Holy Wounds
The five Holy Wounds of Christ were the five piercing wounds inflicted upon Jesus during his crucifixion. Two of the wounds were either through the hands or the lower wrists, two were through the feet, and the final wound was in the side of Jesus' chest, where, according to the New Testament, his body was pierced by a lance in order to be sure that he was dead. The Gospel of John states that blood and water poured out of this wound (John 19:34). These wounds are not explicitly mentioned in any of the canonical Gospels until the Resurrection, although John the Evangelist states that no bones were broken. The Crusades brought a renewed enthusiasm for religious devotion, especially for the Passion of Christ.
Read more about this topic: Devotions To Christ
Famous quotes containing the words holy and/or wounds:
“O, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)
“Say not the struggle nought availeth,
The labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth,
And as things have been they remain.”
—Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861)