Love (Woundedness, Trauma, and Patience)

“Most woundedness goes back to a lack of love in one way or another, and what is most needed is to fill the person with an experience of God’s love… “Jesus treated sinners with compassion, especially those who sinned out of weakness, and with more respect than He did the pious, self-righteous, hard-hearted Pharisees. He knew that sinners are often seeking something good in their sin, even if they are seeking happiness in the wrong way. The alcoholic may be trying to deaden the pain of a failed dream. The liar may be trying to protect her reputation in order to be loved and respected. Like Jesus, we need to be gentle with sinners, as we trust God will be forgiving toward us in the midst of our own weakness and sin.” (Francis MacNutt)

"I could not help noticing the tenderness with which Jesus treated people with wounds cause by moral failure. A Samaritan woman with five failed marriages, a dishonest tax collector, an adulterous, a prostitute, a disciple who denied Him - all these received from Jesus not the judgment they expected, but forgiveness and reinstatement." (Philip Yancey)

“The one who loves Christ thoroughly imitates Him as much as he can. Thus Christ did not cease to do good to men. Treated ungratefully and blasphemed, He was patient; beaten and put the death by them, He endured, not thinking ill of anyone at all. These three are the works of love of neighbor in the absence of which a person who says he loves Christ or possesses His kingdom deceives himself.” (St. Maximos the Confessor)

“One of the ways people who have experienced traumatizing events begin to find healing from symptoms like flashbacks and nightmares is by learning to retell the story of their traumatic encounters in a safe environment. This helps them move from involuntarily reexperiencing the emotional pain of the event to connecting the memory with supportive listeners and a larger framework of meaning. It helps them see the trauma as one episode in their larger life story rather than as defining their identity.” (Makoto Fujimura)

“Patient endurance is the fruit of love, for 'love patiently endures all things' (I Cor. 13:7), and teaches us to achieve such endurance by forcing ourselves so that through patience we may attain love... Don’t give up on the people you love. Your patient love and faithfulness may be exactly what they need to make a complete turnaround.” (St. Gregory Palamas, Anonymous)

#FrancisMacNutt #PhilipYancey #StMaximostheConfessor #MakotoFujimura #StGregoryPalamas