Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

Did you know that the entire month of June is traditionally dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus?  Yep, it sure is!  Also, tomorrow, June 19 (or actually, the Friday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost) is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Devotion to the Sacred Heart has been around for a long time.  The Institution for the Feast of the Sacred Heart was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. St. Margaret Mary suffered contempt from many people who refused to believe the authenticity of the visions. In these appearances, Our Lord told her twelve graces that He would give to anyone devoted to His Sacred Heart. Yet, it was not until 1856 that the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was placed officially on the Church calendar. However, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus dates back even to the Middle Ages.

On the Feastday of St. John the Evangelist in 1256 AD, St. Gertrude the Great had a profound vision in which she laid her head near the wound in the side of Jesus and heard the beating of the Sacred Heart. This is especially profound since St. John the Evangelist reclined his head to the heart of the Divine Savior at the Last Supper. When Our Lord later appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1600's, he appeared to her on the feastday of St. John the Evangelist.

Our Lord requested three things: Frequently receiving Holy Communion, receiving Holy Communion especially on the first Friday of each month, and observing a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

The following are the Promises of Jesus that were made to St. Margaret Mary:

Promises of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

If you can tomorrow, why not try to attend Mass?  If your schedule makes this hard to do, try to say a prayer to the Sacred Heart.  There are many you can say.  Here is a link to EWTN's site on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary (which is Saturday!).  Also, on this day or in the month of June, many people consecrate their homes to the Sacred Heart by hanging an image of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place in the house as well as having a short enthronement ceremony that may be performed by a priest or a deacon.  I believe Fr. Kirk and the deacons did this last year sometime if anyone remembers correctly.  It is a wonderful way to honor Jesus and His Most Sacred Heart.  I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I will be getting our summer schedule up soon!  

-Kristy

Corups Christi and the meaning of the Eucharist

The Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ as it is more commonly called today, is celebrated on Sunday, June 14.  Traditionally, this celebration is held on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday; however, in the U.S. as well as some other countries, the feast has been moved to the following Sunday.  This feast day is one that all Catholics should hold dear to their hearts.  It is the day that we celebrate the gift of Jesus truly present in the Eucharist.  As Catholics, this should be the most important part of our faith.  As you have heard me say MANY times in Sunday school, it is the basis and reason for Holy Mass each Sunday and each weekday.  Too many times the Eucharist is focused on as just a part of the Church and it should really be focused on as THE part of the Church.  Because of this loss of focus, I think that the meaning and significance of this truly great gift has been put aside and even lost.  It has just become mixed in with every other teaching.  

I was having a conversation with someone this week concerning receiving communion.  I'm sure we as Catholics all know that only Catholics who are not in a state of mortal sin may receive the Eucharist.  The Catholic Church does not have an "open communion" as some churches do where anyone, including non-baptized persons, can receive communion.  The reason that we do not have an "open communion" is the fact that Catholics believe that the Eucharist is not a symbol of the Lord's Supper but the Eucharist is TRULY the Body & Blood of Jesus Christ.  It is NOT a symbol!!!!!  

Sometimes this is hard for many people to accept, especially Protestant denominations.  Protestants, with the exception of high church Anglicans (sometimes called Anglo-Catholic Anglicans), do not believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.  (I do want to quickly clarify that the Anglican church is NOT in communion with the Catholic Church even though some believe in transubstantiation.  The reason for this is that Apostolic succession was broken when the King of England appointed his own bishops, but that is a whole other topic!)  Also, for this same reason of theological differences, Catholics are not to receive communion in another church other than a Latin Rite Catholic Church or an Orthodox Church (if no Latin Rite is available) because a Protestant church's communion is not a valid communion.

Here are some other points of note regarding how we as Catholics should show our love for the Eucharist.

