The Wounds and Scars

Today, I had the honor of preaching at our live streaming Mass. It was different, for as I looked out into the Church, it was like living a nightmare I had just prior to giving my very first homily. In that dream, when I finished, I looked up and no one was left.

But, let’s begin with those very assuring words we heard from Jesus, “Peace be with you”. What a gesture of forgiveness and friendship to a group who deserted him, what a moment to really think about God’s true love and mercy for all of us.

For all who seek his mercy, it is there. For all who pray for his mercy, and believe in that mercy, it will be given.  For all those who say, “Jesus I trust in you”, live in that loving mercy

  

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and Scripture tells us, “The favors of the Lord are never exhausted, his mercies never come to an end”. His mercy is never ending.

My father during the invasion of Normandy was injured from shrapnel from a hand grenade. It left a huge scar on his right foot.  And from that day on he wore that battle scar for the rest of his life.  

I sometimes thought the scar on his foot said as much about who he was as anything ever could. That scar, helped save our lives.

And, I suppose it is that way for us.  Our scars, small and large, fill the chapters of our lives, they tell the story of who we are, what mattered most to us, the risks we’ve taken. And even scars for volunteering for the love for another.

Thomas needed proof. He needed to see those scars? He needed to feel the scars in Jesus’ hands and put his own hand into his side, to be sure that it was him.  He needed to believe.

And he did, because those wounds of Jesus told a story of a death and a resurrection. And when he was sure, Thomas cried out. “My Lord and my God”. He doubted in order to become sure. 

But sometimes, not just our bodies, but our souls are wounded and they need healing. There is only one healer, there is only one person who can close up those festering wounds of the soul and bring us back to life.

There is only one place to go for that kind of healing. Peter tells us, “Lord, to whom shall we go, for you have the words to eternal life”. For the healing and mercy, we go to Jesus.

God’s mercy is never ending. He forgives and forgets. The apostles abandoned him, Thomas doubted; he forgave them all. We sin, we doubt and with absolution his loving mercy forgives us.

Jesus said to Saint Faustina “Tell all people, that I am love and Mercy itself.” His mercy is a free gift, it is there for the asking, for he said “The flames of mercy are burning me”.

“I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause me when they do not want to accept me”.

Our world does not accept Jesus and it is wounded, and many are crying out for God’s mercy, but our Churches are closed.  Our Churches are not essential to the healing of this sick world.  But God still hears our call.

Is God telling us something? In these strange times we are living in is God telling us something, and if he is, how long will he wait? He is offering us his Divine Mercy more now than ever since the world began.

He is bringing us to the living and healing waters. We need only to drink for Jesus tells us, “whoever drinks from this water will never thirst again”. That is his healing power

Many of us can remember back over fifty years ago, where there was evil, but nothing compared to what we are experiencing in this age.

We gave an inch back then, actually we caved in to the likes of the world. We gave in to in our movie ratings, exposing adults and kids to just a little more, allowed just a little more cursing and sexual innuendos in our television shows. Satan loved it. God looked on.

Became just a slight bit more permissive with our speech during our conversations, showed a little less respect for women, and some women a little less respect for themselves. Satan jumped for joy

And we continued to give inch, after inch to where we are today, we became an open wound in Satan’s world. How much more will God take.

How much deeper can we go, how many more inches will God tolerate, watching Satan devour more souls than ever.

But it doesn’t have to be, for that wound can be healed. It can become a battle scar.

How is that possible? Only with God’s mercy and listening to the words of Scripture, “Do not conform yourself to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

God is awakening us. He is showing this world that we cannot live without him.  But yet many still plot their evil ways and put salt in the wounds of Jesus.

Today, our homes are our sanctuaries, live streaming our Church.  Our hearts, our inner rooms must continue to be the spiritual tabernacle for our Lord.

We as a nation, as a people of God we plead for God’s mercy. Jesus said to Saint Faustina, “return to your room, for I will be waiting for you there”. It is there where we pray.

We ask our Blessed Mother, the most powerful creature God ever created, to be with us all. She in turn, has giving us the most powerful weapon, the rosary, that has crushed the evils of this world so many times, and will crush them again and the head Satan.

St. Teresa of Avila a doctor of the Church, a Carmelite nun and one of my favorite saints made a bold statement that we must believe, “Satan cannot endure our houses.” And I will add, unless we let him.

May God’s Peace and mercy be always with you