A Prayer Reflecting On The Holy Wounds
A prayer I wrote to God I contemplation of the Holy Wounds.
Praise:
Lord you are the beauty ever ancient and beauty ever new, the Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity, the one God above all, simple, yet infinite in all perfections; in truth, goodness, and beauty, in justice, mercy, and peace, in wisdom, power, and love, you are thrice holy, infallible and impeccable, pure and source of moral purity, you are that than which none greater can be conceived, and that greater than all that can be conceived, incomprehensible Lord, you are beyond the grasp of human reason to know in full, and so beyond the human capacity to praise fully, so that all our praise is but an understatement of the great glory that is you. God, you are he who is, and your name is sacred above all, and worthy to be praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, now, and forever and ever.
thanksgiving:
Lord I thank you for this life, and for my family, and for all the good you do for me and for us all, I thank you for giving us your beloved Son, Jesus, into this world, uniting him with human nature, and setting him forth as your most Holy Lamb, for you oh Jesus are, as St. John the Baptist said: “The Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sins of the world.” You are the lamb for the sacrifice that Abraham said to Isaac that God would provide, and like Isaac you have taken up the wood upon which you would be sacrificed, and carried it to calvary-golgotha, the place of the skull.
It was you oh Jesus who allowed yourself to be strung up on the cross, who laid down your life for us, that you might take it up again in the resurrection, though your were glorified in the transfiguration, showing forth your divinity, still you offered yourself on the cross, anticipating this even in all your life, particularly in the last supper, where you instituted the priesthood and the Eucharist. It was you, oh Lord, who sweat blood at Gesthemane, you Lord who were unjustly beaten and falsely accused before the Sanhedrin, you Lord who suffered unjustly before Pilate who did not stay to know the truth who is you, but who had you scourged at the Pillar, who allowed you to be insulted and mocked and given a crown of thorns. It was you who were unjustly sent to your death on the cross, by the Malice of the Sanhedrin, the Sloth of Herod, and the Cowardice of Pilate, and the unified Injustice of all three. You Lord carried the cross on the road of sorrows, never once giving up your great love for the world, even despite falling three times in pain, despite the unjust jeers of the people who had only days before welcomed you into Jerusalem with praise and adulation, so sorrowfully fickle were they, yet you still loved them and still love them even now. Even in light of the sorrow of your mother and the women of Jerusalem you persisted in your saving walk.
You Lord were finally crucified; nails were sunk into your hands and feet, making the first four Holy wounds.
Into your hands Lord, the hands which were once infants hands, and which grew into children’s hands and then into a mans hands. The hands of a carpenter, making great things from but wood and nails, hands destined to have nails nailing them into wood; the hands which, as a shepherds hands, guided many as you began to preach the gospel, the hands which held the Scriptures as you preached from them and fulfilled the prophecies in them, the hands which you laid upon many and healed them, the hands which cast out demons, even the legion of demons, and cast this legion into swine, and this swine into their final baptism over a cliff, like an echo of the baptism of Egypt and Israel through the read sea, the baptism of Noah and mankind in the flood, the baptism of the waters over which the spirit hovered in the beginning to separate all that would come to be from that which would not; the hands which wrote the names of those who had rejected you in the dust when you dissuaded a crowd to kill by throwing stones, the hands which called forth a whip of cords to cast out from your father’s house all who had defiled it by the exchange of money therein, the hands which washed the disciples feet, in demonstration of your infinite humility and love, as an example for us to follow, hands which held up your body and blood in the forms of bread and wine at the last supper, the blood of the new covenant, soon to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. Hands which would surely be clasped together at prayer in gasthemane, and which would heal the ear of the one whose ear Peter cut off. Hands which were later bound and tied to a pillar as you were scourged unjustly, hands which carried the cross upon which they would be nailed, into these hands which once calmed the rains and storm, were nails sunk to make these wounds.
Into your feet too Lord, feet whose kicking in Mary’s womb enlivened John the Baptist who would declare you the lamb of God, feet which became infants feet, and later as children’s feet led you to the temple where you would preach so as to be about your father’s business. Feet which as an adult, would carry you all about the land of Jarusalem, to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and feet which walked on water and lead Peter to such faith that he, for a time, would walk on water too, and feet which stayed on the water to pull him up when he fell. Feet which led you into Mary and Martha’s house, feet before which Mary sat to learn your teachings, feet which moved through a crowd each time they tried to stone you before you willed to permit your death. Feet which ran into the Temple to drive out those who had corrupted it with the exchange of money, feet which stood before the Sanhedrin in their unjust trial, and before Pilate and Herod in their respectively cowardly and slothful submission to the Sanhedrin’s malice, feet which walked to carry the cross upon which they would be nailed, into these feet which once walked on water, were nails sunk to make these wounds.
After your last seven words on the cross, Lord, you gave up the Spirit, and died; and in confirmation of your death the last wound was made, St. Longinus spear pierced your side, out from which flew water and blood, baptism and Eucharist, converting St. Longinus in precisely that moment ‘truly this man was the son of God!’.
In truth Lord your life and love had always been flowing out from your heart, but here this truth was made most clear and manifest, you who had always desired to wash and purify mankind of his sins, to sprinkle him with the blood of a new covenant which should be poured out even upon the gentiles, as it was first poured out upon St. Longinus as a most sure proof of this, just as the blood of the old covenant was poured out upon all Israel, upon Moses and his people, and this after they had passed through the waters of the parted sea, receiving their own baptism, so likewise did water and blood pour out from your side, Oh Lord; and this too calls back further, for after the great flood which baptized the earth, never to be cursed again for man’s sins, did Noah sacrifice to you to make this new covenant, and indeed, even further back, after creating the world from the waters by the spirit hovering over the face of the deep, and so making a world clean and pure in it’s first moments, ‘good’ in all it’s parts and ‘very good’ in it’s integral unity, so when the first man sinned and sought to cover his nakedness which was once clean and pure, you called forth the blood of an animal you slain as a new beginning, the first gift you gave to man after he sinned, clothes made from a living being, the skins of animals slain, and if there is no slaying without blood, so neither could our first parents surely been completely without the cleansing in this blood, an echo of the blood to come, and what more proof of this then that their son Able, the first prophet, knew to sacrifice sheep to you? Even then we see a fortelling of the lamb of God, of you Jesus, as God himself says in the proto-evangelion, the women shall bear a child, Mary is that woman, and Jesus is that child, the child become man, the man on the cross, the man with corpse of pierced side, the man the living temple, who cleanses all mankind with water and blood flowing from his heart and side, the Church born from your side as Eve from the side of Adam, as great mystics and theologians have noted of old.
You were buried Lord, but you were resurrected by the power of God, which is your power; by the power of the name which is above every other name, which is the name of God; that at the name of Christ Jesus every knee shall bend and tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
You appeared oh Lord to the women and the apostles, and to doubting Thomas Lord you showed forth your beloved wounds, your hands and feet and side, these eternal marks of your endless love for us. ‘Blessed is he who has not seen, but believed.’ It was these wounds which remained with you too Lord, after your last appearances, when you ascended into heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father, to set your most holy wounds before him as an eternal sign and advocation and propitiation to the Father made by you from your endless love for us. I thank you Lord for this most wonderful gift of grace.
Petition:
Praise:
Lord you are the beauty ever ancient and beauty ever new, the Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity, the one God above all, simple, yet infinite in all perfections; in truth, goodness, and beauty, in justice, mercy, and peace, in wisdom, power, and love, you are thrice holy, infallible and impeccable, pure and source of moral purity, you are that than which none greater can be conceived, and that greater than all that can be conceived, incomprehensible Lord, you are beyond the grasp of human reason to know in full, and so beyond the human capacity to praise fully, so that all our praise is but an understatement of the great glory that is you. God, you are he who is, and your name is sacred above all, and worthy to be praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, now, and forever and ever.
thanksgiving:
Lord I thank you for this life, and for my family, and for all the good you do for me and for us all, I thank you for giving us your beloved Son, Jesus, into this world, uniting him with human nature, and setting him forth as your most Holy Lamb, for you oh Jesus are, as St. John the Baptist said: “The Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sins of the world.” You are the lamb for the sacrifice that Abraham said to Isaac that God would provide, and like Isaac you have taken up the wood upon which you would be sacrificed, and carried it to calvary-golgotha, the place of the skull.
It was you oh Jesus who allowed yourself to be strung up on the cross, who laid down your life for us, that you might take it up again in the resurrection, though your were glorified in the transfiguration, showing forth your divinity, still you offered yourself on the cross, anticipating this even in all your life, particularly in the last supper, where you instituted the priesthood and the Eucharist. It was you, oh Lord, who sweat blood at Gesthemane, you Lord who were unjustly beaten and falsely accused before the Sanhedrin, you Lord who suffered unjustly before Pilate who did not stay to know the truth who is you, but who had you scourged at the Pillar, who allowed you to be insulted and mocked and given a crown of thorns. It was you who were unjustly sent to your death on the cross, by the Malice of the Sanhedrin, the Sloth of Herod, and the Cowardice of Pilate, and the unified Injustice of all three. You Lord carried the cross on the road of sorrows, never once giving up your great love for the world, even despite falling three times in pain, despite the unjust jeers of the people who had only days before welcomed you into Jerusalem with praise and adulation, so sorrowfully fickle were they, yet you still loved them and still love them even now. Even in light of the sorrow of your mother and the women of Jerusalem you persisted in your saving walk.
You Lord were finally crucified; nails were sunk into your hands and feet, making the first four Holy wounds.
Into your hands Lord, the hands which were once infants hands, and which grew into children’s hands and then into a mans hands. The hands of a carpenter, making great things from but wood and nails, hands destined to have nails nailing them into wood; the hands which, as a shepherds hands, guided many as you began to preach the gospel, the hands which held the Scriptures as you preached from them and fulfilled the prophecies in them, the hands which you laid upon many and healed them, the hands which cast out demons, even the legion of demons, and cast this legion into swine, and this swine into their final baptism over a cliff, like an echo of the baptism of Egypt and Israel through the read sea, the baptism of Noah and mankind in the flood, the baptism of the waters over which the spirit hovered in the beginning to separate all that would come to be from that which would not; the hands which wrote the names of those who had rejected you in the dust when you dissuaded a crowd to kill by throwing stones, the hands which called forth a whip of cords to cast out from your father’s house all who had defiled it by the exchange of money therein, the hands which washed the disciples feet, in demonstration of your infinite humility and love, as an example for us to follow, hands which held up your body and blood in the forms of bread and wine at the last supper, the blood of the new covenant, soon to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. Hands which would surely be clasped together at prayer in gasthemane, and which would heal the ear of the one whose ear Peter cut off. Hands which were later bound and tied to a pillar as you were scourged unjustly, hands which carried the cross upon which they would be nailed, into these hands which once calmed the rains and storm, were nails sunk to make these wounds.
Into your feet too Lord, feet whose kicking in Mary’s womb enlivened John the Baptist who would declare you the lamb of God, feet which became infants feet, and later as children’s feet led you to the temple where you would preach so as to be about your father’s business. Feet which as an adult, would carry you all about the land of Jarusalem, to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and feet which walked on water and lead Peter to such faith that he, for a time, would walk on water too, and feet which stayed on the water to pull him up when he fell. Feet which led you into Mary and Martha’s house, feet before which Mary sat to learn your teachings, feet which moved through a crowd each time they tried to stone you before you willed to permit your death. Feet which ran into the Temple to drive out those who had corrupted it with the exchange of money, feet which stood before the Sanhedrin in their unjust trial, and before Pilate and Herod in their respectively cowardly and slothful submission to the Sanhedrin’s malice, feet which walked to carry the cross upon which they would be nailed, into these feet which once walked on water, were nails sunk to make these wounds.