• Have you ever noticed how different people enter the pews before Mass and how they leave the pew after Mass?  Some genuflect, some bow, some don't do anything.  After researching this a bit (and also thanks to some great teachers in RCIA at St. Mary's) I learned the proper way(s) to enter the pew in a Catholic Church.  If it is physically possible to do so, one should genuflect TOWARDS the tabernacle before entering and after exiting the pew.  For example, if you enter the nave at St. Mary's and you are sitting next to the center aisle on the right (I'm using where I sit as an example), before entering your pew you would turn slightly to the left toward the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and genuflect.  I'm sure you have seen many people genuflect toward the sanctuary and the altar, right?  The reasoning behind this is that traditionally the tabernacle which houses the Blessed Sacrament was kept in the sanctuary front and center, so it is a common habit for people to continue to genuflect toward the front of the church.  But if you wanted to be completely proper regarding it, you would always genuflect or profoundly bow if genuflection is not possible, toward the tabernacle.  However, I have been in some more "modern" Catholic Churches where the tabernacle is kept a good distance from the altar or in an awkward place (such as when the Blessed Sacrament chapel is off to the side of the narthex). (I'll save my opinion of modern architecture in Catholic Churches for later.)  If you ever find yourself in this situation, it is proper to simply give a profound bow (or bow at the waist) to the altar.  Boy, I didn't mean for that to become that long!
• Now on to reception of the Eucharist.  Traditionally, the faithful received the Eucharist kneeling at the altar rail.  However, after Vatican II when the Novus Ordo Mass was introduced, many churches removed the altar rail because communion was now given with the faithful standing in lines as we do at St. Mary's.  However, it is still allowed to receive the Eucharist while kneeling (you'll see some at St. Mary's do this as well as if you watch Mass on EWTN).  One cannot be refused communion while kneeling either.  Also it is proper to give a sign of reverence before receiving communion.  In most cases this is dictated by the local bishop and is usually either a profound bow or a simple bow of the head/sign of the cross.  If it does not interrupt the flow of the faithful to receive communion, then one may also genuflect.  These signs of reverence were indicated in the document Eucharisticum Mysterium on May 25, 1967 and were also reiterated by Pope John Paul II's ordering the document Inaestimabile Donum on April 3, 1980.  Also there are two acceptable ways to receive communion in the United States.  One is the traditional way of on the tongue and the other is in the hand.  It should be noted that communion on the tongue is the Universal Church's way of receiving the Eucharist and in most countries with the exception of the U.S. and some others, it is still done this way.  The USCCB received permission for the faithful in the U.S. to receive in the hand.  A communicant can also not be refused communion for wanting to receive on the tongue.  Most parishes in the U.S. have pretty much adopted the custom of receiving in the hand, but many, like St. Mary's, have parishioners who receive either way.  Just to give you a real life example, I'll use myself.  When I am traveling, I normally ask or observe what the normal custom of reception of the Eucharist is.  At St. Mary's, I sometimes receive on the tongue and sometimes in the hand.  The first time I received communion on the tongue I was at Assumption Catholic Church in Nashville.  This is a very old, beautiful, and VERY traditional Catholic Church.  After entering the church and saying my prayers, I observed the regular parishoners for a bit.  Most were dressed in their Sunday best (suits and ties for the men and almost all the women wore a dress/skirt).  Many of the women wore chapel veils and mantillas or another type of head covering.  So I knew immediately that this was a very traditional parish.  And I was correct, so I felt that it was better that I receive on the tongue.  And to be quite honest, I was REALLY nervous!!  But it turned out fine and in fact, I prefer receiving on the tongue and most of the time when we are traveling, I do.  If I attend a Mass in the Extraordinary Form (aka the Traditional Latin Mass) I make sure that I remember to wear a head covering, a skirt/dress, and to remember that I will be receiving the Eucharist kneeling at the rail and receiving it on the tongue.  But if you are at a Mass in the Ordinary Form/Novus Ordo (like we have at St. Mary's) then either way that you choose to receive communion, whether it is in the hand or on the tongue, is acceptable.   The only thing you need to remember is that you are to receive with reverence. 

I hope that some of this has helped you, and I'm sorry that this particular post happened to be so long but the Eucharist and reverence for it is something that I'm very passionate about.  And most of you probably have noticed that I tend to lean toward really traditional Catholic views (so I apologize if I step on any toes), but I do try to make sure I get you all the correct information on anything I tell you.  But please feel free to ask me about anything I've mentioned in this particular blog or on any blog.  

So here's my challenge for you this week, think about what the Eucharist means to you.  Do you feel you have enough reverence for Christ's True Body & Blood?  Do you feel you don't?  Either way, why don't we try to spend some more time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament or simply say the following prayer after communion or any time we want to feel closer to Jesus in the Eucharist:

The Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me 

Body of Christ, save me 

Blood of Christ, inebriate me 

Water from Christ's side, wash me 

Passion of Christ, strengthen me 

O good Jesus, hear me 

Within Thy wounds hide me 

Suffer me not to be separated from Thee 

From the malicious enemy defend me 

In the hour of my death call me 

And bid me come unto Thee 

That I may praise Thee with Thy saints 

and with Thy angels 

Forever and ever 

Amen 

Don't Quit

I was cleaning out my e-mail "saved" folder tonight and I came across a meditation that Dale wrote almost exactly one year ago when he was at the Cancer Treatment Center of America.  It touched me then, and it still touches me now.  So for those of you who didn't get the Livin' a Dream meditations a year ago, I wanted to share this with you.  Sometimes everyone needs a little uplifting, and I think this will do the trick!  So for this blog post, I'm giving Dale the full credit.  I hope this touches you as it did me.

