Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus while before Your face I humbly kneel and, with burning soul, pray and beseech You to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity; true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment. While I contemplate, with great love and tender pity, Your five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me and calling to mind the words which David, Your prophet, said to You, my Jesus: “They have pierced My hands and My feet, they have numbered all My bones.” Amen.
This prayer calls to mind the five wounds of Christ. What are the five wounds of Christ? The five are comprised of 1) the nail hole in his right hand, 2) the nail hole in his left hand, 3) the nail hole in his right foot, 4) the nail hole in his left foot, 5) the wound to his torso from the piercing of the spear.
The nail holes were most likely drawn in the wrists and ankle bones rather than the hands and feet since the nail would rip away at the flesh otherwise. As we mediate on this prayer and sing “Lift High the Cross” at most Masses this week, let us reflect upon the tremendous suffering of our Lord and how this great love has become victorious for our salvation and of the whole world.
“Unless a grain of what falls to the ground and dies, it remains a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” John 12: 24