Holy Devotion to the wounds of Christ: short history and writings of the Saints

Thomas à Kempis, in the imitation of Christ, speaks of resting - remaining - in the wounds of Christ. "If you cannot rise as high as Christ seated on his throne, observe him hanging on his cross, rest in the passion of Christ and live voluntarily in his sacred wounds, you will acquire wonderful strength and comfort in adversity. You will not worry that men despise you ... If we had not, with Tommaso, put our fingers in the press of his nails and we had stuck our hands in his side! If we had had us but had known his sufferings ourselves in deep and serious consideration and tasted the incredible greatness of his love, the joys and miseries of life would soon have become indifferent to us. "

Theologically, the wounds were the channels through which the blood of Christ was spilled. This "precious blood" sealed a new covenant for Christians to replace Moses' old covenant. While a sacrificial lamb was once offered to God for the atonement of sins, divine blood was now offered by the only victim so pure as to atone for all the transgressions of humanity. Hence, Christ's death was a perfect sacrifice that destroyed the power of sin, and therefore death, on humanity. Particular meaning is offered to the spear wound from which blood and water flowed. The blood is connected with the Eucharistic blood received at the Masses and the water with the purification of the original sin at baptism (the two sacraments deemed necessary to achieve eternal life). Thus, the Church, just as Eve emanated from the side of Adam, is considered mystical born from the wounds of Christ through the sacraments. The blood of Christ's sacrifice washes and therefore purifies and redeems the Church.

The Source Honor is shown to these Sacred Wounds also in many small ways: from the 5 grains of incense inserted in the Easter Candle, to the custom of dedicating each Pater said in the body of the Dominican Rosary to one of the Five Wounds. They are symbolized in art by the Jerusalem Cross, 5 circles on a cross, 5 roses and the 5-pointed star.

Short history of this devotion

During the Middle Ages popular piety focused more intensely on the Passion of Christ and therefore held in special honor the wounds inflicted on him in his suffering. Although many medieval mystics totaled these wounds at 5.466, popular devotion focused on the five wounds associated directly with his crucifixion, namely the nail wounds on the hands and feet and the spear wound that pierced his heart, unlike the another 5.461 received during the flagellation of Christ and with his crown of thorns. A "shorthand" image containing two hands, two feet and a disembodied wound served as a memory aid for this devotion. The veneration of these sacred wounds is already seen in 532 when it was believed that St. John the Evangelist had revealed a mass in their honor to Pope Boniface II. In the end it was through the preaching of San Bernardo di Chiaravalle (1090-1153) and San Francesco d'Assisi (1182-1226) that the veneration of the wounds became widespread. For these saints, the wounds indicated the fulfillment of the love of Christ because God humbled himself by taking on a vulnerable flesh and died to free humanity from death. Preachers encouraged Christians to make an effort to imitate this perfect example of love.

Saint Bernard of Chiaravalle and Saint Francis of Assisi in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries encouraged devotions and practices in honor of the five wounds of the Passion of Jesus: in his hands, feet and hips. The Jerusalem Cross, or "Crusader Cross", recalls the five wounds through its five crosses. There were many medieval prayers that honored the wounds. including some attributed to Santa Chiara of Assisi and Santa Mechtilde. In the 14th century, the holy mystic Saint Gertrude of Helfta had a vision that Christ sustained 5.466 wounds during the Passion. Saint Brigid of Sweden popularized a custom to recite fifteen Paternoster every day (5.475 per year) in memory of the Holy Wounds. There was a special Mass of the Five Wounds, known as the Golden Mass, which the medieval tradition claimed was composed of

Related writings and writings of saints:

Private revelation to Saint Brigid of Sweden indicated that all the wounds from which Our Lord suffered add up to 5.480. He began to pray 15 prayers each day in honor of each of these wounds, the total after a year of 5.475; these "Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget of Sweden" are still prayed today. Likewise, in southern Germany, it became the practice of praying 15 of our fathers a day in honor of the wounds of Christ so that by the end of a year 5.475 patriots would be prayed.

Saint John the Divine is said to have appeared to Pope Boniface II (AD 532) and revealed a special Mass - the "Golden Mass" - in honor of the five wounds of Christ, and it is the effect of these five plagues that they are more often produced in the bodies of men and women who imitate him better: the stigmata. Saint Francis being the first of these, his spiritual daughter, Saint Clare, developed a strong devotion to the Five Wounds, as did the Benedictine Saint Gertrude the Great and others.

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The Rosary of the Sacred Wounds was first introduced at the beginning of the 1866th century by the nun Maria Martha Chambon, a Catholic nun from the monastery of the Order of the Visitation in Chambéry, France. His first visions were reported in XNUMX. He is currently awaiting beatification.

He reported that Jesus appeared to her and asked her to combine her suffering with his as an act of reparation for the sins of the world. He attributed this form of Rosary to Jesus during his Visions of Jesus Christ, saying that Jesus considered it an important act of reparation for his wounds in Calvary. She reported that Jesus said to her:
"When you offer My Sacred Wounds for sinners, you must not forget to do it for the souls of Purgatory, since there are only a few who think of their relief ... The Sacred Wounds are the treasure of treasures for the souls of Purgatory. "