According to a pious oral tradition handed down, it is said St. Bernard of Clairvaux had an apparition of Our Lord and he asked Him which was the greatest unrecorded or unknown suffering that afflicted Him on Calvary. Our Lord is said to have answered:
“I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful than the others and which is not recorded by men.” Our Lord is alleged to have said that if anyone remembered this wound each day, He would forgive them all their venial sins and 'no longer remember their mortal ones'.
The problem: there is no evidence this occurred, the apparition has also been accredited to St. Gertrude and St. Mechtilde. Furthermore, there was a question the indulgence of 'forgetting the mortal sins' was attempting to promote forgiveness of mortal sin without the need of confession, which indeed is a dangerous misconception. As there was no proof the indulgence was authentic, Pope Leo XIII condemned this indulgence in the Acta Sanctae Sedis 1898. (Devotion to the Wound was not condemned, only the promise attached.) See here: http://www.olrl.org/pray/apocryphal.shtml
HOWEVER: Christ revealed through various ecstasies to Marie-Julie Jahenny the grevious Wound of the Shoulder which He bore due to carrying the heavy weight of the Cross. He revealed devotion to this forgotten Wound pleased Him very much, and reaffirmed that there are special graces reserved for this devotion.
Promises and graces revealed to Marie-Julie Jahenny for those who honour His Sacred Wound of the Shoulder:
1 - “I will bless all the souls who propagate this devotion: I grant them abundant graces.” (March 29, 1878)
2 - “O souls who love Me, who propagate this devotion, I take you under My protection, I keep you under the mantle of My affection.” (March 29, 1878)
3 - “I will dispel the darkness that will come to their heart.” (December 28, 1877)
4 - “I will console them in their pains.” “I will come in the midst of their greatest afflictions, to enlighten, to comfort them. I will come and rescue them in their maladies.” (February 8, 1878) (28 December 1877, February 8 and April 12, 1878)
5 - “I will come to bless them in their undertakings.” (March 29, 1878)
6 - “I will give them a tender love for the Cross. I will come to assist them at the time of death, with this cross and I will introduce them into My Heavenly Kingdom.” (April 12, 1878) (Note: apparently the grace of having accomplished your Purgatory on earth is one of the graces.)
7 - “I will sweeten their agony.” (December 28, 1877). “I will come at the hour of death. I will console them in their passage.” (February 8, 1878). “Especially at the hour of death, I will come to give them a sweet moment of calm and tranquillity. I will tell them: 'O good holy soul, who has spread this devotion (knowing) that I had so much at heart that it be made known, come to receive the reward of your labours, the fruit of blessing.'.” (March 29, 1878)
8 - “I will shelter them, I will assist them, I will console all the souls that seek to propagate this Sacred Wound. At the time of death, I will console the souls that have compensated Me by their devotion and compassion to the Wound so deep and painful. I will come to strengthen them in their final fears. I will come and prepare their passage: Thank you, you who have compensated Me for My pains.” (May 17,1878)
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- “See,” Jesus said, pointing to His Sacred Wound with extreme
tenderness, “all My children who have recognised this Wound, who
have venerated it, have prayed to it, will have on the Last Day a
great and generous reward. I do not simply show it, I pronounce it.
My Word is Divine.” (May
17, 1878)
In obedience to the Holy See, please do not spread the story about St. Bernard, it might contain the condemned indulgence, not to mention people might think the devotion can be used as an excuse to not go to confession to be absolved of mortal sins. MORTAL SINS MUST BE CONFESSED! Only when they are confessed does God 'forget' our mortal sins. However, you can safely spread the promises given to Marie-Julie Jahenny.
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Prayer to the Sacred Wound in the Shoulder:
"O Loving Jesus, meek Lamb of God, I miserable sinner, salute and worship the most Sacred Wound of Thy Shoulder on which Thou didst bear Thy heavy Cross, which so tore Thy flesh and laid bare Thy Bones as to inflict on Thee an anguish greater than any other wound of Thy Most Blessed Body. I adore Thee, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify Thee, and give Thee thanks for this most sacred and painful Wound, beseeching Thee by that exceeding pain, and by the crushing burden of Thy heavy Cross to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Thy Cross. Amen."
Imprimatur, Thomas D. Beven, Bishop of Springfield. (Please note, this prayer was NOT given to Marie-Julie Jahenny, and you must still confess mortal sins ~ this prayer is not an exemption from that).
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Various dated and undated texts from the Ecstasies of Marie-Julie Jahenny.
The “Friends of the Marie-Julie Jahenny Association” Website gives us the following points to ponder and meditate upon regarding Christ carrying the Cross and the weight which caused this grievous Wound.
Marie-Julie Jahenny. “The cross was the chosen bride of Jesus Crucified. We in our turn bear It all our lives. It is the portion of the Christian, from the cradle to the grave. We are the children of Calvary.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, You know, You are forever the all of my heart. I am here resting on His breast, waiting to be fed by Him or die in His arms.”
The Wound of the Shoulder is to meditate attentively by the friends of the Cross. Indeed, Marie-Julie expresses to us that the cross is inseparable from the Christian's life.
1 - It is a weight of sorrows, as it sank through the flesh of Our Saviour, by tearing It badly. It was bloodied by Divine Blood.
2 - It can be overwhelming up to the point we sink to the ground crossing the thorns, brambles and stones of the road: witness, Our Lord succumbed three times on the road to Calvary.
3 – This wound in bearing the Cross, the wound so deep and painful always it tells us to always walk through the tears and blood to the summit of the mountain of sacrifice, without ever being discouraged: it is on the Cross we finally place again our soul into the hands of its God who created it in His infinite goodness, who has redeemed it in His infinite love and wants to save it in His infinite mercy. It is the Cross that opens and closes the doors of life, it is that which lifts us from earth to heaven, after being in all, the burden of its merits. Oh! We are to love the Cross that becomes the blessed instrument of Redemption! In each carrying our cross, we learn the love of Jesus Crucified.
In these thoughts, Our Lord Jesus Christ recommends us to honour the Sacred Wound in bearing the Cross.
Consider the Sacred Wound that was made by the weight of the Cross on the left Shoulder of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Calvary.
1 – The infinite generosity of Our Lord Jesus Christ for having willingly taken upon Himself our iniquities. (March 29, 1878)
2 - His immense goodness in promising to carry our thankless sins on the road to Calvary. (December 28, 1877) It is on this Shoulder that Our Lord Jesus Christ bore and felt the numerous sins of the world. (March 16, 1877)
He was overwhelmed even to succumbing to the so painful falls on the Way of the Cross. (February 8, 1878)
Marie-Julie: “Lord, it is our sins that You carry on this bloody and bruised Shoulder. It is our sins that make You suffer great incomprehensible pains as large as the sea. They are our sins that tore Your Sacred Flesh, which turned the Cross crimson. (April 2, 1878)
3 - The infinite tenderness with which our Lord Jesus Christ suffered this cruel Wound, which shows how heavy are our iniquities. Sympathize with the immense pain so little known on earth. (December 28, 1877)
Our Lord invites us to contemplate the wound so deep and painful, in which we have all participated. Ask for repentance and tears, gratitude and love (February 8, 1878) It is there that our sins were drowned …
The Cross bathed in Blood Divine has become for all of us, the burden of grace, the burden of merits. (May 17, 1878)
Marie-Julie: “Our Lord Jesus Christ has paved the road to Calvary, the bloody road but the road of grace in carrying the Cross in unspeakable pain, without a murmur, not a complaint would escape from His mouth. He has borne it through suffering, contempt, neglect, with a boundless charity: she (the Cross) was the spouse chosen by Jesus Crucified; we have our turn to bear it all our lives, we are born with it, we are the children of Calvary, we must die with her, she is the portion of the Christian from the cradle to the grave. Let us put ourselves, in suffering, in the hands of God.
I bless you, Lord, You are my hope and my support. A life in death, O Lord, I commend my spirit into Your Hands, that Your Holy Will be done in all things. Blessed be Jesus in my heart and blessed is the Heart of my Jesus.”
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Additional extracts (dated and undated)-also contains the promises with this devotion:
On November 25, 1873: About four o'clock in the evening, Marie-Julie received the stigmata from the wound of the shoulder (left shoulder). The revelations and all that relates to this devotion specially recommended by Our Lord Jesus Christ contain the things of greatest interest. The collection and the acts of these early events are in the hands of Fr. David Abbot, (spiritual) Director of Marie- Julie.
In the following ecstasy, Marie-Julie said: “I see the bloody wound in His shoulder, how it is deep and painful”
Our Lord: “I will tell you the prayers that alleviate My suffering. I wish that this Wound be known to all My children.”
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March 16, 1877: The Wound had been singled out in a special way. It was the Feast of the Five Wounds. Our Lord's words: "The Blood flows from My Shoulder, one by which I bore and felt the many sins of the world."
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Fragments of the ecstasy of Friday, December 28, 1877:
It is that- this Sacred Wound - which shows how heavy are our iniquities and the immense goodness of Our Lord Jesus Christ for His commitment to carry our ungrateful sins on the road to Calvary. Our Lord testifies to the infinite love with which He suffered the cruel wound, and His goodness for the souls faithful to this devotion.
Our Lord Jesus Christ attaches the most precious graces: "I will dispel the darkness coming to their heart. I will comfort them in their sorrows. I will soften their agony, I will tell them;
'Faithful souls who have sympathized with this immense pain, so little known on earth.':"
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Fragments of the ecstasy of Friday, February 8, 1878:
Our Lord Jesus Christ invites Marie-Julie to look more closely at this painful wound on His shoulder during His Passion.
Marie-Julie: “My God, give me repentance and tears.”
In the second fall, our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“What a joy for My Divine Heart to see this devotion spread everywhere. This devotion that has so long remained in oblivion. I will give abundant rewards to My faithful children who propagate it: I will console them in their troubles. I will come in the midst of their greatest afflictions, to enlighten, to comfort them. I will come and rescue them in their maladies. I will come at the hour of death, I will comfort them in their passing.”
Marie-Julie: Oh! My Divine Jesus, we have all participated in this Wound so deep. It is You, my God, You who were charged for us to succumb to the overwhelming weight. Thank you, my God. What is our poor human misery! We only have hope, God's mercy. His infinite goodness created us, His infinite love redeemed us, His infinite mercy will save us. I bless you, Lord, You are my hope and my support.
Our Lord Jesus Christ makes me see the weight of the Cross:
Our Lord: “Children of My pain, carry your cross, singing the Benedictus. Bless Me singing under the weight of the cross that overwhelms you.”
Marie-Julie; “ Nothing can stop us doing the Holy Will of God. O sweet and holy Cross, the sublime madness of my heart, wilt thou known? You have charms. Without you, life would be bitter, how your sufferings have tenderness and love! O chaste spouse of my Jesus, you were somehow drowned in His blood. (I.e. The Cross) You contain sources of love: the location of the three nails that attached the body of my sweet Jesus. If there is happiness on earth, it is that of suffering, that of contempt, that of abandonment. These are the spouses of my Jesus. This is the road to Calvary, bloody road but the road of grace.
We are born with the cross, it must pass (with us) all our life, we must die with her, we are the children of Calvary. Earth, thou shalt drink thy ingratitudes and we, we will bless the graces of my Jesus.”
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Ecstasy of Friday, April 12, 1878
Marie-Julie: “Lord, my sins are what You bear on the Shoulder bruised and bloody; they are our crimes and our sins that make You suffer unspeakable pain, big as the sea. It is our sins that tore Your sacred Flesh, which has made crimson the Cross.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: "I am looking for souls who love Me to sympathize with My sufferings."
Marie-Julie: “My beloved Saviour, we join Your suffering, we want to carry our cross and suffer with You. O Holy Cross adorable, you who were the spouse of Jesus crucified, chosen, precious bed of suffering, pain, precious bed of the soul, you contain the three fountains of grace. (They, sinners) do not love it, what contempt of Jesus!
You will live with us, Holy Cross, to the grave where you will rest on our breast. Oh! Because He loves us, my sweet Jesus. What soul refuses to give it to Him? Go to the foot of the Cross to tell of our bitterness, our love in the cross. Let us dive into the great love of my Jesus on the Cross. These are my sins, my pride and my disobedience that have loaded on Your shoulder that cross so heavy.
O dear Jesus, my love, You have forgotten the excesses of my ingratitude: What boundless charity! So you took it on Your Shoulder. This is where you buried all our transgressions, our iniquities … My Jesus by showing the deep wound of the Holy Shoulder:
“My children of the earth who meditate on the pain and are faithful to this devotion:
I will come visit them in their sorrows,
I will give them a tender love for the Cross,
I will come to assist at the time of death,
From this cross, I will introduce them to My heavenly kingdom.”
Marie-Julie: “O dear Jesus, You have opened the path of predestination, love, pain …
Jesus dies under the weight of the Cross on the road to Calvary, while it is the cross that should have been bending and breaking under the power of God. We must all carry the cross .. For some, it is heavier, for others it is less heavy. Bear the suffering, death sentences as a result of our Lord. It is the Holy of Holies that rewards suffering souls. The Cross is the portion of the Christian from the cradle to the grave, the soul that suffers is in the company of her spouse, in the company of the Blessed Virgin, in the company of the elect.
Let us bless God that makes us to suffer because in suffering we are despoiled (of our sins), we are beatified, they open for us a sea of love. Let us put ourselves in suffering, in the Hands of God.
It is you, ungrateful earth, which appears desirous of covering you with ornaments to destroy the Christian soul but all this is only dust and vanity. Jesus makes us tread over you, this treacherous and seductive earth, all is (given) by suffering at the foot of the Cross.
Meditate on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, mercy blaze, blaze of love. Love the Blessed Virgin. Consider the pure heart of Mary, through whom all graces come to us, and compassion for her sorrows on Calvary, where she adopted us for her children.
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Ecstasy of Friday, May 17, 1878
Marie-Julie asks her Divine Redeemer to bear the heavy weight of the Cross in the streets of Jerusalem:
"O sweet Jesus, loaded under the weight of pain, under the weight of crime. You walk to Calvary, what charity on Your part to kindly take charge of our crimes. The Divine Blood flows to drown our iniquities; not a complaint, not a murmur escaped the lips of my Jesus. Rather, it seems that you rejoice in Your suffering.
You, O Holy Cross, which have been worthy of the choice of my Jesus, love, purple Blood of My God, why are not you the portion of the Christians of the earth?
Precious bed of suffering, you are trampled, you are insulted, you are rejected, you are covered in spit and insults. Holy Cross, when will you delight the souls redeemed? When will your fruitful sources (the location of three nails) be known and savoured by hearts? Be always with us, our comfort and our strength after this God of love, mercy and charity.
We all love the cross, since we must always be on earth. We were born on the cross, how would we live in luxury? We are born with the cross and we must carry it to the grave. Oh! What delights we have on earth: The enjoyment of a loving God, the enjoyment of a crucified God, the enjoyment of suffering with this Divine Friend, to be abandoned with Him, pray to You, my God! Loaded with the weight of our crimes, our good Lord carrying the cross to the Holy Mountain. There He will rob us of our dirty clothes (sin), we regenerate in His grace. What tenderness!
Mary, good Mother of Sorrows makes the most generous sacrifices. She suffers in her heart with her Adorable crucified Son … By giving us her dear Son, She looks with her eyes full of tears, We have torn Him, her love, but in leaving us to tear Him, she has blessed us.
Going to this maternal heart, nothing compares to the Heart of the Mother of Jesus. Oh! It is good, Mary! We have recourse to Mary in our trials. She is so sweet, she keeps us on His Heart as His children, she puts her hand on our heart with: 'this heart is dear to me because my Divine Son loves it,' and she eliminates the peril.
She adopted us, she took us close to the place of her dear Son: 'Yes, my Son, I will be for them, the most generous of mothers to console You, to strengthen you.'
She (Our Lady) looks towards Heaven. “My child, do you not see Heaven? Well, that is the reward. Suffer all the pains on earth, this is so short! Suffering, because suffering is collected for your happiness! Your eternal happiness. My heart will keep you.”
Moreover, the sorrows of Mary have been profound, her heart was kneaded, the more sensitive. It is so totally sensitive that it will participate in all the pains of her children.
My dear Mother, comfort their souls, they are friends of the Cross, hide them in your heart. Our Adorable Lord favours by pain. Mary, my good Mother, thank you in our pains: a thank you from the heart, take it to Jesus, Your Divine Son. Being presented by you, oh! It will be welcomed with generosity! Good Mother, obtain for us salvation after suffering on earth, after carrying our crosses. O Lord grant that we love you, friends of the Cross, brave on earth, despite the difficulties and anxieties.
Our Lord expresses that He opened the painful way:
Our Lord: “I want that many of My servers and My servants to arrive in Heaven by the deepest tribulations ...”
Marie-Julie: “I can still see the Divine Blood of my King, impressed on the pavements of Jerusalem. Oh! I want to walk in His footsteps! Who would dare complain after such a love of Jesus crucified?
We must carry the cross in all its dimensions, its width, its length in thickness. Its size is the depth and extent of penalties that we feel, these dimensions, it is love.
How beautiful it is under the cross, our Divine Saviour, that He charms, He is admirable in the cross ... very loving Jesus, You said:
"My children, that is the cross you wear all your life, sometimes heavier, sometimes less painful."
Marie-Julie: These are His friends, (those who) accept that our Lord on the cross and feel, the cross is the burden of grace, the burden of merits.
Begone, vain and miserable earth, you have more input in our hearts. Your charms are misleading. Begone, before these two supreme loves. The love of Jesus and the love of his Cross! The lamp of faith, hope and love still burns in our hearts!
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Fragment of the ecstasy of Friday, March 29, 1878:
Marie-Julie to Our Lord: “What generosity that You desired to be charged with our iniquities! When I consider the Wound so deep and so great ... because that is where you drowned my sins: it is our sins that tore Your Sacred Flesh.”
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TABLE OF CONTENTS: Prophecies of Marie-Julie Jahenny
