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Thursday, August 9, 2012

St. Clare of Assiss's Holy Wound Devotion

St. Clare of Assisi's feast day is this Saturday, August 11th, and also the 800th Celebration for the Poor Clares and Poor Clare Colettines' founding.  St. Clare had a deep devotion to the Sacred Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ and she composed the following prayers she prayed every day:


This exquisite seven-century-old devotion was composed and was daily recited by Our Seraphic Mother St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Second Order of St. Francis, the Poor Clares. St. Clare's devotion of the Five Wounds, as reproduced here, is from an appendix in The Princess of Poverty, by Father Marianus Fiege, O.M.Cap. The litany is approved by the Holy See for private devotion, and in 1885 was enriched by Pope Leo XIII with an indulgence of 300 days, once a day.

Prayer Source: Kyrie Eleison — Two Hundred Litanies by Benjamin Francis Musser O.F.M., The Magnificat Press, 1944 

St. Clare's Devotional Prayers of the Sacred Wounds

Christ's Sacred Right Hand Wound
Praise and honor be given Thee, O my Lord Jesus Christ, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Right Hand. By this adorable wound, I beseech Thee to pardon me all the sins I have committed by thoughts, words and deeds, by neglect in Thy service, and by self-indulgence, both waking and sleeping. Grant me the grace that, by a devout and frequent remembrance of Thy Holy Passion, I may honor Thy sacred wounds and the death which Thou didst endure for love of me; and that, by chastising my body, I may testify my gratitude for Thy sufferings and Thy death: Who livest and reignest, world without end.
R. Amen. Our Father. Hail Mary.

Christ's Sacred Left Hand Wound
Praise and honor be given Thee, O most amiable Jesus, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Left Hand. By this holy wound, I beseech Thee to have pity on me and to change within me whatever is displeasing to Thee. Grant me to be victorious over Thine enemies, so that, by the power of Thy grace, I may overcome them; and do Thou, by Thy holy and adorable death, deliver me from all dangers, present and to come, and make me worthy to share in the glory of Thy Blessed Kingdom: Who livest and reignest, world without end.
R. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary.


Christ's Sacred Right Foot Wound
Praise and honor be given Thee, O sweetest Jesus, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Right Foot. By this holy and adorable wound, I beseech Thee to enable me to bring forth worthy fruits of penance for my sins. I humbly entreat Thee, for the sake of Thine adorable death, to keep me, day and night, in Thy holy will, to preserve me from all adversity of soul and body, and, on the dreadful day of judgment, to deal with me according to Thy mercy, that I may obtain eternal joys: Who livest and reignest, world without end.
R. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary.

Christ's Sacred Left Foot Wound
Praise and honor be given Thee, O sweet and merciful Jesus, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Left Foot. By this adorable wound, I beseech Thee to grant me pardon and full remission of all my sins, so that, with Thine aid, I may escape the rigors of justice. I entreat Thee, O good and merciful Jesus, for the sake of Thy Holy Death, to grant that at the hour of my death, I may have the grace to confess my sins with a perfect contrition, to receive the adorable Sacrament of Thy Body and Thy Blood, and likewise, the holy Sacrament of Extreme Unction for my eternal salvation: Who livest and reignest, world without end.
R. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary.


Christ's Sacred Wound of His Side
Praise and honor be given Thee, O good and sweetest Jesus, by reason of the Wound in Thy Sacred Side. By this adorable wound and by that immense mercy shown Longinus and to us all, in allowing Thy Sacred Side to be opened, I beseech Thee, O good Jesus, that as in Baptism Thou didst purify me from original sin, so now Thou wouldst be pleased, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, Which is offered up this day over the whole world, to deliver me from all evils, past, present, and to come. I entreat Thee, by Thy bitter death, to give me a lively faith, a firm hope, and perfect charity, so that I may love Thee with my whole heart, with my whole soul, and with all my strength. Uphold me by Thy grace in the practice of good works, so that I may persevere to the end in Thy holy service and glorify Thee in time and eternity.
R. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary.

