls when she started to express a desire to work in ministry to her youth minister, who encouraged her to work on herself, which prompted her to dive deeper into her faith and understand her diagnosis more fully.

08:47 Tori shares about the mentor she had in her youth minister, and the way she challenged her as a young person, when Tori was struggling to believe Jesus was fully present in the Eucharist. Tori shares  that reading Scripture, learning about the saints, and reading John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason Evert was particularly helpful for her on her faith journey, during a time when she was doing mission work and discerning serving in youth ministry. 

14:12 Tori shares how she speaks to young people who are struggling to believe in Jesus’ Eucharistic presence and what she says to them to prepare them for adoration. 

19:06 Tori shares how her faith and mental health journeys intersect and describes what a difference it makes to spend time in prayer, with the Blessed Sacrament, in addition to seeking help in things like therapy, medication, relationships, etc.

24:08 Fr. Mario comments on the temptation, when one works in ministry, to fail to pray because they work for Jesus, and Tori echoes his sentiment and shares some habits that have helped her to fight that temptation.