" Within Thy Wounds, Hide Me "

[Lil Red]

what does that mean?

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
[u][b]Within Thy wounds hide me [/b][/u]
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

[Laudate_Dominum]

That prayer is often attributed to Saint Ignatius Loyola but this is incorrect. I would probably place the composition of this prayer in the late medieval period.
Devotion to the wounds of Christ was common to this period so if one were to ask about the meaning of that line I would address the matter in the context of medieval devotion.
To make a long story short we might say that the wounds of Christ were venerated as in many respects being a symbol of Christ's love as it was expressed in His passion – not entirely dissimilar to devotion to the Sacred Heart. In light of this I would suggest that one aspect of the sentiments expressed by that line is the desire to abide and repose in Christ's love. The language of hiding ([i]absconde me[/i]) suggests to me interior repose as well as the peace and security that Christ's love brings. Of course this image also expresses intimacy and spiritual union; and interpretation strengthened by the subsequent line of the prayer.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

It reminds me of a fourteenth-century Latin hymn. This hymn is quite often sung in translation in England. I don't know about America.

Soul of my saviour, sanctify my breast,
body of Christ, be thou my saving guest,
blood of my saviour, bathe me in thy tide,
wash me with water flowing from thy side.

Strength and protection may thy passion be,
O blessed Jesus, hear and answer me;
deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me,
so shall I never, never part from thee.

Guard and defend me from the foe malign,
in death's dread moments make me only thine;
call me and bid me come to thee on high
where I may praise thee with thy saints for ay.

A favourite of my late maternal grandfather's. I've always understood the line 'deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me' to mean being intimately close to Jesus in his humblest, most degraded, and at the same time glorious state - a desire to share everything with Him and be with Him always, in short. Devotions like this also reveal that the Passion of Christ is our only true security.

[Laudate_Dominum]

This quotation from the Imitation of Christ may be helpful as well.

[i]"If you can not soar up as high as Christ sitting on his throne, behold him hanging on his cross. Rest in Christ's Passion and live willingly in his holy wounds. You will gain marvelous strength and comfort in adversities You will not care that men despise you. . . Had we but, with Thomas, put our fingers into the print of his nails and thrust our hands into his side! If we had we but known ourselves his sufferings in a deep and serious consideration and tasted the astonishing greatness of his love, the joys and miseries of the life would soon become indifferent to us."[/i]

It was through His wounds that the Blood of the New Covenant was poured out and through which the Church was born as from the side of the New Adam. There is also a link between these wounds and the Sacraments of the Church in medieval piety so one might extend the spiritual meaning of that part of the prayer to include the fruits of Christ's passion that we partake of in the Sacraments. I suppose the "literal meaning" was perhaps a more simple piety, but prayers of this kind are meant to be appropriated on a personal level so such a consideration is not that important.

[Lil Red]

okay, maybe i should've asked, what does it mean to you?

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1351121' date='Aug 6 2007, 10:22 AM']It reminds me of a fourteenth-century Latin hymn. This hymn is quite often sung in translation in England. I don't know about America.[/quote]
Yep, it's sung in America also. It's a beautiful hymn! It's based off of this prayer, the Anima Christi, "Soul of Christ, sanctify me ..."

In addition to what is above, there are the references to being hidden in Christ in the New Testament, as in St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians: "You have died, and your life is hidden in Christ with God."

And as we are justified through Christ's Sacrifice, praying to be hidden to His Wounds is like asking to be hidden from our sinfulness before the Justice of God. In St. Faustina's diary there are many prayers/messages like this. I see it also as asking to be hidden from the world, from its vanities, and from the evil one.

To be hidden in Christ's Wounds would be to die completely to self, to pride - to be completely abiding in the Love of God in humility, totally aware that we are saved and purified of our sins only through the Blood of the Lamb.

Edited August 8, 2007 by Margaret Clare

[misereremi]

What everyone has said in this thread is really beautiful, I cling to every word of it (if that makes sense). This phrase made me break down when I was at my coldest, and realise what the Crucified Love has done for me. "Within thy wounds hide me" is now one of my daily supplications (not sure if this word means what I think it means in English). A friar once told me to bring all the wounds of those I meet to be united to those of Christ, in prayer. Meditating on the sacred wounds and precious blood (the scourge of demons!) gives me tremendous inner peace and solace, and safety. It helps me face humiliations and strive for humility. I could go on and on about what it means to me

[Chaps]

Yes, the Anima Christi is a BEAUTIFUL prayer that I feel the need to recite every day, SPECIALLY after taking Communion. It's very powerful.

[Colleen]

I really like that prayer.