Thank You for the Wounds: A Reflection from John 8:31-42

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN (Jn 8:31-42)

“To the Jews who believed in him, Jesus said: ‘If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, you will learn the truth and the truth will make you free. ‘They answered, ‘We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the slaves of anyone; what do you mean, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, everyone who commits sin is a slave. Now the slave’s place in the house is not assured, but the son’s place is assured. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

I know that you are descended from Abraham, but in spite of that, you want to kill me because nothing I say has penetrated into you. What I, for my part, speak of is what I have seen with my Father; but you, you put into action the lessons learned from your father.’ They repeated, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus said to them: ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do as Abraham did. As it is, you want to kill me when I tell you the truth as I have learned it from God; that is not what Abraham did. What you are doing is what your father does.’ ‘We were not born of prostitution,’ they went on ‘we have one father: God.’ Jesus answered: ‘If God were your father, you would love me, since I have come here from God; yes, I have come from him; not that I came because I chose, no, I was sent, and by him.’” The Gospel of the Lord.

THANK YOU FOR THE WOUNDS

Before I was assigned to be one of the formators in the Seminary, a former formator warned me: “Do not pour your heart to the seminarians because they do not know how to give due gratitude.” Apparently, that priest was disappointed when one of the seminarians under his care did not send him an invitation for his ordination. For me, it is an unjustifiable excuse not to give your best in your ministry. I am serving the Lord and whether I’ll be invited or not in the ordination, it doesn't matter for I will continue to love and serve the Lord.

Over the years, I did not realize until last night when I was cleaning my desk that I have been collecting invitations for ordination. And whenever I see them, it never fails to put joy in my heart. Ah, here is this seminarian who has many weaknesses but remained faithful. Oh, this one was wounded but fought for his vocation. Our love story with the Lord must not tire us but lead us to love more. If you are already tired of loving, love anew for we cannot exhaust love for the Lord who is Love Himself.

Every morning, when seminarians present themselves to God in prayer, I think of the day of their ordination, which will happen in the near future, when after being presented, each will say: “Present…" Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will. If they enthusiastically say “yes” to every activity in the Seminary, it is a great preparation for their ordination in which they will present themselves as priests. Priests every morning and in every moment renew their “yes” to the Lord. We renew together our response to the call that one day will take our hearts by surprise.

We are not here because we are worthy. We do not remain here because we are better than others. We are also chained by sin but the Lord sets us free if we continue to love, and we are sent as persons conscious of having been forgiven:  “I have been forgiven, I will forgive and will be an instrument of reconciliation.”

We are NOT asked to ignore nor hide our weaknesses, our chains, our wounds. A person who has wounds can understand compassionately the wounds of today’s world and make them their own, suffering with the people, accompanying them and seeking to heal them. A person in chains does not make oneself the center of things, does not believe that he or she is perfect, but puts at the center the One who can set us free, Our Lord  Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis tells us that the knowledge that we are wounded sets us free. Yes, it sets us free from becoming self-referential and thinking ourselves as superior. The people whom we minister do not expect us to be superheroes. They expect us to be servants, who may be wounded, but know what it is to be compassionate, who can give a helping hand, who can spend time with those who have fallen and, like Jesus, help them to break out of the prison of sin, and become an instrument of divine mercy.

Wounded soldiers become bolder, wounded Christians become more loving. We say “yes” to the Lord at the start of the day and every moment of our lives… sinful yet loving, wounded yet willing to serve.

To further accompany our reflection, kindly reflect on this beautiful song by Corrinne May, FREE.

FREE

Corrinne May

I see the morning glory

It winds upon the tree

It tells the untold story of 

how things were meant to be

You saw the universe

Caught up in desperate dreams

You came and changed the ending,

Changed it to save my fate

You led the revolution

You left your legacy

Embraced the struggle

in the face of mortality

I know I'm not alone in this

Help me believe

I can be free

I can be free from this place

Beautiful healer, Beautiful grace

Help me to see

Everything fall into place

Wake me from dreaming

No more deceiving

Break these chains

It's still the same old story

This great divide

Between the want and waste

And all the hunger inside

I heard the news today

Now I'm trying to find my place

I'm just a single voice

What can I do to erase

All this misunderstanding

All this anarchy

Six degrees of separation

Sometimes it's so hard to see

That we are not alone in this

I need to believe

I can be free

I can be free from this place

Beautiful healer

Beautiful grace

Help me to see

Everything fall into place

Wake me from dreaming

No more deceiving

Break these chains