I was reading a book by Colin Urquart a few years ago and came on a line which stated, "By His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5). The words just leapt out at me and seemed to come alive in my heart and mind. Up to that time I had been trying to deal with depression and self esteem issues from childhood, but these words kept going around in my mind for weeks. The depression lifted and I got a joy in its place. I attended mass in Knock Shrine one of the days following the beginning of this grace and just before the priest commenced communion he went over to the mike and said," By His Wounds We Are Healed." I wanted to stand up on the seat at the back of the church and shout "YES!!" Up to that time when the sign of peace came around I used only exchange it with the person on either side of me but in those few weeks of blessing I felt like hugging everybody in the church, I restrained myself of course! I thought I was totally healed of the depression and associated effects but as time went on, it returned and in prayer about it some time later, the Lord showed me that I needed to explore the depression and become aware of the different aspects and causes of it and to bring each part to the cross. This is something I am still working on daily! In prayer I asked Him why I needed to be aware of each aspect of it and why could He not just heal me and be done with it! The thought that came to me was that I needed to be aware of each detail of it in order to give Him my permission to heal me, He respected my free will so much that He would not over ride it at any level in spite of His longing to set me free. Up to this I used to have a very real fear of God and that kept me from suicide and if I had believed that He loved me I would have killed myself. The good side of my depression is that it has made me a prayerful person because it was only in prayer I got any relief, pills never did it for me only to make me more aware of how depressed I was! Also up to the experience of that blessing I used to think the depression was God's will for me but then I realised this view was totally wrong. Thankfully through His grace the depression is not nearly as life/soul destroying as it used to be. I pray that these few words will help whoever reads them. God Bless BC
Some wounds are so deep they take real miracles of grace to heal. Very often these wounds run back whole generations. It was for instance only in understanding my own fathers childhood hurts that I began to understand how their consequences had been passed down to me in a lesser form. I remember how at my brothers funeral my mother never shed a tear not once , though her son , daughter in law and baby grand daughter had all died at the same time and the whole Parish it seemed were in convulsions. But her father, my grand father was a very cold dour kind of man. Constantly in fury and whenever he came into the house none of the children were allowed to move or even open their mouths. I suppose if I could go back far enough HIS father was probably the same. Thus: Exodus 20:5 >> New International Version (©1984) You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, But I don't see this as negative, for as the saying goes,' It's the problems we are sent and the way we handle them, makes us the men we are.' All of us have to fight our won demons; so many of them demons not of our own particular making but demons that have rode the backs of many generations. Demons which can never, ever be defeated by own own efforts but God's sweet grace.
Addiction seems to come down family lines so probably does depression, personality traits and so on - so the blood line is strong but the precious blood of the Lamb is stronger. Invoke the power of the precious blood of the lamb - we are cleansed, washed and sanctified in the blood of the Lamb. Especially upon receiving the Eucharist ask for healing as we receive the precious body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed. And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony Rev.12:11
