Bowels and Wounds
Simone Riva - “Through the wounds of the body, the arcane charity of His heart is manifested — the great mystery of love. The bowels of mercy of our God are revealed, whereby a sun will visit us, rising from on high (cf. Luke 1:78).
And why shouldn’t the bowels reveal themselves through wounds? For how else, but through Your wounds, would it shine out more clearly that You, O Lord, are gentle and mild and of infinite mercy? For no one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for one who’s condemned to death. My merit, therefore, is the mercy of God.”
Thus speaks St. Bernard in one of his discourses on the Song of Songs. The saint is clear about God’s mercy. He says that even though we have hurt ourselves physically and emotionally, God has decided to keep taking risks with us. What a contrast to our own preoccupied method of perfecting structures out of fear of man and his mistakes.
Yesterday, the Church commemorated St. Blaise, a resounding example of how, in Christianity, everything is united: body and soul. Blaise was originally from Sebaste, Armenia. He spent his childhood studying medicine, and he died there. He became a bishop and cared for his people’s health and spiritual well-being. Furthermore, he even performed many healings, as tradition says.
During those years, the conditions for the faithful got worse because of the fights between Emperor Licinius of the East and Emperor Constantine of the West. This led to new attacks on them. Blaise hid in a cave on Mount Argeus, living alone and praying. He still led his Church through secret messages to escape the violence. Nevertheless, he was discovered and, after unspeakable tortures, was beheaded (Source: Vatican News).
The revolution of mercy reaches where no one else dares to go — to the total gift of self, long before martyrdom. Devotion to structure, on the other hand, doesn’t provide for this possibility. It doesn’t love fatherhood, regards affection with suspicion, fears bonds, shuns taking responsibility and delegates everything to procedures that shield men from making mistakes.
To speak of total self-giving demands the blood of those who immolate themselves for the cause. “One is worth one,” say the adherents of organizational charts. But for Christ, each is worth everything.
It’s precisely this eternal value that moves the bowels of God, stirred by our wounds. He loves them more than we can. We’re upset by everything that doesn’t fit, even the risky gift of freedom that God didn’t want to take from us.
We need a certain vigilance because everything can become structure: life, work, faith, relationships ... like a silent shadow slowly obscuring everything.
That’s why it’s more and more important to find people who accept their gifts instead of hiding them. For example, the saints didn’t even hide their wounds because they were completely giving themselves. In this way, an Other could reveal Himself with His bowels of mercy, fully exalting what’s been given to humanity.
The author has not revised its translations.
