St. Nikolai Velimirovich on the Five Wounds of Christ

In preparing for the coming Holy Week, perhaps the following will be of some assistance. (+Lee)

Christ crucified in extreme humility, together with the Theotokos, and St. John the Theologian

 

St. Nikolai Velimirovich on the Five Wounds of Christ (amateur translation)

You write that you heard from some old women about some myth regarding the five wounds of Jesus, and you asked where this myth can be found?

Read the New Testament! Are you not ashamed before heaven and earth at the ignorance of your faith! Leave aside all the other studies and readings until you first learn that which is the most meaningful and saving. First comes the science of the faith, and then the rest of the studies...

The five wounds of Jesus are not words, but awesome reality. Because of this, it is better to know them than words. Two wounds in the hands, two wounds in the feet, and one in the side. All from black iron, and much more so, from the utterly black sin of men. They pierced the hands which blessed. They pierced the feet that walked and led to the only true road. They pierced the chest, which poured forth fiery and heavenly love to the frozen chest of man.

The Son of God allowed them to pierce His hands on behalf of the many sinful hands—a forest of hands—which murdered, stole, burned, seized, set traps, physically assaulted. And [He allowed them] to pierce His feet for the sins of many feet—a forest of feet—which walked in evil, plundered the innocent, trampled upon justice, soiled the holy and trampled upon goodness. And [He allowed them] to pierce the chest on behalf of many stony hearts—quarries of hearts—in which were born every malice and every impiety, and the sacrilegious thoughts and the bestial desires, and which, throughout all the ages, were forged by the fires of plotting brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, and man against God.

The hands of Jesus were pierced in order to heal every hand from sinful works. The feet of Jesus were pierced in order to return every foot from the sinful roads. The chest of Jesus was pierced in order to purge every heart of sinful desires and thoughts. When the abominable Cromwell, professor of England, began to seize the properties of monasteries and closed them, there was throughout the whole land of England a boisterous litany from a few thousand human souls to show the displeasure of the people. Before them were people bearing signs with the epigraph: “The five wounds of Jesus”, and chanted ecclesiastical hymns and were celebrating liturgies to God in the fields. The abominable professor was greatly afraid by these signs, and therefore lessened his violence.

May you learn of the five wounds of Jesus, and keep your five senses on the living God. The five wounds of Jesus are five wounds of five-times clean blood, with which the human race was cleansed and the earth was sanctified. From these five wounds the whole blood of the Righteous One was shed, until the last drop. The Wonderworking Lord, Who knew to multiply bread, and to give five loaves to feed five thousand hungry men, multiplied His five-times pure blood, and with this He feeds and unites thousands of churches and millions of the faithful. This is the Divine Communion.

On Holy Friday, spiritually approach, together with the Panagia and Mother of God, below the Cross, in order to be washed by that life-giving blood from the five wounds of Jesus. That you might, with a  cleansed and regenerated soul, cry out on Sunday together with the Myrrhbearers: Christ is risen!

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!