This is a special meditation for me, the last three days I have been at The Cancer Treatment Center of America in Zion, IL seeking hope and inspiration for continued good health. While there as it usually happens I met people that were struggling with their own diagnosis, and prognosis. I wanted desperately to reach out and let them know that we are all united in this battle, and Christ will offer comfort to those who seek it. While searching for something uplifting to write about I came across a poem called Don’t Quit, and it became clear that, that was the message I was to convey this week.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit
Life is queer with its twist and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out,
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit

God has a plan for each of us. Never give up the fight, the hope, the dream, remember that today holds a special gift, and tomorrow a brighter light, and Christ our lord is with us through the fight.
Lord you are my rock and my salvation. Grant me peace, wisdom, and courage to live according to your will.
In your holy name


AMEN

Thank you, Dale, for your wonderful insight and leadership! We love you!!!

Christendom, the barbarians, and Pope St. Gregory the Great

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J.M.J

The first question asked in our class discussions was "What is Christendom?"  Is it just the Christian world? Is it just the hierarchy?  What is it?  It is really easily defined, actually.  Christendom is when the Church, the political parts of the empire, and the social parts of the empire were joined together.  During this time is also when the papacy begin to gain political power which lasted to 1870.  

During this time you also had groups such as the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals, the Franks, and I could go on and on.  These groups were considered the barbarians, or non-Romans.  These groups would go into the cities in the Roman empire and pillage for goods and even sometimes kill the citizens.  In fact, this is where the word "vandalize" comes from!

So what about the papacy during this time of vandalization and even murder?  The "stand-out" figure in the papacy during this time was Pope St. Gregory the Great.  He was the first pope to have true political power and the first one to make the Bishop of Rome a head of state in a sense.  Gregory the Great also somewhat helped form the papacy into what it is today.  He said that the popes were servants of the servants of God, or in other words, the popes serve the people of God (the Church).  He also began the practice of private penance in place of the way it was previously done, which was in public.  So, truly, Pope Gregory was definitely deserving of the title of Great!

Also covered in this chapter was St. Benedict and the monks, especially the Irish monks.  Have you ever given thought to what Christianity would be like if we had never had the monasteries?  To be honest, it wouldn't even be close to what we have today.  The monks, especially the Irish, were missionaries to so many places that had pagan worship.  They were scribes and able to copy the Scriptures down for churches to use.  And they created a way of life that we all sometimes strive for.  

The Benedictines especially gave us a Rule to live by--Balance, Moderation, & Reason.  If we have these things in our life, we will be even closer to God.  We live and work in a secular world that causes us to be out of balance and to constantly be competing with each other in materialistic things.  This, in turn, causes us to lose reason in our lives.  So what would life be like if we were able to balance everything, have everything in moderation, and to know the reason for living?  It would be wonderful!  

Some great points were made in today's discussion.  Often we are told to give 10% to God.  Roughly 10% of our time each week would be about 17 hours.  It was mentioned that most of us probably don't give anywhere near this much to God.  But what if we did?  Think about how much better your life is when you spend even just one hour in prayer?  I don't know about you but I know that I feel so much better when I have spent some time in prayer.  Today's gospel tells us that God is Love.  So why don't we try to strive for that, too?  Why don't we give to God before we do anything else?  The reason for life is God and Love.  So here's my challenge to ALL of us this week.   Try to spend some time with God--at home, at Mass, ANYWHERE! If you drive a lot, why not pray while you're driving?  If you work at a desk and you have a little free time, get on the Internet and go to a website like EWTN and read the daily readings or read some prayers.  Another couple of great websites for those of you who work at a desk and at a place that doesn't mind you having religious things on your computer and such are 2 Hearts Network, which has Catholic wallpaper for your computer, and Virtual Rosary, which is a website where you can download the rosary to your computer desktop.  Those are some easy ways to spend more time with God.

I hope you all enjoy reading this blog and that you get something out of it each week.  Have a blessed week, and I'll see you Sunday!

Divine Mercy Novena

I hope everyone is having a blessed Holy Week so far.  If you have been attending the Easter Triduum services, I hope you have been as blessed as I have by them.  I wanted to post a reminder to everyone that the Divine Mercy Novena began on Good Friday.  I meant to post this earlier but it honestly slipped my mind until just now.  Here is the link from EWTN that takes you to their novena page.  I hope you all will pray the novena.  It is a wonderful prayer!  

