Often young people in discernment write to us who are wounded by some situations of life, suffering that in the end become a stumbling block for them. I would like to begin this discussion with a fact that called my attention: the formation of pearls!
The formation of pearls happens when a grain of sand or other foreign element enters the body of the oyster and provokes irritation. The oyster, to defend itself, releases a substance that forms layers over the foreign element, forming a smooth and compact substance which over the years becomes a pearl. The whole process is like a wound for the oyster, for pearls are fruits of suffering! But not only that…the pearl is a healed wound!
The formation of pearls, which are so precious to human beings, can be seen as a teaching that nature herself gives us. How many times in the course of our life do we encounter situations that wound us, some more than others; how many young people suffer from bullying, indifference, maltreatment, or even abuse. What can be done to overcome these serious wounds? We have seen that the oyster, faced with an external attack, protects itself by releasing a certain substance and forming layers. We too, in the face of a wound, can protect ourselves by dressing ourselves in the Word of God, which has a healing effect, as the book of Wisdom says: “Neither herb nor application helped them, but your all-healing word, O Lord!” (Wis 16:12).
It is the Word of God that can help us to better understand suffering as well as to overcome it. If we allow ourselves to be transformed by This, our wound can become a pearl for many other people who are going through similar situations and have not yet found the way to overcome them. As our spiritual mother, Sr. Veronica, once said, the wounds that Jesus bore to death later became signs of resurrection. Let us allow ourselves to be wrapped in the Word that heals everything and, the thing that we once considered a weakness will become a sign of strength.
Sr. CMC