Reflection Three

Focus: Uniting our Wounds with Christ on the Cross 

Opening Prayer: Hail Holy Queen 

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. 

(Verse) Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

(Response) That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Quote for Reflection: with crucifix 

“Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.”  ~St. Faustina

Reflection: 

This is where the beauty and grace of woman, encounters the agony and suffering of grief.  Let us remember the quote from our first reflection: "The woman's soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold." ~Saint Edith Stein  In giving ourselves to others each day, we fulfill our deepest vocation as a woman; revealing the mystery and greatest desire of our heart- Love.  Women acknowledge the person, because they see people with their hearts…becoming a ‘shelter for other souls to unfold’.  Through this ‘sheltering of souls’ our attachment to those we love becomes greater and our hearts tethered; much like Jesus and Mary.  It has been revealed that Jesus’ greatest suffering during his Passion was witnessing his mother’s grief and sorrow.  

Imagine each wound you listed in the last reflection and unite one of those wounds to one of Christ’s wounds on the cross.  Think of how this particular wound may have manifested in a sin over time (rejecting God, suffering alone, immoral acts, addictions, undignified behavior, lies, etc).  How did this sin cause a greater suffering in Christ’s Passion and wounds on the cross? 

Now reflect on how you have allowed the love of Christ to heal that wound.  Maybe it's completely healed, maybe it still has a scab or maybe it requires a bandage; how did you allow His healing balm to bring about restoration?  What wounds are you clinging to instead of clinging to the cross?  What are some steps you can take toward surrender and transformation, finding hope in the resurrected Christ?