Absorbing the Arrow

I recently was shot an arrow by the Enemy, which came to me from a person I had just built up trust with. It hit me right in the heart and seemingly came out of nowhere. My initial reaction was anger. I began to get angry at the person and all the people that person had talked with about this arrow before it was thrown at me. I refrained myself from reacting in the situation, but felt all of this interiorly, knowing that it would not be prudent respond while feeling hurt and severely misunderstood.

Because I have been through deliverance with Whole Catholic, I had some tools that helped me navigate through this situation. First and foremost, I knew I needed to forgive. Unforgiveness is Satan’s open door to our hearts. Jesus commands us to forgive and even goes so far as to say our forgiveness of others is directly related to whether or not God will forgive us our own sins. Every one of us is in need of God’s mercy. In order to receive it, we must imitate Him and be merciful ourselves. When we refuse to forgive, we let the Enemy in and allow him to wreak havoc on our lives.

Jesus also calls us to pray for those who persecute us. This is not as easy as it sounds. Especially when we are struggling with all of the emotions of a punctured heart. Many times we want to stop the hurt and so we lash out at the person on the spot, or we may go away and talk about the person to others, explaining all the reasons why we were right and they were wrong. Both of these options spread the darkness of the arrow that was shot at us.

One really important thing that Discipleship Deliverance has taught me is that my enemy is not the person who threw an arrow at me. This person was merely speaking and acting based upon the lies that the Enemy has been convincing them of all along. The arrow that came at me actually originated from Satan. He was the one that was trying to pull me down. He was trying to get me to spread the hate, the division, and the darkness that his arrows always carry with them. Knowing all of this served to be a great tool, and following through with forgiving from my will and praying for my accuser are foundational to being a disciple of Jesus Christ, but it was my emotions that had a harder time catching up with my will.

Later that evening, I was praying and looking upon an Our Lady of Sorrows painting that hangs in my room. As I looked upon Our Lady, I began to wonder what Mary did when Satan shot arrows at her. Although Mary was free from Original Sin, she was still was attacked by the Enemy. The arrows that came at her were just as hurtful, and I would venture to say they were more hurtful since she was free from sin.

So how did Mary respond to these attacks? Scripture tells us over and over that Mary kept things in her heart. She pondered. She didn’t let her pain and sorrow direct her reactions. Mary’s Immaculate Heart is full of the Light of Christ. She carries the perfect and undefiled Love of God within her very heart. When the arrows of darkness penetrated her heart, Mary kept them, she pondered, she learned how to love in and through them. And all the while it was the Light of Christ within her that absorbed the arrow’s darkness.

As I continue to walk in forgiveness, waiting for Christ’s Light to dispel the darkness of the hurt I experienced, the lesson here is that healing is a process. It takes prudence and great fortitude to ponder as Mary did. No matter how much I desire to lash out at my accuser, no matter how much I want to find solace in speaking about my accuser to a friend, it has become clear to me that Mary’s way is Christ’s Way. When we imitate Mary’s Immaculate Heart, the darkness that the Enemy tries to perpetuate in this world is absorbed by the Light of Christ.

We can be agents of the Light. We can keep Christ’s Light burning brightly within our hearts. We can trust in God, allowing His Light to overcome all darkness, both found within us and that which gets thrown at us by others. We must be unafraid of the persecutions when they come our way, turning to prayer and Christ’s Light to overcome the darkness. As Baptized Christians, we have the Light of Christ firmly planted within our hearts. May we allow His Light to shine, absorbing the darkness and bringing about unity and healing to the world.

*Immaculate Heart of Mary image by Amanda Bagwell of Whole Catholic