Little Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ

"He was pierced for our transgressions....and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

During the Middle Ages a form of prayer that increased in popularity was the practice of meditating upon the wounds of Christ.  While some mystics, such as St. Gertrude the Great, numbered the wounds Jesus suffered during His Passion to be 5,466, popular piety focused on the five wounds of Christ suffered during His Crucifixion, those of His hands, feet, and side.  Many Medieval saints, such as St. Francis of Assisi and St. Bernard of Clairvaux encouraged the faithful to incorporate devotions that honored the Five Wounds of Christ into their spiritual lives.  Gradually numerous prayers and devotions arose for this purpose.  One example of this type of devotion is the Little Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ, composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori.  The meditations comprising this chaplet may help us remember and reflect upon the perfect love, the sacrificial love, Christ has for each one of us.  Throughout Lent may we ponder these wounds with love, making small sacrifices in reparation for the sins committed against Our Lord.

Meditation 1: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your left Foot. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would grant me the pardon of my sins of which I repent with my whole heart, because they have offended Your infinite goodness. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 2: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your right Foot. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would give me the strength not to fall into mortal sin and to persevere in Your grace until my death. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 3: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your left Hand. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would deliver me from hell which I have so often deserved, a place where I could never love You again. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 4: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your right Hand. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would give me the glory of paradise where I shall love You perfectly and with all my strength. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!


Meditation 5: O my Lord Jesus Christ, I adore the Wound in Your Side. I thank You for having suffered this Wound for me with so much sorrow and with so much love. I feel compassion for Your pain and for the pain of Your afflicted Mother, who alone felt all Your pain. By the merit of this Sacred Wound, I pray that You would grant me the gift of holy love for You, so that I may love You in this life and in the other life--face to face, for all eternity in paradise. O Sorrowful Mother, pray to Jesus for me.
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the following prayer: By all the wounds which Thou didst bear with so much love and so much pain, oh, let a sinner's prayer Thy mercy, Lord, obtain!

Composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori