Jesus heal me, bind my wounds, be merciful to me, a sinner. If you are new to mental prayer, we invite you to visit our page on the ways of mental prayer, Don’t know how to pray to God, to learn more.
We begin Day 21 of our Lenten Challenge with this opening prayer:
TRUST AND BELIEVE...
Jesus,
You know what is needed for healing and so I humbly ask you to bind my wounds. Help me surrender to your will in my life so that I can have the abundant life of love you created me to live. My sin keeps me wandering from your grace so I ask you to help me grow in the virtues necessary to overcome my bad habits and unhealthy mindset. Help me to love you with all my heart and trust you completely to bind my wounds and heal me in my body, mind, soul, and spirit.
AMEN.
Saturday of the 3rd Week of Lent (Liturgical Year II)
Jesus Heal Me, Bind my Wounds, Be Merciful
A Reflection for Prayerful Meditation
Join me in a prayerful meditation for your Lenten journey with Jesus the Divine Physician.
Jesus Heal Me, Bind my Wounds, Be Merciful
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Enter into the prayer of silence before the Lord
Holy Spirit,
I believe you are truly here and present to me right now. I desire to be present to you. Guide my heart and mind to believe in Jesus to heal me in body, mind, soul, and spirit. Bind my wounds. Your love is infinite and you are merciful.
Holy Spirit, heal me with your loving hand and bind my wounds, both physical and spiritual. Help me to separate myself from all worldly attachments and spend these 15 minutes reflecting on your infinite love and mercy, with my mind completely fixated on you. Heal me so that I may serve you in your kingdom. You know all my weaknesses and that I can’t elevate my heart or my mind without your help.
Please give me the grace right now to pray my mental prayer well and to love you in a way that is pleasing to you. I want to grow to love you more perfectly. Thank you, Lord, for every consolation, desolation, time of silence, difficult trial, and temptation of the evil one. I understand that everything that happens in my life is by your holy will, whether it be your divine providence or your permissive will due to my sin and negligence.
Please bind my wounds as I walk with you toward Jerusalem. Help me carry my cross well and do so with great love in my heart.
AMEN.
Say Nothing Just Take Him In
Spend 1-3 minutes in silence gazing at the Lord with love and gratitude, in a prayer of silent contemplation.
Make a Movie in Your Mind...
Now we will contemplate the first reading. Slowly imagine this scene in your mind as you read. Take your time. Pause over a moment that really tugs at your heart. Reread the passage again, this time imagine yourself physically there in the scene. What do you hear? See? Feel? Sense?
Jesus Heal Me, Bind my Wounds, Be Merciful
He has Struck us but He will Bind our Wounds
Hosea 6:1-6
Come, let us return to the LORD, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”
What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets, I slew them by the words of my mouth; For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.
Reflection:
Let us take a moment to reflect on the message in the first reading.
Yesterday we learned about Hosea, who was asked by God to wed a prostitute. She was unfaithful to him in spite of all he did to care for her. Gomer left Hosea for other lovers and this sent her spiraling into to complete degradation. She experienced a loss to her security, wealth, and her freedom. She took on several lovers who did not care for her, and she finally ended up enslaved on an auction block. Her pursuit of pleasure resulted in rejection, abandonment by her lovers, and deep humiliation. Her story represents the brokenness we experience when we are unfaithful to God.
In today’s passage we see how God seeks to bind our wounds and heal us of our brokenness when we turn back toward him.
What part of this excerpt from Hosea sticks out to you?
“He will raise us up, to live in his presence.”
In this passage we see that the binding and healing takes time, but we will be raised up and we will be able to live in his presence again.
Now let’s personalize this passage from our first reading…
Do you have wounds that were caused by sins you committed when you were away from God? Or is someone you love suffering from wounds caused by past sins? Take a few moments of silent prayer to contemplate how God wants to bind and heal these sins. Pray for patience and wisdom to know his will in your particular situation.
Be Completely Real...
Ask the Lord to bind the wounds that are present in your life or the life of a close loved one. Spend a few moments in silence with the Lord to feel how deeply he loves you in this situation and understands the pain this wound causes you. Let him be present to you right now in your pain.
Let’s Pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, I adore you for your steadfast love and you divine healing touch. I thank you and praise you for all the grace you have given me in my life and in the lives of those I love. I recognize how much you truly love us and desire us to be healed and whole. Help me to surrender completely to your will and allow myself to receive the grace you freely give. Today in this passage from Hosea I can see that patience is needed and a full surrender of the situation. Please help me fully surrender and have patience. AMEN.
Now we will contemplate the Lord by listening to him speak to us in the Gospels.
Visualize Christ
We return with Jesus to Perea, east of the Jordan River, near the outskirts of Jericho. It is his last visit before traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate his final Passover.
It is early spring, dry, despite the recent rains, and pleasantly mild temperatures. The landscape is lush and green, and the grass is covered in red and white wildflowers. This reminds you of the Blood and water which will soon gush forth from the Heart of Jesus, and so despite this beautiful moment, your heart begins to hurt for the Lord, whose bitter passion is near….
Jesus Heal Me, Bind my Wounds, Be Merciful
O God, be Merciful to Me a Sinner
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity–greedy, dishonest, adulterous–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Reflection:
Meditate on the passage: “Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness.”
Can you understand why the Lord strongly urged those present on the Mount of Beatitudes to be humble and contrite? Have you ever justified something you did wrong in the past to avoid feeling guilty? Have you shifted blame to others to avoid feeling guilt?
Is there someone in your life that you think is more sinful than you? Do you think this to cover up your own sins and make light of them?
Now listen to the last line of Jesus’ teaching, “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus shows us how destructive spiritual pride can be, and how it blinds us to the truth. He is challenging us all to be humble so we can see God’s perspective. God blesses us and exalts us when we humble ourselves through true acts of contrition. What makes us righteous is not our external acts but how much love we have for God and for others. The more we can love, the greater our righteousness.
Let Us Pray:
Take a moment to ask Jesus questions from your heart. Give the Holy Spirit time to respond.
What is the desire of your heart? Is it in union with the will of God? Ask him to give you the desires of his heart so that your work is pleasing to him and will sanctify your soul. Be honest with Jesus and tell him everything. Linger a moment and wait for his response. Has he shown you something? You may want to write it down.
Let us continue our mental prayer with a passage from Saint Faustina’s diary:
Jesus Heal Me, Bind my Wounds, Be Merciful
Restored in Full through the Mercy of Reconcilitation
by St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (Notebook V Paragraph 1448)
[Jesus to Faustina] “Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy (the Sacrament of Reconciliation). There the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated.
To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated.
Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full.
Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy! You will call out in vain, but it will be too late.
Reflection:
Contrition requires humility and a desire to love God. Think about the beautiful gift of reconciliation that St. Faustina wrote about, through the words Jesus revealed to her in prayer.
Are You Listening?
Take a moment right now to ask Jesus to give you the grace of a good confession. Ask him to examine your heart and show you sins that need confession.
Let Us Pray:
Jesus heal me, show me my sins and help bind my wounds that they have caused. Be merciful to me, Lord. Let me confess my sins and be renewed. I long to experience the miracle of Divine Mercy and the grace to have my soul restored in full. AMEN.
Pray the next Lenten Meditation
Day 25 Mental Prayer Meditation
Lord You Preserve Me From Going Down To The Netherworld
Lord you preserve me from the stain of sin. I promise to be faithful to you so that you will rescue me from the netherworld.