“Have you wondered why Christ resurrected clean and healed from every scourge and whip wound that covered him from head to toe but allowed five main wounds to remain- His hands, his feet and his side?” Fr. Scott addressed us at the Mass for Domestic Violence Awareness Saturday morning.
He brought up the question and then went on to explain how both question and answer came to him when he watched the movie, ‘Regarding Henry’. Henry had been in a terrible accident that left him with head trauma and the loss of memory. When he was brought home for rehabilitation he couldn’t remember how to do things and struggled to tie his shoe. His little girl noticed his struggles and went to help him. As she was tying his shoe she looked up and saw the big scar he had on his forehead. She reached up to touch it and he rested his hand on hers. Then she took her hand away and pulled up her pants leg, took his hand and put it on a scar on her leg. “I got this riding my bike,” she said.
Christ came to us with his wounds revealed not only to give proof to those of us who are doubting Thomas’ but remind us that it is by His wounds we are healed. There is so much of Fr. Scott’s homily I wish I could plagiarize and offer you today but I’d also be afraid I would not do it justice. I can only offer you this main point that pierced my soul.
Fr. Scott made it a point to remind us that we are not what has been done to us. Too often we carry these wounds like a pet, coddling it, petting it, feeding it till it becomes too big to hold and an untamable monster that won’t go away.
Christ is asking us to share with him our wounds. Allow him in, through the walls we build up to protect us that inevitably keep the fed and coddled monster caged in with us. Allow Christ to put his hand on our scars and let His light shine through.
I know I’m not giving Fr. Scott’s homily justice. It wasn’t just a homily, it was a counseling session. 😉 I cried, laughed and left feeling lighter and blessed.
The entire Mass was well orchestrated by God to unravel my crossed arms and open them up into an embrace. Angelic music by Rebekah Maddux El Hakem unraveled so much emotion within me I wasn’t sure I’d be able to see through the tears the entire Mass.
Afterward at the reception Rebekah and I sat together and visited. In my usual way I opened up immediately and told her the gift her voice was to me, leading me into worship in a way that I’ve been closed off from for way too long.
Tiffany Mack with Ask Seek and Knock, with the comfort of her entire family present, did an amazing job honoring her sister’s life and the lives of those affected by domestic violence.
I was honored to be a part of the event and look forward to working with Tiffany and Fr. Scott in forming a healing retreat for survivors of abuse. Stay tuned for details…we’re hoping for next October.
The weekend has been filled with many blessings, two of which I can’t reveal yet due to some formalities that need to be made. We were blessed with a family night Friday watching Ryan in his high school play, “The Mouse That Roared” which we were pleasantly surprised by the amazing job of all the actors involved.
Today I get to spend the afternoon behind the scenes backstage doing whatever it is they need a mom to do. Blessed to be involved!
Overall I’m grateful for the reminder I’ve been given and that is with a memory that arises or when a triggered feeling occurs I need to examine it, understand what I need to from it and then let it go and hand it over to Christ. I am healed. By HIS wounds I am healed.
Blessings
Shannon