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Is your availability.

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The grace of God is—

Transformative.

Merciful.

Available.

Mysterious.

You are a miracle.

Today's miracles, wonders, and graces are known as the stigmata. The word stigmata comes from the Greek word stigma, which means mark, brand, or puncture. Its plural form is stigmata, meaning marks or wounds. In the ancient Greek world, a stigma referred to a brand burned into the skin of slaves or criminals, a mark of ownership or identity, and a visible sign that set someone apart. The term later entered Latin as stigmata. Retaining its meaning of identifying marks, the word took on a deeper, sacred meaning among Christians.

It came to describe the marks of Christ's suffering, especially after St. Paul wrote, "I bear on my body the marks stigmata of Jesus." From this point on, stigmata referred not to the shame or punishment, but to intimate union with Christ, where a person mysteriously shares in his wounds. Jesus turned so many things upside down so that they could be right side up. We see this in the profound reversal surrounding the meaning of the word stigmata. What once signified ownership and humiliation became, in Christianity, a sign of belonging to Christ and participation in His redemptive love.

The Christian origins of the stigmata tell a story of transformation where suffering is no longer meaningless, but becomes a path to communion with God. Over the past 2,000 years, a small number of saints and mystics have borne the stigmata, meaning the wounds of Christ suffered during the crucifixion mysteriously appeared on their bodies. These stigmata are wounds mirroring those Christ suffered during His crucifixion. Piercings in the hands or wrists and feet, a wound in the side, and sometimes marks on the head or shoulders, often painful, bleeding, and recurring without natural cause.

These wounds are not symbolic. They are physical. They bleed. They are incredibly painful, and they defy easy explanation. Francis of Assisi was the first person recorded to have received the stigmata in the year 1224. Padre Pio bore visible stigmata for 50 years. And Catherine of Siena experienced invisible stigmata, meaning she felt the excruciating pain, but her body bore no visible marks. What do the stigmata signify? Spiritually, the stigmata are understood as a deep participation in the suffering of Christ, a sign of intimate union with Jesus, and a hidden sharing in Christ's redemptive love for the world.

They are not given for spectacle or status and are almost always accompanied by great humility, suffering, and obedience. What does all this mean to you and me here and now, today, in the modern world the same as it meant to Christians of all places and times, meditating on the wounds of Jesus has a long and rich history in Christian spirituality. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote about resting in the wound of Christ's side as a place of refuge. Meditating on the wounds of Christ is not about morbid fascination. These meditations are about learning how God loves. The wounds teach us that love costs, that God does not save us from afar, and that our own wounds have redemptive value. Christians have been returning to the wounds of Christ in every age. They reveal a God who was willing to suffer for His people, a God who invites us to find healing precisely where love was poured out most completely.

We live in a wounded world. And every generation experiences its woundedness in different ways. We live in an era marked by vast numbers of people trying to process trauma. The rise of talk about trauma reflects a cultural shift toward naming what was once hidden, endured silently, or misunderstood. Pain was minimalized for generations. People were told to move on, toughen up, or forget about it. Emotional wounds were treated as personal weaknesses rather than real injuries. Advances in neuroscience have shown how trauma affects the brain and the nervous system. Trauma isn't just a memory. It reshapes how our bodies respond to stress, threat, and relationships.

Terrorism, war, pandemics, social unrest, dehumanization, professional instability, abuse, financial pressure, and the breakdown of marriages and families are placing immense and unrelenting strain on our society, eroding trust, stability, and the foundations of human flourishing. It is little wonder then that people are experiencing anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, PTSD, and all manner of stress-related diseases at epidemic levels in our society. The rise in talk about trauma also signals something hopeful, a growing recognition that healing matters, that unseen wounds are real, and that the human heart deserves understanding, not dismissal.

All of these are important. But if all we do is talk about our trauma, then all we do is reveal our wounds, but leave them unhealed. Our trauma needs healing. And yes, medicine has a role to play, and psychology too, but so does spirituality. And this spiritual component to healing is essential, though it is often treated as optional. Essential, not optional. You may have been wondering where I was going with all of this, but we have made it full circle. Meditating on the wounds of Christ allows us to integrate our trauma with truth, compassion, and perspective. Your wounds represent the trauma produced by your painful past. His wounds will remind you that the Lord of Glory, the King Eternal, your friend, and and your God has imagined a future for you richer than anything your suffering could imagine.

Trust.

Surrender.

Believe.

Receive.

Don't let the world steal your wonder.

Today's lesson, the stigmata revealed how Christ transformed suffering into love. Once marks of shame, the wounds of Jesus became signs of belonging, mercy, and redemption. By meditating on Christ's wounds, we learn how God loves, integrate our own trauma with compassion and truth, and discover that even our deepest wounds can become paths to healing, hope, and deeper communion with God. And today's virtue, sacrifice. The virtue of sacrifice enhances the meaning of our existence. The ability to set aside our desire and personal preferences, expecting nothing in return, is evidence of the nobility of the human person. True sacrifice isn't about loss for its own sake. True sacrifice is a seed that, when planted in faith, grows into greater love of God and neighbor. Let your selfishness give way to love, and you will embrace the sacrifices of daily life enthusiastically. I want to encourage you today to pick up a copy of The Way of Surrender and Seasons of Surrender in the bundle, and to consider taking the assessment. This assessment, I'm telling you, will transform you, change your life, transform your spirituality. It's incredible. Take a look at that today. Click the button below. Have a great day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

God of miracles, wonders, and grace.

I thank you for all the good you have done in my life.

For the miracles I recognize.

And the many graces.

I so often overlook.

I open my heart completely to you today.

Inviting you.

To completely inhabit my soul.

So that through me.

Others may encounter your love.

Your mercy.

Your compassion.

Your kindness.

And your staggering generosity.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Ambassadors. You are changing the world.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.