Daily Catholic Lectio
Tue, 20 May ‘25
Fifth Week of Easter – Tuesday
Acts 14:19–28. John 14:27–31a
The Wounded Healer
In spiritual theology, there is a well-known expression: “The Wounded Healer.” It was popularised by the priest and writer Henri Nouwen. The phrase refers to every minister who, despite being wounded themselves, strives to bring healing to others. In fact, it is precisely because they carry wounds that they can recognise and tend to the wounds of others with greater empathy and tenderness.
In today’s First Reading, we witness a moment of such wounded ministry. Paul is violently attacked for preaching the Gospel—stoned and thrown out of the city as though he were dead. But astonishingly, he rises again and continues with Barnabas to Derbe.
What follows is even more striking. Paul, bruised and battered, says to the people: “It is through many hardships that we must enter the kingdom of God.” Though they are the ones physically hurt, Paul and Barnabas recognise that the people they minister to are even more wounded emotionally and spiritually. So, they set aside their own suffering and begin encouraging and strengthening the faith of the community.
In the Gospel Reading, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” But if we trace His life, all we find is turmoil. At His birth, there was no room in the inn. In His ministry, He was rejected by His own in Nazareth. His disciples misunderstood Him, betrayed Him, denied Him, or fled from Him. His earthly life was marked more by distress than calm.
So how can one who experienced such profound disturbance offer peace?
It is because He knew suffering deeply that He could speak of peace authentically. His peace was not the absence of conflict but the presence of God in the midst of it. He offers peace not as a tranquil emotion but as a grace-filled promise.
Today, we are all “wounded healers.” Though we may carry pain, we are still called to bring hope and comfort to those around us—because their wounds may be even deeper than ours. That is the beauty of redemptive suffering: our own brokenness becomes a bridge for the healing of others.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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