“Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Al the King’s horses and all the kings’ men
could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” Sound familiar? Possibly this
was the first short poem you learned in Kindergarten or maybe first grade.
All of us are really a “Humpty
Dumpty.” We all are influenced by a
first, enormous and fatal fall which we call Original Sin. The sin of our first
parents, Adam and Eve, brought about Original Sin—the first sin of humanity.
This sin can be compared to a moral Tsunami
that stretches forth its reverberating repercussions on all of humanity and
every individual person, male and female, until the end of time. Original Sin was a moral cataclysm that will
rock and shake the ground on which the human person lives and walks until
Judgment day.
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| Tsunami |
Whether we will it or not, all of us
are conceived with Original Sin and are born with it. True, the Sacrament of
Baptism washes away the stain of Original Sin, but not its debilitating
effects.
Original sin and its effects
influence all of our being as well as the cosmos or world that we live in.
Inclement weather—storms, monsoons, excessive cold or heat are derived from the
effects of Original sin.
In our person, the dulling of the
intellect, emotional unbalances, the vitiated weak will that we all have,
sicknesses and of course death—all of these are net-results of Original Sin.
Women must bring forth their babies
in pain; men must earn the bread they eat by the sweat of their brow—all as a
result of Original Sin.(Gen 3)
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| Capital sins: faces! |
With this the human person
experiences in the pull of his inner self the tendency, inclination or
proclivity towards evil. These tendencies can be summarized in the Capital Sins
that we all have and must battle to overcome and conquer with the grace of God.
Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Sloth, Anger, Envy, Pride--- this is the list!
WOUNDEDNESS! We are wounded morally and spiritual due to
Original Sin and personal sin. Indeed we have gaping wounds that will become
even more wide and gaping or they can be healed.
One of the most well-known writers
and theologians last century was Henri Nouwen.
One of the most noteworthy accomplishments in his literary treasure-box
was related to HEALING! Nouwen asserted
in his writings that we are all wounded. Then he goes on to say that we will
either be “wounded-wounders or wounded healers.”
What does this priest-theologian
intend by this paradoxical assertion? Simply this! Either we stay with our wounds, live in
denial or simply do nothing to remedy these wounds—then we will be a wounded
wounder. Or, we humbly admit that we have been wounded deeply but seek healing.
Then and only then can we be wounded-healers in a broken world. Indeed we can be a Humpty Dumpty that despite
the great fall can be healed! Our
presence will either be a wounding presence towards others or a healing balm of
wholeness and peace!
Are you a wounded-wounder or a
wounded healer? The second part of this
essay will deal with steps we can all take—even though our past could have been
catastrophic—on how we can arrive at healing and indeed be a wounded healer.
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| Admit we are blind and wounded! |
1.
HUMBLE ADMISSION. There is a proverb in Spanish that says it
all: “No hay peor ciego que aquel que no quiere ver; no hay peor sordo que
aquel que no quiere oir.” Translation: “There
is no worse blind person than he who does not want to see; there is no worse
deaf person that he who does not want to hear.”
My point! A wounded person must
not live in negation or denial, but must humbly admit that he is deeply wounded
and in need of desperate healing. The
Alcoholic or Drug-addict or any addict at all will never be healed if he/she
does not at first admit that he/she is sick, really sick with this addiction!
We cannot live a lie. Jesus is the Truth and the Truth will set us free!
2.
JESUS: THE HEALER. Read through the Gospels and you will come
across a common-denominator: Jesus heals and saves the sick and suffering.
However, this is true upon one basic condition: faith and trust in the power
and love of Jesus the Divine Physician. Therefore, every time we draw close to
Jesus in faith, humility and trust there is a healing process that is already
under-way!
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| Jesus heals! |
3.
BLESSED SACRAMENT. The Blessed Sacrament is really and truly
and substantially Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Divine Physician. In the
Consecrated Host Jesus is just as much present today as He was 2000 years ago.
He is just as powerful today as He was in the past. Interesting note! Lourdes, France, where Our
Lady appeared 18 times to Saint Bernadette in the grotto, many miracles occur.
