Lenten devotion: Prayer in Honour of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ. During the Middle Ages popular piety focused with increased intensity on the Passion of Christ and therefore held in special …More
Lenten devotion: Prayer in Honour of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
During the Middle Ages popular piety focused with increased intensity on the Passion of Christ and therefore held in special honor the wounds inflicted upon him in his suffering. Although many medieval mystics totaled these wounds at 5,466, popular devotion focused upon the five wounds associated directly with his crucifixion, namely the nail wounds on his hands and feet as well as the lance wound which pierced his heart, as opposed to the other 5,461 received during Christ's scourging and by his crown of thorns. A "shorthand" image containing two hands, two feet, and disembodied wound served as a memory aid for such devotion. Veneration of these sacred wounds is seen as early as 532 when St John the Evangelist was believed to have revealed to Pope Boniface II a Mass in their honor. Ultimately it was through the preaching of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) and St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) that …More
During the Middle Ages popular piety focused with increased intensity on the Passion of Christ and therefore held in special honor the wounds inflicted upon him in his suffering. Although many medieval mystics totaled these wounds at 5,466, popular devotion focused upon the five wounds associated directly with his crucifixion, namely the nail wounds on his hands and feet as well as the lance wound which pierced his heart, as opposed to the other 5,461 received during Christ's scourging and by his crown of thorns. A "shorthand" image containing two hands, two feet, and disembodied wound served as a memory aid for such devotion. Veneration of these sacred wounds is seen as early as 532 when St John the Evangelist was believed to have revealed to Pope Boniface II a Mass in their honor. Ultimately it was through the preaching of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) and St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) that …More
