Every man is wounded. Most wounds develop because, by our nature, we long for the endless and unconditional love which we do not attain in this world. So the heart remains wounded. In the wounded heart, room opens for all negative things. This disappointed longing for love creates hate; the disappointed longing for peace calls the spirit of discord and violence; the disappointed trust causes insecurity, fear and aimlessness. So man becomes unable to live and to form his life in a dignified manner. Therefore, we all need the healing of the heart. When the wound does not heal, it leads to further wounds for oneself and others. And so the deathly chain of disaster comes into being which claims its victims from generation to generation. Only God can break this chain of sin and heal the heart.
Through the healing of the heart, we understand the meaning of the word, “everything will turn to the good”. This, we find often, especially in the lives of the Saints, who first experienced the depth of sin and then opened their hearts completely to God. Concretely, we must ask for the healing of the wounds which we are carrying since our childhood and then of all other wounds which we have accumulated throughout our life. It is important also to ask for the healing of the wounds which we have inflicted upon others and the healing of the wounds of the families. We must not forget that the wounds which have not been healed often make room for bad spirits, who take advantage of the situation and this leads to even greater disaster. One must recognise such cases and pray for liberation. The healing of the heart gives us a new dioptre. The sin and wound make us blind and we do not see correctly. Through the healing of the heart, we see God and men differently. Healing means inner liberation from any enslavement, it takes away the dark glasses and the sight becomes clear. With a clear sight, we will see everything differently.
It is said that a master once asked his students, “When does the day begin?” The students gave different answers. One said, “When one can distinguish a tree from a tree”, the master was not satisfied. Another said, “When one can distinguish a leaf from a leaf”, the master was not satisfied. The third said, “The day begins when one can see the colours”; this answer also was not satisfactory. After a pause, the master said, “The day begins at that moment when one recognises in the face of a person the face of his brother!”
The question which we should ask ourselves should be, “How do I see God and people?” And everyone has to answer. The author, Antoine de Saint Exupery, once said that one can only see well with the heart. When our sight is born in a pure, loving, merciful and peaceful heart, we will see God and man differently and this will be the moment of a new beginning. We can also ask ourselves, what it is that makes us blind, so that we can ask with the blind man in the Gospel, “Master, heal my eyes so that I see” or “Heal my heart, so that I can see You and the others!”
Fr SLAVKO BARBARIC OFM, February 28, 2000
* Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, December 13, 2019