Healing Our Wounds: The Anointing of Our Sufferings

Elaine Sinnott shares Jesus’ healing power of her childhood brokenness through the Healing the Whole Person program by the JPII Institute.  

Family Attachments 

I know my mom loved me; I wrote in my journal. I never felt like a nuisance to her; I knew I was wanted and supported by her.  

My dad? I barely remember him telling me he loved me once. I don’t remember affection and I never experienced that feeling of “daddy’s girl.” 

My maternal grandparents? Oh, the love I felt from them! I hold in my heart the sweet memory of Grandma J singing “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” to me as she bounced me on her knee with a big smile across her face. And my Papa J hugging me when I was 16 and telling me I was more beautiful each time he saw me. I always felt truly delighted in by them, and I’m so grateful.  

Tears streamed down my face as my pen poured my heart out onto my paper. I followed this lectio divina-style journaling prompt during the Healing the Whole Person study at our parish. A group of us were sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament after watching a beautiful video by Dr. Bob Schutts and Sr. Miriam James Heidland of the JPII Healing Center. The tears welled up even though I had preferred they’d stay shoved down.  

The Enemy’s Role in Suffering 

I have only seen the first two talks for this study and the second one spoke so much about the effects of brokenness in different stages of our lives on our adult lives, and things began making so much sense.  

Feeling like a nuisance at different points in my childhood still haunts me today, worrying about feeling like a nuisance to my husband, siblings, or friends. I never want to be a bother. These are one of the many distorted fruits that have come from a distorted treatment, or root, from my childhood. 

Sister Miriam also shared something very profound in a podcast interview with Matt Fradd on Pints with Aquinas while speaking about her own story of great healing from brokenness as a child: 

“There’s an anointing in the places we’ve suffered; there’s an authority. That’s why the enemy keeps us so hard from trying to enter into those places with Christ because the anointing is so great. The wound and the gift lay side by side.” 

The enemy of your soul is the one who tells you:  

“Don’t cry, now is not the time.” 

“The past is the past, just move on.” 

“No one cares about what happened.” 

The enemy does not want us to bring these roots to light for the Divine Physician Himself to access, redeem, and HEAL. 

You Cannot Give What You Do Not Have 

This also helped me to understand why I struggle with loving my own children in many of the ways they deserve to be loved. I understand why my affection lacks, why I shoo them away when I’m being bothered, and that they no doubt feel like a nuisance sometimes.  

I cannot give to my sweet children what I do not have; I must first allow Jesus to have the painful access to my roots, my childhood, to purify the fruit of the tree of my life.  

Allowing Jesus to affirm me, love me, and delight in me, can turn my distorted fruits into purified fruits.  

Distorted fruits like anger, irritation with the presence of my children, impatience, and demeaning words, are redeemed and transformed into delighting in their presence, naturally flowing affection, and beautiful affirmations. 

How Can You Be Healed? 

I want to encourage you to seek out true healing for yourself, dear reader. And not just once, but continually throughout your life. We all have had brokenness in our lives at one point or another, many of us having particularly broken childhoods.  

What do you struggle with? Alcohol or pornography addiction? Impatience? Anger? Can you identify why this is? When in your life did it begin?  

These things can truly be healed, praise God! But first we must pick up our cross and walk through the painful healing. There is no way around the suffering, dear friends. We must walk through.  

Even Jesus was not spared excruciating suffering to achieve redemption. He went before you and will be there with you through this. 

I highly recommend suggesting to your parish to purchase a subscription to Healing the Whole Person by the JPII Healing Center and bring this study to your own church for a group to go through together.  

Do not despair; there is hope. No matter the depth of the healing that needs to take place. With God, anything is possible! 

In peace I will lie down and fall asleep, for you alone, Lord, make me secure. (Psalms 4:9) 

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Copyright 2025 Elaine Sinnott
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