The Need for a Savior: Consolation for the Wounded

First Point – The Life of St Jane Frances de Chantal: Forgiveness as a Journey

St Jane Frances de Chantal knew the deep wound of sudden loss. Her happiness as a wife and mother was shattered when her husband, Christophe, was killed in a hunting accident. Before dying, Christophe forgave the man who had accidentally shot him, telling him, “Don’t commit the sin of hating yourself when you have done nothing wrong.”

Jane, however, could not forgive so easily. Her grief and pain were too raw. Forgiveness came slowly, in small steps. First, she managed to greet the man on the street. Later, she invited him into her home. Finally, she forgave him so completely that she became godmother to his child.

Her sufferings opened her heart to a deeper longing for God. She sought him earnestly in prayer and developed a spirituality marked by this other form of martyrdom: the martyrdom of love. One sister asked what form this martyrdom took. The saint answered: "Yield yourself fully to God, and you will find out! Divine love takes its sword to the hidden recesses of our inmost soul and divides us from ourselves. I know one person whom love cut off from all that was dearest to her, just as completely and effectively as if a tyrant's blade had severed spirit from body" (From The Memoirs by the secretary of St. Jane Frances de Chantal).

“If you fall even fifty times in a single day, do not let it surprise or trouble you. Instead, gently turn your heart back toward the right path and practice the virtue opposite to your fault. Keep speaking words of love and trust to our Lord just as tenderly after a thousand faults as you would after only one. Once we have humbled ourselves for the faults God allows us to see in ourselves, we must let them go and move forward.”

 

Second Point – A Present-Day Tragedy: The Wound of Loss

Just a few days ago, a devastating tragedy struck in Sta Rosa, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Two young lives—an 18-year-old boy and his 15-year-old former girlfriend—were caught in a tragic chain of events. The young man entered her school, shot her, and then turned the gun on himself. The boy has since passed away. The girl remains in critical condition, unconscious, as her family holds on to hope for her recovery.

Authorities are calling on parents to be more present in their children’s lives, to maintain open lines of communication, and to guide them in managing pain before it turns to despair.

St Jane Frances would understand the grief of these families—not only because she lost her husband to a sudden act, but because she knew the pain of facing tragedy without clear answers. In her case, there was no real malice—only a mistake. But pain has a way of searching for someone to blame, and when there is no one, the wound can feel even deeper.

In this case, there is someone to blame, but he is also a victim—of despair, of emotional brokenness, of not knowing how to carry pain. And that makes forgiveness all the more complex. It is in moments like these that we realize our limits and whisper to ourselves: We need a Savior.

Third Point – The Need for a Savior: Consolation for the Wounded

This is why millions of devotees flock each year to the Black Nazarene in Quiapo—because, like St Jane Frances and the families of countless tragedy victims, they seek the consolation and inner peace that cannot be found anywhere else. This is also why, in Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis writes: “No one should make light of the fervent devotion of the holy faithful people of God, which in its popular piety seeks to console Christ” (DN 160). And, quoting St Paul, he reminds us: “God offers us consolation so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction, with the consolation by which we ourselves are consoled by God” (DN 162).

When grief breaks our spirit, when forgiveness feels impossible, when tragedy shakes our sense of security, the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains open, pouring out the healing streams of his love. Let us console one another with the consolation by which we ourselves are consoled by God. Pope Francis ends with this prayer:

“I ask our Lord Jesus Christ to grant that his Sacred Heart may continue to pour forth the streams of living water that can heal the hurt we have caused, strengthen our ability to love and serve others, and inspire us to journey together towards a just, solidary and fraternal world… May he be blessed forever” (DN 220). Amen. Fr JM Manzano SJ