Prayer to the "Shoulder Wound"

 

According to a Catholic legend, "Saint Bernard Abbot of Clairvaux asked Our Lord what was the greatest pain suffered in the body during his Passion. Jesus replied: I had a sore on my shoulder, three fingers deep, and three bones discovered to carry the Cross; this wound has given me more pain and pain but it is not known by men. But you reveal it to the Christian faithful and know that any grace that they ask me in virtue of this wound will be granted to them; and to all those who for love of it they will honor with 3 Pater, Ave and Gloria per day, I will forgive venial sins, I will no longer remember mortals, and they will not die a sudden death, and at the point of death they will be visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary and will still receive Grace and Mercy ".

It is disconcerting to see how many Catholics believe in these "revelations" about alleged secrets, cults, etc. through which Jesus would grant particular graces and privileges, and would confirm to believers doctrines that do not exist in Sacred Scripture.

The forgiveness of sins is not subordinated to the number of prayers, to the devoted remembrance of this or that plague, but only to repentance. The Lord only says that we must confess our sins to Him, and if we do, "He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all iniquity" (1 John 1: 9). There are no other conditions.

For now we will limit ourselves to verifying the validity of the foundation of the Catholic doctrine of the "wound of the shoulder", that is, to ascertain on the basis of the Bible and historical facts, whether Jesus really ever had a "wound in the shoulder three fingers deep and three exposed bones" due to having carried the cross.

The Gospel of John, which narrates the events not from the chronological point of view, but only from the point of view of the story of the life of Jesus, generically says that He carried the cross. He does not specify the events that took place up to the moment in which he arrived at Golgotha, but merely cites the fact, in broad terms.
In the other three Gospels, those of Mark, Luke and Matthew (cf. Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26), which are a chronological and detailed account of the events, it is however clearly written that Jesus could not bring long the cross, because of his serious physical condition (cf. Mark 14:65, Matt. 27:26, Matt. 27: 26-31, John 18:23, Luke 22:44). For this, the Roman soldiers forced a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross to Golgotha.

It should also be borne in mind that the Roman custom of crucifixion provided for the use of a pole, which was driven into the place of execution (Golgotha), and of a horizontal beam, which was made to carry to the prisoner, and to which he was then nailed. The beam (and the victim) was eventually hung on the pole, thus forming the cross.

Jesus, therefore, did not carry the cross on his shoulder, nor could he ever have a wound "three fingers deep and three bare bones". The revelation that justifies the cult of the "shoulder sore" is clearly false.

The most important thing is to remind those who believe in such "revelations" that according to the Word of God, forgiveness, salvation, and grace are gifts from the Lord, and man can do nothing to deserve them. The Lord commands us to listen only to what He says in the Bible: to repent and believe wholeheartedly in Christ's work , and through faith we receive what He promised.