Pious Exercise in Honor of the Five Wounds

(From the Raccolta 1900)


Begin by an act of contrition.

Whilst I lie prostrate before Thee crucified, most loving Saviour of my soul, my conscience tells me it was I that nailed Thee to the cross with these hands of mine, as often as I fell into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my monstrous ingratitude. My God, my chief and perfect good, worthy of all my love, because Thou hast ever loaded me with blessings: my wretched deeds I cannot now undo, as fain I would; but I loathe and hate them, grieving from the bottom of my heart that I have offended Thee, goodness infinite! Now, kneeling at Thy feet, I try at least to compassionate Thee, to give Thee thanks, to ask Thee for pardon and for the grace of repentance: wherefore, with heart and lips, I say:

To the Wound in the Left Foot.

Holy wound in the left foot of my Jesus! I adore thee. I compassionate Thee, my Jesus, for the bitter pain that thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love with which Thou didst labor to overtake me on the way to ruin; for me Thou didst bleed, in seeking me amid the thorns and brambles of my sins: I offer to the eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, in atonement for my sins, all of which, with deep and bitter sorrow, I detest.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Right Foot.

Holy wound in the right foot of my Jesus! I adore thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee for the bitter pain which thou didst endure. I thank Thee for the love which pierced Thee with such cruel anguish, which made Thee shed Thy blood in punishment for my wanderings, and for the guilty pleasure I have granted to my unbridled passions. I offer to the eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee, give me grace to weep over my wanderings with hot tears, and to abide in the good I have begun, never more swerving from my obedience to the divine commands.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Left Hand

Holy wound in the left hand of my Jesus! I adore thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee for the bitter pain thou didst endure. I thank thee for having spared me the uplifted rod and the eternal damnation which for my sins I merited. I offer to the eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and, I pray Thee, teach me to profit by my little span of life, and bring forth in it fruits of penance, and so disarm Thy divine and just anger.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Right Hand

Holy wound in the right hand of my Jesus! I adore thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee for the bitter pains Thou didst endure. I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love, in spite of my wretched waywardness. I offer to the eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and, I pray Thee, change my heart and its affections, and make me do all my works in accordance with Thy divine good pleasure.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Sacred Side.

Holy wound in the side of my Jesus! I adore Thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee in the cruel insults which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love whereby Thou didst let them cleave Thy breast and heart, that so the last drops of blood and water might issue forth, and my redemption overflow. I offer to the eternal Father this outrage, and the love of Thy most holy humanity, that into that most loving heart, eager and ready to receive the greatest sinners, my poor soul may enter once for all, and never more depart.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

Promises of Our Lord Given to St. Gertrude for those Who Honor His Holy Wounds:

One day as St. Gertrude was completing her prayers and salutations in honor of the Wounds of the Savior, her compassion was rewarded by a vision of Our Lord, on whose Wounds rested golden roses. Our Lord said to her: “Behold, I will appear to you in this refulgent form at the hour of your death, and I will cover all your sins, and adorn you with a glory like that with which you have adorned My Wounds by your salutations. All who do so shall receive the like favor.” It was also revealed to St. Gertrude that reading and meditating on the Passion are far more useful and efficacious than all other spiritual exercises. As those who handle flour cannot avoid contracting some of the flour’s powdery substance, so no one, however imperfect his devotion may be, can occupy his mind with the Passion of Our Lord without receiving some benefit therefrom. And, however cold and lukewarm our devotion, Our Lord will look upon us with greater long-suffering and mercy if we never omit the memory of His Passion.

3 thoughts on “Pious Exercise in Honor of the Five Wounds”

  1. Thank you Mark. The last paragraph was especially encouraging and helpful for me. I always feel my devotions on His Passion aren’t as ferverent as they ought to be…..I’ll remember this and not give up.

  2. Through the Wounds, the Good Thief asks for the deliverence into Heaven from Jesus. Could we dare to hope as he? I believe, yes.

    …“Suddenly, from being an enemy, he became a friend; a stranger, he became a loving companion; coming from afar, he showed himself the true neighbor; a robber, he was changed into a glorious confessor. Great, indeed was the confidence of the thief. Conscious to himself of every sort of guilt and sin, without a single redeeming good work, he had passed his lawless life in taking the goods and even the lives of men; yet, at the end of his days, at the very gates of death, when all hopes of this present life were over, he conceived a hope of the life to come, which he had so grievously forfeited, or rather which he had never done anything to deserve. If the thief had cause to hope, who shall henceforth despair?”

    https://web.archive.org/web/20130609102616/http://www.infobarrel.com/Saint_Dismas_The_Good_Thief

  3. Thank you so much for this Mark…..I did a different set of St. Gertrude prayers every night for a year maaaany years ago. I think I’ll plan on doing these under the same schedule this year (with the book of pictures from The Passion of the Christ on my lap)….starting after Easter Week. Can’t think of a better devotion to offer Him in these (what would clearly appear to be) last days.

    A blessed Easter (soon) to you and yours….and God have mercy on us.

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