Chains of Wounds (continued)
As I have observed how one fracture in marble spreadeth cracks through the entire block, so doth one unhealed wound of the spirit propagate a chain of further wounds.
St Gregory the Great (†604), Moralia in Job:
“One sin, left unrepented, begetteth many others, as a single spark setteth a forest ablaze.”
These chains are not random but follow a precise order:
- The basic-basic wound: the first mortal sin after baptism, or the inherited wound of original sin itself.
“Wherefore, O death, is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, Greek: ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ κέντρον; – “Where, O death, is thy sting?”).
This is the root whence all later aberrations spring. - The cross-wound: where two chains meet and knot, as when a childhood beating is restimulated by a later betrayal.
St John Climacus (†649) calleth this a “knot of passions.” - The secondary wound: a grave sin after the basic, reinforcing the chain.
St Basil (†379): “Second falls are harder to heal than the first.” - The lock: lighter sins or sorrows that depend upon the basic for their force.
These are removed by ordinary confession, but the chain remaineth until the basic is reached.
The chain is exhausted by returning to the **basic-basic through guided confession and penance, until the soul experienceth the peace that “surpasseth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, Greek: ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν – “the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding”).
Prenatal, Birth, and Infant Wounds
Even in the womb the soul is capable of receiving wounds, for it is a living soul from the moment of conception.
The Council of Vienne (1312, but affirming earlier tradition) declared:
“The rational soul is infused at the very instant of conception.”
Thus the infant in utero perceiveth and suffereth:
- The mother’s terror, despair, or hatred imprinteth commands such as “I wish you were never born.”
- Attempted abortion leaveth the deepest scars, as the child is assaulted while hearing “This must die.”
- Birth itself, if violent, imprinteth fear of light, air, or human touch.
St Gregory Nazianzen (†390) lamenteth the sins committed against the unborn.
The Greek Fathers uniformly condemn abortion as murder (Didache, Athenagoras, Basil).
These wounds are reached by careful guidance, asking the penitent to return in memory to the womb, and to recount every sensation until the false command is revoked and the soul freed.
The “Laws” of Returning to Grace
The soul returneth to its wounds by divine laws observed in every penitent:
- Law of Affinity: The soul returneth most easily to those it loved or hated.
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). - Law of Similarity: Like restimulateth like.
A present sorrow reviveth an old sorrow. - Law of Return: The soul is drawn back to the moment of greatest pain or unconsciousness, as iron to the magnet.
St John Cassian: “The memory of pain is stronger than the memory of pleasure.” - Law of Exhaustion: When the wound is fully recounted with all perceptics (words, sights, sounds, pains), the false command loseth power.
“The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). - Law of the Basic: Until the first wound on the chain is reached and absolved, the chain remaineth unbroken.
St Augustine: “In my deepest wound I saw Thy glory, and it dazzled me.”
These laws are not inventions but observations of grace working in the confessional for sixteen centuries.
Case Histories of Restoration (Selected)
Case No. 1
A man tormented by fear of authority and chronic illness.
Basic-basic discovered: prenatal quarrel wherein father struck mother in abdomen, saying “I’ll kill it if it’s a boy.”
After exhaustive confession and penance: fear vanished, illness departed.
Case No. 2
Woman in apathy, suicidal thoughts.
Basic-basic: mother’s attempted abortion with coat-hanger.
Words heard: “This thing must die.”
After full recounting and sacramental absolution: joy returned, tone rose to serenity.
Case No. 3
Man of violent rages, skin eruptions.
Basic-basic: mother’s attempted abortion with turpentine.
Words: “I’ll burn it out.”
After confession and forty-day fast: rages ceased, skin healed.
All cases restored by the same method: return, recount, absolve, amend.
Glossary of Terms (Restored to Catholic Usage)
- Dynamic → The divine impulse to endure in grace
- Engram → Wound of the spirit (πάθος)
- Aberration → Deviation from the divine image
- Tone → Spiritual disposition (from despair to charity)
- Clear → Soul restored to baptismal innocence
- Auditor → Confessor or spiritual director
- Pre-clear → Penitent
- Reactive mind → The wounded memory
- Analytical mind → The intellect illumined by faith
- Thetan → The immortal spirit (πνεῦμα) created by God
Epilogue
This treatise, born in humility, is now returned to its true source: the Catholic and Apostolic Faith.
All that was useful hath been retained and baptized; all that was false hath been cast into the fire.
The mind and spirit are one, and their healing is Christ.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches… severed from me ye can do nothing”
(John 15:5).
May this restored work guide souls to the only true liberation:
union with the Blessed Trinity through grace.
Finis coronat opus.