During Advent

Saint Anselm stated, "Come now, insignificant man, fly for a moment from your affairs, escape for a little while from the tumult of your thoughts. Put aside now your weighty cares and leave your wearisome toils. Abandon yourself for a little to God and rest for a little in Him. Enter into the inner chamber of your soul, shut out everything save God and what can be of help in your quest for Him, and having locked the door, seek Him out..."

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Throughout Advent, although the world tries in every way to distract us from the approaching birth of Jesus, may we hold tight to St. Anselm's words, abandoning ourselves to God and making ready our hearts for Him. May we journey with Joseph and Mary, who, while fulfilling their necessary tasks, prepared each moment for the coming of the Lord, their Infant Son. During this season of Advent, may we remember to pause, remaining still and silent, and listen for God's voice guiding us as he guided Mary and Joseph on their road to Bethlehem. 

During the Advent season, let us also meditate on the beautiful Marian hymn below.  Believed to have been written during the Middle Ages, this hymn illuminates the link from Mary to Jesus.  Let us strive to keep our gaze upon Our Lady throughout Advent that she may lead us to her Infant Son.

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Mary the Dawn, Christ the Perfect Day

Mary the dawn, Christ the Perfect Day; 

Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way! 

Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine; 

Mary the grape, Christ the Sacred Wine! 

Mary the wheat, Christ the Living Bread; 

Mary the stem, Christ the Rose blood-red! 

Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood; 

Mary the cup, Christ the Saving Blood! 

Mary the temple, Christ the temple’s Lord; 

Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored! 

Mary the beacon, Christ the Haven’s Rest; 

Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest! 

Mary the mother, Christ the mother’s Son 

By all things blest while endless ages run. Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

Little Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ

 

"He was pierced for our transgressions....and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

During the Middle Ages a form of prayer that increased in popularity was the practice of meditating upon the wounds of Christ.  While some mystics, such as St. Gertrude the Great, numbered the wounds Jesus suffered during His Passion to be 5,466, popular piety focused on the five wounds of Christ suffered during His Crucifixion, those of His hands, feet, and side.  Many Medieval saints, such as St. Francis of Assisi and St. Bernard of Clairvaux encouraged the faithful to incorporate devotions that honored the Five Wounds of Christ into their spiritual lives.  Gradually numerous prayers and devotions arose for this purpose.  One example of this type of devotion is the Little Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ, composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori.  The meditations comprising this chaplet may help us remember and reflect upon the perfect love, the sacrificial love, Christ has for each one of us.  Throughout Lent may we ponder these wounds with love, making small sacrifices in reparation for the sins committed against Our Lord.

Meditation 1: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your left Foot. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would grant me the pardon of my sins of which I repent with my whole heart, because they have offended Your infinite goodness. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 2: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your right Foot. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would give me the strength not to fall into mortal sin and to persevere in Your grace until my death. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 3: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your left Hand. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would deliver me from hell which I have so often deserved, a place where I could never love You again. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 4: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your right Hand. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would give me the glory of paradise where I shall love You perfectly and with all my strength. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 5: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your Side. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother, who alone felt all Your pain. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would grant me the gift of holy love for You, so that I may love You in this life and in the other life--face to face, for all eternity in paradise. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!

Composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori