By His Wounds We Are Healed
The title for this series of reflections is based on the words of the prophet Isaiah [53:5] promising the healing of Israel; words which Peter echoed, referring to Christ, in his first letter, “By his wounds, you were healed.” [1 P 2:21-25].
Peter’s joyful proclamation may harken back to his remorse for having denied the Lord on that fateful Holy Thursday night. But, when Peter confessed his heartfelt love for Christ on meeting him after the Resurrection, the Lord forgave him, lifted him up with His mercy, and gave him the mission for the ages: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep!” [Jn 21:17]. Peter understood that the gift of God’s super-abundant love and infinite mercy had been poured out for humanity through the open wounds of Christ on Calvary, and so in these reflections we, too, will ponder the love, mercy and forgiveness that flow through the Sacred Wounds of Christ.
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Because there will be many reflections to follow, they are organized in three major sub-headings: 1) the Sorrowful Wounds of Christ which he endured on Good Friday, 2) the devotion to these merciful Wounds which has found its expression in a devotion to the Sacred Heart, and more recently in the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and 3) the Glorious Wounds as they are retained in the body of the Risen Lord [cf. Jn 20] and which gave rise to his apostolic mandate that we forgive one another.
We offer these meditations, conducted in the style of a directed retreat, in the hope that they will serve as a spiritual guide throughout the year. We hope they will encourage you to see that the circumstances of everyday life provide us with an opportunity to lift up our hearts in hope in God’s infinite Mercy, made manifest in the healing Sacred Stigmata of the Resurrected Christ, our Lord and Savior.
