Saint Faustina Kowalska said, when we returned home, I dropped into the chapel for a moment, and then I heard this voice in my soul: There is more merit to one hour of meditation on My sorrowful Passion than there is to a whole year of flagellation (whipping) that draws blood; the contemplation of My painful wounds is of great profit to you, and it brings Me great joy (Diary, 369).
Are you wearing a cross, yes! I wonder if you kiss it? Yes/No!
because kissing in the devotions of the church is an act of worship and who doesn’t long to kiss a loved one ?
Why do you wear it?
For protection! And surely for honour that you are a Christian.
But, do we really appreciate the crucifix, the marks on the cross which are the wound of Jesus Christ? Have you ever stopped and meditate on them. Do we actually live or know the significance of this sacrifice? The marks of crucifixion! BECAUSE AS Christian you are the bearer of His Name.
According to our Catholic tradition, the Five Holy Wounds or the Five Sacred or Precious Wounds, are the five piercing wounds our Lord Jesus Christ suffered during the crucifixion. These wounds always been loved, venerated and reflected upon by all christians especially in the late Middle Ages.
King David said, (Ps 22:16-17) said: “… dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones.They look and stare at Me.” And Isaiah (53:5), Prophesied, “ He was pierced for our transgressions (VIOLATIONS, OFFENCES, CRIMES), He was crushed for our iniquities; (IMMORAL, INJUSTICE) the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” means SAVED. his wounds have healing power…
And more obviously Thomas the apostle objected on what the other apostles had seen themselves as St. John tells us ( 20: 25-28), “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” … Suddenly Jesus invited him, “Put your finger here; see my hands. reach out your HAND and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas cried: “My Lord and my God!”
You might ask, why are the wounds too significant to ignore? What does that mean? St Peter (1 Pet 2:24) answers this question by quoting Isaia “By His wounds you were healed .'( REDEEMED). If someone is injured he seeks healing, not the other way around! The Sacred Wounds which were inflicted on Jesus during His Passion are PART of the price paid for our salvation! “You were bought at a price…” (1 Cor 6:20). FRANCIS DE SALES, Doctor and Bishop of the Church (1567-1622) said: I see crosses at every turn. My flesh shudders TREMBLE, SHIVER over it, but my heart adores them. Yes, I hail you, crosses little and great, I hail you, and kiss your feet, unworthy of the honour of your shadow.
Pope francis said in one of his homilies while meditating on the Wounds of Christ in the Lent of 2017 as he shared the advice of a spiritual director: Do you feel bitter, feel sad, feel life just isn’t going the right way and you’re also ill? Look there. In silence.”Look at the wounds. Enter into the wounds. By those wounds we were healed. When one is feeling lost or frightened or in pain, he said, look at a crucifix “before the glory” and recognise how Jesus “annihilated himself” to defeat evil and death. TO BE CONTINUED
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