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because, by Thy death and Thy precious blood, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Let us pray. O Almighty and Eternal God, Who hast ransomed the human race by the five wounds of Thy Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: we beseech Thee, by the merits of His precious blood, to grant unto us, who, each day, venerate these same adorable wounds, to be delivered from a sudden and unprovided death: Through the same Jesus Christ Thy Son, Our Lord, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end.
R. Amen.
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A very Powerful Prayer to Obtain a Favor

O great Passion! O deep Wounds! O Blood
shed in abundance! O meekness! O God of
meekness, O cruel death, have mercy on me
and grant my request if it be for my salvation.

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Promises of Our Lord


"I will grant all that shall be asked of Me
through the invocations of my Holy Wounds."

"With my Wounds and my Divine Heart
you can obtain all."

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This prayer, the "Rosary of the Holy Wounds" and promises, was dictated to a Visitation lay sister, Sr. Mary Martha Chambon, in France.

                                (Sr. Mary Martha Chambon, French Visitation nun)

It is prayed on ordinary rosary beads:
 
Rosary of the Sacred Wounds
from “Devotion to Christ's Sacred Wounds” by Visitation Nuns

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 

On Crucifix: O Jesus, Divine Redeemer, be merciful to us and to the whole world. Amen! O strong God, O holy God, O immortal God, have pity on us and on the whole world. Amen! Grace and mercy, O my Jesus, during present dangers; cover us with Thy Precious Blood. Amen! Eternal Father, be merciful to us we implore of Thee. Amen, amen, amen.

On the 2 large beads: Eternal Father, I offer Thee the wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls.

On the three small beads: My Jesus, pardon and mercy, through the merits of Thy Sacred Wounds! 

On large (first mystery) bead: Eternal Father, I offer Thee the wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls.

On the small (Hail Mary) beads say the following: My Jesus, pardon and mercy, through the merits of Thy Sacred Wounds!  

On the larger (Our Father) beads:  Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls. (Finish by repeating this prayer three times.)

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Promises of Our Lord to Sr. Mary Martha For Those Who Practice this Devotion

1. At each word that you pronounce of the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds, I allow a drop of My Blood to fall upon the soul of a sinner.

2. Each time that you offer to My Father the merits of My divine Wounds, you win an immense fortune.

3. Souls that will have contemplated and honored My crown of thorns on earth, will be My crown of glory in Heaven!

4. I will grant all that is asked of Me through the invocation of My Holy Wounds. You will obtain everything, because it is through the merit of My Blood, which is of infinite price. With My Wounds and My Divine Heart, everything can be obtained.

5. From My Wounds proceed fruits of sanctity. As gold purified in the crucible becomes more beautiful, so you must put your soul and those of your companions into My sacred Wounds; there they will become perfected as gold in the furnace. You can always purify yourself in My Wounds.

6. My Wounds will repair yours. My Wounds will cover all your faults. Those who honor them will have a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. In meditation on them, you will always find a new love.
My wounds will cover all your sins.

7. Plunge your actions into My Wounds and they will be of value. All your actions, even the least, soaked in My Blood, will acquire by this alone an infinite merit and will please My Heart.

8. In offering My Wounds for the conversion of sinners, even though the sinners are not converted, you will have the same merit before God as if they were.

9. When you have some trouble, something to suffer, quickly place it in My Wounds, and the pain will be alleviated.

10. This aspiration must often be repeated near the sick: "My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Your Holy Wounds!" This prayer will solace soul and body.

11. A sinner who will say the following prayer will obtain conversion: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls."

12. There will be no death for the soul that expires in My Holy Wounds; they give true life.

13. This chaplet is a counterpoise to My justice; it restrains My vengeance.

14. Those who pray with humility and who meditate on My Passion, will one day participate in the glory of My divine Wounds.

15. The more you will have contemplated My painful Wounds on this earth, the higher will be your contemplation of them glorious in Heaven.

16. The soul who during life has honored the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ and has offered them to the Eternal Father for the Souls in Purgatory, will be accompanied at the moment of death by the Holy Virgin and the angels; and Our Lord on the Cross, all brilliant in glory, will receive her and crown her.

17. The invocations of the Holy Wounds will obtain an incessant victory for the Church.


Pray for Vocations!

A "Little St. Francis!"