Divine Mercy Novena

Do we make enough time for God?

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J.M.J.

We had an awesome discussion this week!  We talked about some Church history, of course, but what I think was most fulfilling was our spirituality discussion in the last half of class.  Here's a little bit about what we discussed:

Do we make enough time for God?

This is a question that I think we all need to really give some thought to.  Before we can make time for God, we need to put into perspective what we currently see as important in our lives.  Sometimes I believe we get so caught up in the secular, we tend to forget about the spiritual.  We have to give up something before we can truly make time for God.  This is the definition, in my opinion, of Lent.  As Dale said, we must die to ourselves before we can be reborn and devote ourselves to God.  I know that this week, I have really struggled to make time for God.  I won't go into details, but let's just say that I was thinking tonight...if I can sit in front of the TV for an hour watching a show or if I can go run for 30 minutes outside, why can I not devote that hour and a half to God?  So, instead of watching TV right now, I decided to come upstairs to pray and to finish this week's blog (which I see as a type of "mission" that I can do that will hopefully help someone).  And instead of listening to my regular old music on my iPod when I run, I put on a recording of the rosary and of some good Christian music.

This is the time to be "reborn"!  It's Easter!!  We are all seeking the Lord in some way or another, so here are my suggestions...

• Go to confession...this is one of the greatest sacraments we have as Catholics!!  You will feel so much healing and peace!!
  
• Make a new commitment to God and to yourself that you will give up something, not just for Lent, but forever so that you can devote more time to Him in your own way.
  
• When you can, go pray before the Blessed Sacrament.  Our chapel where the tabernacle is located is open from around 7 am to 9 pm each day, plus on first Fridays and first Saturdays we have Eucharistic Adoration, which is a wonderfully peaceful time.  It is a great blessing that we are able to have this at St. Mary's as many churches do not.  I've tried to find first Saturday Adoration in many places we've traveled and have yet to do find a parish that has it.
• Finally, this one thing has truly helped me find peace when I'm at home, and it gives me a quiet place to spend time with the Lord...make your own little prayer corner in a room.  It doesn't have to be elaborate;  it may just be your favorite chair.  But make it somewhere where you won't be distracted and you can quietly pray and talk to Our Lord, read Scripture, or simply sit and listen.  I've got a little place in my office upstairs where I can shut the door.  I have my crucifix, rosary, holy cards, etc. on a little table where I can sit and just talk to the Lord.  Not that some of you might really care to see it, but here are a couple of pictures of it just to kind of show you what I'm talking about.  I've got a few candles, statues, holy water, one of my rosaries, some Holy Cards, and my 1962 Latin Missal that I keep on there, plus a few more things.  I also have Sacred Heart image that is above my crucifix that you can't see.  If you have any questions about what anything is or where I got anything just let me know; I'll be happy to share.  I know this is what many non-Catholics see as strange or odd about us as Catholics, but it is one thing that I'm so glad we have.  Seeing an image of Our Lord, a saint, or of Mary helps me so much in prayer.  
•         

Anyway, I hope some of what I've put in this (really long) blog has helped you in some way.  It has definitely helped me renew myself this week when I've been going through some rough patches and realize that there are some things that I need to put before anything else.  

So, this week, why not think about making some extra time for God?

-Kristy

The Beauty of the Eucharistic Prayers

Take this, all of you, and eat it;
this is my body which will be given up for you.

How many times do we hear these words at Mass and never realize the beauty of them nor do we realize the beauty of the prayers surrounding them? Too many times we simply follow along because that's what we have been taught or that's what we seem to observe others doing.

The beauty and meaning of the four main Eucharistic Prayers were what we discussed today in class. It was a wonderfully uplifting and meaningful class in my opinion. Here are a few things about each of the prayers.

Eucharistic Prayer I was originally considered the Roman Missal or Canon for probably close to 1600 years. It was also often thought to be the oldest, but that has been under debate because recently it has been thought that Eucharist Prayer II may be at least as old as Eucharistic Prayer I if not maybe even older.

Eucharistic Prayer II is the shortest prayer contained in the post-Vatican II Liturgy, but it is still just as beautiful and meaningful as the others.

Eucharistic Prayers III & IV are the newest of the four main prayers and they came directly from Vatican II.

One thing that is the EXACT same in all four prayers are the words of consecration. This is where the priest acting in persona christi concsecrates the bread and wine and it changes to the Body and Blood of Christ. These words must ALWAYS be read the same way at every Mass, which is why most (if not all) priests will look down at the Sacrementary so that it is read correctly.

This is just a small tidbit of what we discussed today, but I thought what we discussed concerning the Eucharistic prayers was wonderful.  

