When I first underwent surgeries, people thought I’d be bedridden throughout my life with servants helping me,” said Deepa Malik, silver medallist at the just-concluded Rio Paralympics. She added, “Now, I hope my journey and medal serve as inspiration for differently-abled individuals.” Paralympic medallists like Malik, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Devendra Jhajharia and Varun Singh Bhati inspire not only differently-abled persons but us all.
Ours is a wounded world. Daily, we’re wounded by accidents, injuries, social stigmas, psychological breakdowns, spiritual dryness and religious darkness. How do we heal them? Curse God and others? Or, like our Paralympic medallists turn wounds into wins? Wounds can be physical, social, mental, psychological or religio-spiritual. In the Bible, “wound” usually refers to a bodily injury received through combat or some accident. It is also seen as the judgement of God. The Book of Job is one of the deepest examinations of the problem of evil and suffering. Job’s declaration: “The souls of the wounded cry out for help” echoes the mental and emotional aspects of wounds, which call for response.
Prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah identify God as both, the one who inflicts some wounds, while healing others. Indeed, true prophets and mystics bear the wounds of their people as if there were their own, while trying tirelessly to heal them. Thus, wounds are also a wakeup call for us to respond to woundedness and darkness. Deepa said: “I thank my husband for being my skill trainer and my daughters for being my strength and motivation.” Isn’t that great? That’s love! When we love others, their wounds become our own. We suffer too. But, we also have the capacity to launch wounded persons from wheelchairs to Olympic victory stands. Today, we celebrate the feast of a saint, Padre Pio (1887-1968) known for receiving the so-called stigmata i.e., experiencing in his hands and feet the marks of Christ’s crucifixion. Padre Pio desired to identify totally with Jesus.
After the first appearance of the stigmata Pio wrote: “I’m dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment which I feel deep within. Will Jesus who is so good grant me this grace? Will He at least relieve me of the embarrassment which these outward signs cause me?” He was embarrassed because he received widespread admiration from believers. Known for his holiness and wisdom, the news of Padre Pio’s stigmata made people flock to him. Pio would spend hours daily listening to the woes of people, praying with them, helping out to heal their wounds. He founded the “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”, Italian, meaning “House for the Relief of Suffering”. In our wounded world, you have two choices: curse wounds or turn wounds into wins. What will you choose?
Francis Gonsalves is a professor of theology. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com
