The traditional prayer in honor of the shoulder wound of Jesus calls to mind the wound that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

is said to have received carrying the

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

on which he was

crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

. It is variously attributed to

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order throug ...

or to Gertrude or

Mechtilde Mechtilde of Hackeborn, also known as Mechtilde of Helfta (1240/1241 – 19 November 1298), was a Saxon Christian saint (from what is now Germany) and a Benedictine nun. She was famous for her musical talents, gifted with a beautiful voic ...

. According to pious legend, Bernard asked

which was his greatest unrecorded suffering and the wound that inflicted the most pain on him in Calvary. Jesus answered: "I had on my shoulder, while I bore my cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous wound which was more painful than the others and which is not recorded by men."

Prayer

In English: :"O Loving Jesus, Meek Lamb of God, I, a miserable sinner, salute and worship the most sacred wound of thy shoulder on which thou didst bear thy heavy cross, which so tore thy flesh and laid bare thy bones as to inflict on thee an anguish greater than any other wound of thy most blessed body. I adore thee, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify thee and give thee thanks for this most sacred and painful wound, beseeching thee by that exceeding pain and by the crushing burden of thy heavy cross, to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Thy Cross. Amen." The modern version of the prayer bears the ''

imprimatur An ''imprimatur'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the R ...

'' of Thomas Daniel Beaven, who was the Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1892 to 1920.

Revelation to Padre Pio

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina venerated the shoulder wound of Jesus, and bore it himself as a '' stigma''. According to Stefano Campanella, author of "''Il papa e il frate''" (The Pope and the Friar), Karol Wojtyła (the future

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

), while still a priest, visited Padre Pio and asked the question of which was his most painful wound – much like the manner Bernard did to Christ. Wojtyła expected that it was Pio's chest wound, but Pio replied: "It is my shoulder wound, which no one knows about and has never been cured or treated".

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic prayers Visions of Jesus and Mary Shoulder

Prayer

Revelation to Padre Pio

See also

References