For some additional reading, here are some links to the Eucharistic Prayers

Eucharistic Prayer I (Roman Canon)

Eucharistic Prayer II

Eucharistic Prayer III

Eucharistic Prayer IV

Also, to find more about both the pre-Vatican II Mass (Tridentine or Traditional Latin Mass or Extraordinary Form of the Mass) as well as our current Vatican II Liturgy (Novus Ordo) Mass you can check out The Catholic Liturgical Library.

I pray everyone has a great week!

Worship & Faith in the Early Years of the Church

As always, we had a wonderful discussion in class today. Here are just a few things we discussed. Enjoy!

Do you remember the movie and book The DaVinci Code? Think about how that rocked the Church of today...this is similar to what happened hundreds of years ago during the many heresies of the Church. One of the first things we discussed was the filioque, which literally means "and the Son" in Latin. The question posed was regarding whether or not the Son existed from the beginning or was He created by the Father. This is a topic that has caused the Church many different problems throughout the centuries. It was why the Eastern Orthodox Church broke away, and it even continues today with such groups as the Jehovah's witnesses. It its also somewhat related to many protestant churches today that have broken from the Catholic Church and who do not necessarily believe in the Trinity, such as some pentecostal churches (specifically the Oneness movement). However, we as Latin Rite Catholics do accept the Trinity, and we do accept that the Trinity has always existed. This can even be proven by looking in the Bible. For example, twice in the New Testament we see examples of God speaking where all can hear Him. One of these examples is the Transfiguration of Jesus. During the Transfiguration, the apostles see Jesus transfigured and along with seeing Him, they see Moses and Elijah. Jesus was speaking to the two Old Testament figures as if He had known them for a long time, and He had. Jesus knew them because He has been here since the beginning. There is no other way to explain it. We often overlook this fact when getting into discussions on the filioque.  

We often get so involved in what we are doing during Mass or during anything dealing with our faith just trying to "get it right", that we forget why we do something.
To sum it all up, we must become intimate with our faith and believe in it and practice, as well as learn the history of it in order to fully understand it and why we believe it or practice it.
Some final thoughts....Dale suggested that we should try to pray the beautiful prayers of the Church more often. One prayer is the Confiteor...
I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault (traditionally at this point, you strike the left side of your chest with your right hand--it actually still says this in my missal),
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

I think that this is one of the most beautiful prayers in the Catholic church.

Another prayer is one that is said at the beginning of Mass (I hope I've gotten this one right, Dale; I had to look it up to remember it!):

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And I would like to add one more that I think is often forgotten, one that used to be said at the end of every Mass a long time ago. The prayer to St. Michael....
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

I'm currently trying to memorize this prayer in order to say it silently to myself at the end of Mass. I think that it is also a very beautiful and useful prayer.  

I hope that this summary of today's discussion was helpful to you. We are still discussing Chapter 5 in the book, and next week we will look at the history of the Eucharistic Prayers and some more early worship and faith in the Church. Until then, everyone have a blessed week!! †

   †

J.M.J. 

   †

-Kristy

Chaplet of the Five Wounds

I don't know how many people know about this chaplet, but I thought it was a good chaplet for Lent. You can say it on regular rosary beads even though you won't use every bead.

Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus

This chaplet, approved by the Holy See August 11, 1823 (some sources say this chaplet was first approved by a decree of Pius VII dated January 22, 1822), consists of five groups of five beads -- each group representing one of the Five Wounds. The first group of beads honors the Wound on His left foot; the second, the Wound on His right foot; the third, the Wound on His left Hand; the fourth, the wound on His right Hand; and the fifth, the Wound in His Side.

While meditating on the appropriate Wound at each group, one Gloria (Glory Be) is said on each bead, and between the groups, an Ave (Hail Mary) is said in honor of Mary's sorrows. Here is a more detailed description of the chaplet:

How to pray the Chaplet of the Five Wounds

The Chaplet of the Five Wounds consists of 5 groups of 5 beads each. For each bead, pray one Glory Be... and one Hail Mary for the Blessed Virgin.

On each group of five beads, meditate on one of the Five wounds of Our Lord.

On the large beads pray,

"Eternal Father,

I offer Thee the Wounds

of Our Lord Jesus Christ

to heal the wounds of our souls.

Amen."

On the small beads pray,

"My Jesus,

pardon and mercy

through the merits of Thy Sacred Wounds.

Amen."

Meditate first on the Wound in the left foot of Our Lord,

then the Wound in the right foot,

the left hand,

the right hand,

and finally the Wound in the Sacred side of Jesus.