Catholic Prayer: St. Clare's Litany of the Sacred Wounds

Description:

This exquisite seven-century-old devotion, broadly speaking a litany, was composed and was daily recited by the Seraphic Mother St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Second Order of St. Francis, the Poor Ladies or Clares. St. Clare's devotion of the Five Wounds, as reproduced here, is from an appendix in The Princess of Poverty, by Father Marianus Fiege, O.M.Cap., published 1900 with imprimatur of the Capuchin Provincial of England, second edition 1909 with imprimatur of Bishop Chatard of Indianapolis, by the Poor Clares of Evansville, Indiana. The version given in Fr. Lasance's Prayer-Book for Religious, pp. 696-9, is substantially the same but there are verbal variations not consonant with the Poor Clares' own document. The litany is approved by the Holy See for private devotion, and in 1885 was enriched by Pope Leo XIII with an indulgence of 300 days, once a day.

Prayer:

Praise and honor be given Thee, O my Lord Jesus Christ, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Right Hand. By this adorable wound, I beseech Thee to pardon me all the sins I have committed by thoughts, words and deeds, by neglect in Thy service, and by self-indulgence, both waking and sleeping. Grant me the grace that, by a devout and frequent remembrance of Thy Holy Passion, I may honor Thy sacred wounds and the death which Thou didst endure for love of me; and that, by chastising my body, I may testify my gratitude for Thy sufferings and Thy death: Who livest and reignest, world without end. R. Amen. Our Father (silently). Hail, Mary (silently). Praise and honor be given Thee, O most amiable Jesus, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Left Hand. By this holy wound, I beseech Thee to have pity on me and to change within me whatever is displeasing to Thee. Grant me to be victorious over Thine enemies, so that, by the power of Thy grace, I may overcome them; and do Thou, by Thy holy and adorable death, deliver me from all dangers, present and to come, and make me worthy to share in the glory of Thy Blessed Kingdom: Who livest and reignest, world without end. R. Amen. Our Father (silently). Hail, Mary (silently).

Praise and honor be given Thee, O sweetest Jesus, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Right Foot. By this holy and adorable wound, I beseech Thee to enable me to bring forth worthy fruits of penance for my sins. I humbly entreat Thee, for the sake of Thine adorable death, to keep me, day and night, in Thy holy will, to preserve me from all adversity of soul and body, and, on the dreadful day of judgment, to deal with me according to Thy mercy, that I may obtain eternal joys: Who livest and reignest, world without end. R. Amen. Our Father (silently). Hail, Mary (silently).

Praise and honor be given Thee, O sweet and merciful Jesus, by reason of the Sacred Wound in Thy Left Foot. By this adorable wound, I beseech Thee to grant me pardon and full remission of all my sins, so that, with Thine aid, I may escape the rigors of justice. I entreat Thee, O good and merciful Jesus, for the sake of Thy Holy Death, to grant that at the hour of my death, I may have the grace to confess my sins with a perfect contrition, to receive the adorable Sacrament of Thy Body and Thy Blood, and likewise, the holy Sacrament of Extreme Unction for my eternal salvation: Who livest and reignest, world without end. R. Amen. Our Father (silently). Hail, Mary (silently).

Praise and honor be given Thee, O good and sweetest Jesus, by reason of the Wound in Thy Sacred Side. By this adorable wound and by that immense mercy shown Longinus and to us all, in allowing Thy Sacred Side to be opened, I beseech Thee, O good Jesus, that as in Baptism Thou didst purify me from original sin, so now Thou wouldst be pleased, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, Which is offered up this day over the whole world, to deliver me from all evils, past, present, and to come. I entreat Thee, by Thy bitter death, to give me a lively faith, a firm hope, and perfect charity, so that I may love Thee with my whole heart, with my whole soul, and with all my strength. Uphold me by Thy grace in the practice of good works, so that I may persevere to the end in Thy holy service and glorify Thee in time and eternity. R. Amen. Our Father (silently). Hail, Mary (silently).

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. R. Because, by Thy death and Thy precious blood, Thou hast redeemed the world.

Let us pray. O Almighty and Eternal God, Who hast ransomed the human race by the five wounds of Thy Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: we beseech Thee, by the merits of His precious blood, to grant unto us, who, each day, venerate these same adorable wounds, to be delivered from a sudden and unprovided death: Through the same Jesus Christ Thy Son, Our Lord, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. R. Amen.

Prayer Source: Kyrie Eleison — Two Hundred Litanies by Benjamin Francis Musser O.F.M., The Magnificat Press, 1944