The Portal March 2017 | Page 19

THE P
RTAL

Christ ’ s Glorious Wounds

A Reflection for Lent by Donato Tallo
March 2017 Page 19
“ By his holy and glorious wounds may Christ our Lord guard us and keep us ”

The above phrase is a both a very meaningful and a highly inspirational one and when reciting these words at the beginning of the Easter Vigil mass , the first mass of the resurrection and the pinnacle of the church ’ s liturgical year , the priest is performing the second aspect of the consecration of the Easter candle .

It may seem that we have not long left Christmas behind , but now we are in Lent - a time for preparation and renewal . It affords everyone the opportunity worthily to make a way for the Lord through the wonderful and deeply moving celebrations of Holy Week and Easter .
During the Passion of our Lord , when Christ hung on the cross , five wounds were inflicted upon his holy body . His hands and feet were pierced by nails and his side was pierced by a lance . From these wounds the precious blood and water was shed . The physical signs of suffering , the wounds of Christ , suggest pain , agony , torment and torture .
They symbolise both the depth of Christ ’ s love for us and the lengths to which Christ was prepared to go to pay the price for human sin . However , despite the fact Christ clearly suffered physically as he hung on the cross his wounds are collectively described as glorious , not dirty or infected , not smelly or disgusting , not offensive or appalling , not repulsive - but quite simply as glorious .
The wounds of Christ really are glorious and they show us clearly the reason why the incarnation happened . Christ became man and died for our sins and it can be argued that the wounds of Christ are our own wounds and represent human kind . Christ died for the sins of humankind and Christ shows us through his incarnation the way to the Father .
Like Christ , all of us are wounded in different ways both physically and mentally . In one way or another , we all bear suffering and pain . However , we must never forget that we are all precious in the eyes of God . Sadly , we live in an imperfect world and all of us must be sensitive to the wounds of others and continue to become more Christlike in our thoughts , words and actions despite how difficult that can be in
our modern society .
Unity and solidarity with the aim of the common good must be our common aim . Unity with the aim of the common good is one way we can collectively combat evil . Kindness to each other can help us to see Christ in each other and to help us try to be Christ to each other and in an ever increasingly secularised and narcissistic society this has never been more important .
May we all glorify the wounds of Christ , because it is by his holy and glorious wounds that we as God ’ s people are redeemed and saved . Without the wounds of Christ , his Passion and death would not have happened and without his death Christ ’ s resurrection would not have taken place .
It is through his passion and resurrection that Christ has set us free and is the saviour of the world . Throughout Lent and during Holy Week may the glorious wounds of Christ be at the forefront of our minds .