The Chaplet of the Five Holy Wounds, or Five Wounds of Jesus, is a beautiful prayer of repentance for any soul desiring to sit in adoration with our merciful Lord to atone for a personal sin and seek forgiveness. The Five Wounds of Jesus prayer offers the soul a heartfelt meditation on the five wounds of Jesus and a reflection on how personal sin has caused those wounds. It will elevate your heart and make you tangibly feel sorrow for your sin and the pain it has caused our suffering Savior.
History of the Five Holy Wounds Prayer
The earliest recorded mention of a devotion to the wounds of Christ was in the 12th century with Saint Francis. We meditate on His suffering and sacrifice as Saint Francis did as a way to help us overcome the temptation to be sinful and selfish.
This prayer of the Five Holy Wounds will move the penitent heart to realize how deeply loved it is and at what sacrifice his salvation was won. If you have sinned and desire to make amends, this powerful prayer that mediates on the 5 wounds of Jesus will open your heart before the Lord. It is often difficult to pray to put your heart and mind in the right place of repentance and openness to God’s grace. This is why prayer in the adoration chapel can be so powerful.
This prayer of the Five Holy Wounds will help the soul to contemplate sinful habits that continually get in the way of personal sanctity. Praying this prayer in the presence of the heart of Jesus in the Eucharist will give an added grace. A regular devotion to the Five Holy Wounds will help one grow in love and obedience to Jesus Christ and to a greater appreciation for His most bitter passion.
Why Jesus Suffered his Passion and Death
The old testament prophet Isaiah wrote the following passage about Jesus 700 years before his birth:
Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth. He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation?
Because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him. And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.
How to pray the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds of Jesus with Beads
Chaplet of the Five Holy Wounds of Jesus
Prayer of the Five Holy Wounds
Prayer Intentions
O good and gentle Jesus,
I kneel before you,
and with all the fervor of my soul I pray that you engrave within my heart
lively sentiments of faith, hope, and love,
true repentance for my sins,
and a firm purpose of amendment.
While I see and I ponder your five wounds
with great affection and sorrow in my soul,
I have before my eyes those words of yours
that David prophesied about you:
As dry as a potsherd is my throat; my tongue cleaves to my palate; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and my feet I can count all my bones. They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.
Five Holy Wounds Opening Prayer
As I kneel before Thee on the cross, most loving Savior of my soul, my conscience reproaches me with having nailed Thee to that cross with these hands of mine, as often as I have fallen into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my monstrous ingratitude. My God, my chief and most perfect Good, worthy of all my love, for the many blessings Thou hast ever bestowed upon me; I cannot now undo my misdeeds as I would most willingly; but I will loathe them, grieving greatly for having offended Thee who art Infinite Goodness! And now, kneeling at Thy feet, I will try at least to console Thee, to give Thee thanks, to ask of Thee pardon and contrition; wherefore with heart and lips I say:
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
To the First Holy Wound: The Left Foot
Holy wound of the Left Foot of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love whereby Thou wast wearied in overtaking me on the way to ruin, and didst bleed amid the thorns and brambles of my sins. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, in atonement for my sins, all which I detest with sincere and bitter contrition.
Pray the Glory Be (5 times)
Holy Mother! Pierce me through; In my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified.
To the Second Holy Wound: The Right Foot
Holy wound of the Right Foot of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for that love which pierced Thee with such torture and shedding of blood in order to punish my wanderings and the guilty pleasures I have granted to my unbridled passions. I offer the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray unto Thee for grace to weep over my transgressions with burning tears, and to enable me to persevere in the good which I have begun, without ever swerving again from my obedience to the commandments of my God.
Pray the Glory Be (5 times)
Holy Mother! Pierce me through; In my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified.
To the Third Holy Wound: The Left Hand
Pray the Glory Be (5 times)
Holy Mother! Pierce me through; In my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified.
To the Fourth Holy Wound: The Right Hand
Holy wound of the Right Hand of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love, in spite of all my most perverse obstinacy. I offer to the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee to change my heart and its affections, and make me do all my actions in accordance with the will of God.
Pray the Glory Be (5 times)
Holy Mother! Pierce me through; In my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified.
To the Fifth Holy Wound: The Sacred Side
Holy Mother! Pierce me through; In my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified.
Five Holy Wounds Closing Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, who at the sixth hour of the day didst, for the redemption of the world, mount the gibbet of the cross, and shed Thy Precious Blood for the remission of sins; we humbly beseech Thee to grant us, after our deaths, a joyful entrance into the gates of Paradise.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that now, and at the hour of our death, blessed Mary ever Virgin, Thy Mother, may intercede for us, through whose most holy soul the sword passed in the hour of Thy Passion. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
More About the Devotion to the 5 Wounds of Jesus
A 20th century German Carmelite mystic, Sister Maria of the Crucified Love, was given the following revelations about the devotion to the Holy Wounds:
“Implore now the special graces that I have reserved for this age. They are incalculable treasures that my heart wishes to distribute, especially when you pray to Me for grace and mercy for the sake of my Holy Wounds and My Sacred, Precious Blood.” By His Wounds You Are Healed (17).
“My Sacred Wounds are the remedy for the future. Pray, pray that people will accept this remedy, for there is nothing else that can save them.” By His Wounds You Are Healed (73).
Benefits of the Five Holy Wounds Chaplet
Saint Padre Pio, a stigmatist for over 50 years, says the following about devotion to the Five Wounds of Jesus:
“In this life Jesus does not ask you to carry the heavy cross with Him, but a small piece of His cross, a piece that consists of human suffering.”– Saint Padre Pio
I want you to know that Jesus needs someone to mourn with Him for human wickedness. This is why he leads me along the sorrowful paths. But blessed be His charity forever. He knows how to combine the bitter with the sweet and convert the fleeting pains of this life into eternal happiness.“ – Saint Padre Pio
Download 5 Holy Wounds of Jesus Chaplet PDF
Download and print 5 Holy Wounds of Jesus Chaplet PDF: Chaplet of the 5 Holy Wounds Printable PDF Download
6 Responses
I’m very glad to read about five wounds of Jesus. Thank u very much. May God bless
I want to live Jesus more
My bible study class asked me about the chaplet of the Five wounds. I really appreciate this information. I had never heard of this chaplet until one of the Seven Sisters Apostolate asked me to find out more about the chaplet.
Am glad to get to know this chaplet. And I promise to oftenly pray it, to renew my faith with God as I ask for his forgiveness.
Hello. I am looking for the book entitled, “By His Wounds You are Healed.” A 20th century German Carmelite mystic, Sister Maria of the Crucified Love, was given about this devotion. I hope you can help me obtain a copy. Thank you and God bless.
Debbie
Hello! I am desperately seeking this book, too! Have you had any luck?
Thanks!