Love is indelible

I have often said how lovely it is that the Risen Jesus, in all his glory, chose to keep his wounds. They are the signs through which his apostles recognise him, and through which Thomas, in today's Gospel, came to the deepest affirmation of faith. But, more than that, they are the sure signs and reminders of his love, with the wound in his side forming an ever-open entry to his ever-open, ever-widening Heart. He chose to keep them, I've said... Chose to make them our healing and our hope; to transform them, as he transforms us and our woundedness, into his self-giving love and his radiant glory... He chose to keep them, I would have said... until a few hours ago, when I read this tweet by the Nicaraguan bishop, Silvio José Báez OCD...

The resurrection hasn't erased the signs of the passion. Love is indelible. One day our wounds, gained by loving, serving and fighting for a more humane and just world, will be like his glorious wounds.

Love is indelible... And love marks us indelibly, claiming and changing everything, imprinting itself deep within us. Once we have known love, even as the decades pass and our recollections fade, we can still retain within us an ineradicable memory. We cannot forget the love we have given; we certainly cannot forget the love we have received.  

Love is indelible... As indelible as deep wounds - and the Risen Jesus couldn't choose to keep his, because he could never choose not to!

We're beginning a new week; we're now more than eight days away from the intense rejoicing of Easter Sunday. Our joy now is quieter, maybe even fading in our ordinary concerns and busyness, and the horrors of each day's news. We still proclaim Alleluia, but maybe with less zest. But, whether we notice it or not, experience it or not, the Source and the cause of this joy will never dissipate. Love is indelible, and always ours. Can we allow this love to remain with us, and underpin our daily lives this Eastertide...?