However, a very interesting note is that most of the miracles occur at dusk
during the course of the Eucharistic Procession. As the priest walks outside
the Basilica in prayer and procession, blessing the poor and the sick, it is
then that most of the sick are healed!
4.
EUCHARISTIC RECEPTION. One more step is that of actually receiving
Jesus in Holy Communion. It is recorded in the Diary of Saint Faustina, that
this saint suffered excruciating pains especially in her chest and lungs. Once
she felt as if she were dying. She
begged Jesus to show His limitless power through the reception of the most Holy
Eucharist. So it happened! The saint
received Jesus in the Holy Communion and it was if a spiritual energy, compared
to spiritual electricity shot all through her body and she felt her lungs fully
restored!
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| Past memories can torture us |
5.
HEALING OF MEMORIES. Many today
suffer from past memories that are sources of perpetual torment. Events that happened
years ago, even decades ago, can haunt us in the present. Once again, why not
let Jesus the Divine Physician touch you and heal you! Saint Paul commands us
in these words: “Put on the mind of
Christ.” Then in another passage, the
same Apostle states: “You have the mind
of Christ.” The Apostle goes from the
imperative or command to the actual reality of having the mind of Christ. Moreover, this also can be applied to
Eucharistic reception. When we receive
the most Holy Eucharist we receive the Total Christ: His Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity. Within the Body of Christ, we also have His Sacred mind and the three
faculties of memory, understanding as well as imagination. Therefore, upon
reception of Holy Communion we can beg for a MIND-TRANSPLANT. We can beg the Lord Jesus to give us His mind
and with that precious gift to burn away or at least to heal our mind of the
past memories that constantly torture us in the present.
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| The devil tries to prevent confession |
6.
CONFESSION. The specific Sacramental grace that comes
from the Sacrament of Confession, Penance, or Reconciliation is that of
HEALING. The Eucharist primarily nourishes our soul with the Body and Blood of
Jesus the Lord. Confession has as one of
its primary functions that of healing our soul of moral infirmity and sickness
that we call sin! Saint Augustine, who
battled with slavery to sin into his thirties, asserts that the Sacrament of
Confession well-received is indeed a “Lazarus-experience.” As Jesus called
Lazarus from the tomb, from death to life, likewise, the person who confesses
honestly and sincerely to the priest (who represents Jesus the Healer) his
mortal sins, is truly reborn in grace!
He has come back to life through the Sacramental grace of Confession! What an extraordinary healing grace is
available to all Catholics who trust in Jesus’ infinite mercy!
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| Our Lady as Refuge of sinners! |
7.
OUR LADY: REFUGE OF SINNERS, HEALTH
OF THE SICK! At the end of his life the
Holy Cure of Ars was seen praying and talking to Our Lady in his room. His
prayer was that an aged, hunch-back and half-crippled woman would be healed of
her infirmity. This same sick person was spying the Cure of Ars through the
key-hole. After viewing this, the elderly woman started walking down the
corridor, and all of a sudden her back straightened up and she started to walk
normally! She was totally healed through
the prayers of a saint and through the powerful intercession of Our Lady,
Health of the Sick. On one occasion Saint Therese was very sick and she had recourse
to Our Lady, by praying in front of a statue of Mary. All of a sudden, the
statue of Our Lady smiled upon Saint Therese and she was instantaneously healed
of her sickness!
CONCLUSION! “Humpty-Dumpty, sat on a wall; Humpty-Dumpty
had a great fall. All the Kings horses and all the kings’ men could not put
Humpty-Dumpty back together again.” Good
news! We all belong to the “Humpty-Dumpty
club.” However, the King, the Lord Jesus and His men, the angels and saints and
the Church and its Sacraments can put this “Humpty-Dumpty” back together again.
My friends let us not be wounded wounders
but rather wounded healers. Let us go to Jesus who indeed is the “Wounded-healer.”
If we bring our wounds to Jesus, the “Wounded-healer” then we will be healed of
our wounds and become wounded healers in a broken and wounded world.
