Archive for the 'Broken' Category
05-30-2008
Broken
Broken“Never let anything so fill you with sorrow that you forget the joy of the Christ Risen.” Mother Teresa
What does it mean to be broken? I love the book title, Broken in a Million Little Pieces, (regardless of what Oprah thought). The title brings to light many reflective images highlighting intense feelings of hurt each of us can identify with at some time on our journey. We live in a broken world, with broken churches, broken promises, broken hearts and broken people.
Recently, I was honored to be able to break bread with my fellow sisters on a women’s retreat. The weekend allowed us to reflect on the concept of our ‘brokenness’. The mutual empathy in the room culminated in our realizing that most often we identify with one another most intimately through our woundedness, not our wholeness.
At mass, Fr. Henry (the celebrant) passed around the ciborium. He instructed each of us to place the bread on the ciborium as an outward symbol of giving our ‘whole’ lives to Christ. After he had blessed the bread, He held it high, gave thanks, broke it and then invited us to do the same. As he handed each of us communion, we were invited to break the host before consuming it thereby again aligning us with the brokenness of Jesus who alone makes us whole. Together, as we shared in this Eucharistic activity, I glanced around the room realizing my eyes were not the only ones leaking. Fr. Henry took note of a woman in our midst who had not received communion. Realizing she was not Catholic, he approached her saying to all of us, “Another physical reminder of our brokenness, please forgive us sister.” He then gave her a blessing (and a hug) and prayed to the Father for the day that this particular disconnect will be healed. She too joined in the tear-fest.
It has been consistent in my own life I experience my most intimate relationships by allowing myself to be vulnerable in my brokenness-aligning with the crucified Christ. Fr. Henry reminded us that in addition to taking our sins when He died on a cross and resurrected; He took something else too-His wounds. Perhaps it was Jesus’ wounds that allowed His apostles to first recognize Him after He rose? And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.” Luke 24:30-32
For the broken among us; the alcoholic, unemployed, post abortion, sexual abuse, homeless, unplanned pregnancy, single parent, person struggling with sexuality, hurting marriage, struggling families, widow, cancer, illness, eating disorders, cutting, drugs. For the lonely, the weary, the wounded, the care-giver, the suffering, the hurting, the searching, the hopeless, the tired, the aching, the grieving, the broken… Know this… You are not alone. Through our wounds we can reach out to one another and heal. We were not meant to do it alone. Broken-ness is part of the journey (all of our journey), a part we are meant to share in community, with one another, in breaking of the break, in sharing our broken hearts, in alignment with our Lord (once broken on a cross). When we feel like we have been broken in a million little pieces, we can hold onto the hope that our creator will take each piece and carefully craft a beautiful mosaic, a mosaic that will better reflect Him.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
What will you do with your brokenness?
See what Nick Vujicic is choosing“Life Without Limbs”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtweZxNGk1Y
For the grieving parents of Effie- With love in your brokenesshttp://www.caringbridge.org/visit/effie
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