After your last seven words on the cross, Lord, you gave up the Spirit, and died; and in confirmation of your death the last wound was made, St. Longinus spear pierced your side, out from which flew water and blood, baptism and Eucharist, converting St. Longinus in precisely that moment ‘truly this man was the son of God!’.
In truth Lord your life and love had always been flowing out from your heart, but here this truth was made most clear and manifest, you who had always desired to wash and purify mankind of his sins, to sprinkle him with the blood of a new covenant which should be poured out even upon the gentiles, as it was first poured out upon St. Longinus as a most sure proof of this, just as the blood of the old covenant was poured out upon all Israel, upon Moses and his people, and this after they had passed through the waters of the parted sea, receiving their own baptism, so likewise did water and blood pour out from your side, Oh Lord; and this too calls back further, for after the great flood which baptized the earth, never to be cursed again for man’s sins, did Noah sacrifice to you to make this new covenant, and indeed, even further back, after creating the world from the waters by the spirit hovering over the face of the deep, and so making a world clean and pure in it’s first moments, ‘good’ in all it’s parts and ‘very good’ in it’s integral unity, so when the first man sinned and sought to cover his nakedness which was once clean and pure, you called forth the blood of an animal you slain as a new beginning, the first gift you gave to man after he sinned, clothes made from a living being, the skins of animals slain, and if there is no slaying without blood, so neither could our first parents surely been completely without the cleansing in this blood, an echo of the blood to come, and what more proof of this then that their son Able, the first prophet, knew to sacrifice sheep to you? Even then we see a fortelling of the lamb of God, of you Jesus, as God himself says in the proto-evangelion, the women shall bear a child, Mary is that woman, and Jesus is that child, the child become man, the man on the cross, the man with corpse of pierced side, the man the living temple, who cleanses all mankind with water and blood flowing from his heart and side, the Church born from your side as Eve from the side of Adam, as great mystics and theologians have noted of old.
You were buried Lord, but you were resurrected by the power of God, which is your power; by the power of the name which is above every other name, which is the name of God; that at the name of Christ Jesus every knee shall bend and tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
You appeared oh Lord to the women and the apostles, and to doubting Thomas Lord you showed forth your beloved wounds, your hands and feet and side, these eternal marks of your endless love for us. ‘Blessed is he who has not seen, but believed.’ It was these wounds which remained with you too Lord, after your last appearances, when you ascended into heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father, to set your most holy wounds before him as an eternal sign and advocation and propitiation to the Father made by you from your endless love for us. I thank you Lord for this most wonderful gift of grace.
Petition:
Lord I offer up this prayer for The Holy Souls in Purgatory, for the healing, preservation, and growth of the unity of the Roman Catholic Church, for the healing, preservation, and growth of the unity of Catholic families, for [insert special intentions here]; for all in this world whom I have offered this prayer for, please grant us repentance from sin, and the grace to avoid near occasions of sin, and behaviors which lead to near occasions of sin. Where we must be tempted lord, Grant that we shall resist and persevere through temptation; and should we give in, grant that we shall sin less, and whether or not we sin less, and however much we sin, grant Lord that we always repent again. In our repentance Lord grant us conversion ever more and more to your truth, to rationality, to the natural law, to Theism, to Christianity, to Catholicism, and most of all to you Lord; place your Love in our hearts Lord, that we shall turn in love to you, and in this love place in us an overflowing gratitude, and a heart filled with praise of you, that as our heart overflows, so we shall sing your praises, and grant this continually Lord, now and for the rest of our lives, and if you be willing, for all eternity.
Yes Lord, grant us final perseverence, if we should fall from the state of grace to the state of mortal sin, restore us Lord from the state of mortal sin to the state of grace and keep us their, and when our dying day comes, please take us oh Lord, not in the state of mortal sin, but int he state of grace, so that even if only through purgatory, we may be together with you forever in heaven Lord, thanking and glorifying you all the while.
And whatever you decide Lord, may You, your Name, and your Most Holy Wounds, be praised, blessed, loved, adored, and glorified; now and forever and ever in heaven. Amen.
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