Day 8: Risen, wounded Jesus, may I behold your beauty.
We need to remember that “contemplation of the face of Jesus, died and risen, restores our humanity, even when it has been broken by the troubles of this life or marred by sin. We must not domesticate the power of the face of Christ”[113].
So let me ask you: Are there moments when you place yourself quietly in the Lord’s presence, when you calmly spend time with him, when you bask in his gaze? Do you let his fire inflame your heart? Unless you let him warm you more and more with his love and tenderness, you will not catch fire. How will you then be able to set the hearts of others on fire by your words and witness? If, gazing on the face of Christ, you feel unable to let yourself be healed and transformed, then enter into the Lord’s heart, into his wounds, for that is the abode of divine mercy.[114]
When Jesus resurrected, he was very beautiful. He had neither bruises nor wounds on his body… nothing! He was even more beautiful! He wanted only to keep his wounds and to carry them with him to Heaven. Jesus’ wounds are here and in Heaven before the Father. We heal the wounds of Jesus here and he, from Heaven, shows us his wounds and says to us all, to all of us: “I am waiting for you!” Let it be so!
With sick and disabled children in Assisi: 10/4/2013
He granted Thomas eight days; and he wanted the wounds still to be visible on his body, although they were “clean, very beautiful, filled with light” …
Conclude by praying five Our Fathers, as you contemplate each of Jesus’ five wounds. This is the invitation of Pope Francis:
Do not forget this: look at the crucifix, but to look within it. There is this beautiful devotion to pray an Our Father for each one of the five wounds: when we pray that Our Father, we seek to enter through Jesus’ wounds inside, inside, right to His heart. And there we will learn the great wisdom of Christ’s mystery, the great wisdom of the cross.
Background on Pope Francis’ devotion to the Five Wounds:
With repeated references in homilies and meditations, Pope Francis has revealed his special devotion to the Five Wounds of Jesus.
The Holy Father sees in this devotion a path to arrive to the Sacred Heart, and there to find that this heart is the beating heart of Divine Mercy.
He also sees it as a path to draw close to suffering humanity, and to recognize that Jesus has taken his wounds to the Father in order to pray for his wounded brothers and sisters.
Let us meditate on the Five Wounds with Pope Francis as a novena in preparation for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, which this year falls on June 11.
Previous days
Here: Day 1,Day 2,Day 3,Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7
And today we celebrate...