This image is of Jesus as he lay in the tomb.
In His Passion, Jesus Christ suffered greatly for the sins of man. He wore the crown of thorns, was scourged at the pillar, and had the Five Holy Wounds inflicted upon Him. While most Catholics know of these, few are familiar with the shoulder wound of Jesus, and the miraculous story behind its devotion.
Tradition says as Jesus walked the three miles from Pontius Pilate’s courtyard to His Crucifixion at Calvary, the Cross dug through His shoulder ripping flesh from bone. According to a pious legend, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux prayed and asked of Christ what was his greatest unknown suffering, and what wound suffered in His Passion was most painful. Christ replied to him:
“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.”
Christ asked that Saint Bernard and other members of the Faithful keep a devotion to his shoulder wound, and that those who do will receive God’s grace.