{"id":48556,"date":"2023-04-07T14:19:54","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T20:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=48556"},"modified":"2023-04-07T14:21:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T20:21:27","slug":"by-his-wounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/by-his-wounds\/","title":{"rendered":"By His Wounds","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

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JESUS<\/strong> wants to heal us, He wants us to “have life and have it more abundantly”<\/em> (John 10:10). We may seemingly do everything right: go to Mass, Confession, pray every day, say the Rosary, have devotions, etc. And yet, if we have not dealt with our wounds, they can get in the way. They can, in fact, stop that “life” from flowing in us…<\/p>\n

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Wounds Get in the Way<\/h5>\n

Despite the wounds that I shared with you in A Lesson On the Power of the Cross<\/em><\/a>, Jesus still showed up in my daily prayer. In fact, I would often emerge with a deep-seated peace and burning love at times that I would carry into my writings here, and into my family life. But by nightfall, often my woundedness and the lies\u00a0<\/em>that were able to take their stronghold in them, would drain away that peace; I would be struggling with hurt, confusion, and even anger, even if just subtly. It doesn’t take much mud on a wheel to throw it out of balance. And so I began to feel strain in my relationships and to be robbed of the joy and harmony that Jesus wanted me to know.<\/p>\n

Wounds, whether self-afflicted or from others \u2014 our parents, relatives, friends, our parish priest, our bishops, spouses, our children, etc. \u2014 can become a place where the “father of lies” can sow his falsehoods. If our parents were not loving, we can believe the lie that we are not lovable. If we were sexually abused, we can believe the lie that we are ugly. If we are neglected and our love language left unspoken, then we can believe the lies that we are unwanted. If we compare ourselves to others, then we can believe the lie that we have nothing to offer. If we are abandoned, we can believe the lie that God has abandoned us too. If we are addicted, we can believe\"\" the lie that we can never be free… and so forth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And so it is crucial<\/em> that we enter into silence so that we can hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, so that we can hear He who is Truth speaking to our hearts. One of the great tactics of Satan, especially in our times, is to drown out the voice of Jesus through a myriad of distractions \u2014 noise, constant<\/em> noise and input from the stereo, TV, computer, and devices.<\/p>\n

And, yet every one of us can\u00a0<\/em>hear His voice if<\/em> we but listen. As Jesus said,\u00a0<\/p>\n

…the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. (John 10:3-4)<\/span><\/p>\n

I watched on my retreat as people who did not have much of a prayer life entered into the silence. And over the course of the week, they truly began to hear Jesus speaking to them. But one person asked, “How do I know it’s Jesus speaking and not my head?” The answer is this: you will recognize the voice of Jesus because, even if it is a gentle rebuke, it will always carry the kernel of supernatural<\/em> peace:<\/p>\n

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Holy Spirit reveals our wounds, and the subsequent sins they have produced in our lives, He comes as a Light that convicts, that brings as it were a joyful sorrow. Because that truth, when we see it, already begins to liberate us, even if it is painful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"On the other hand, the “father of lies” comes as an accuser;[1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. Rev 12:10<\/span><\/span>