The twelve contemplations of this day are ordered across four theological dimensions of the wound. Three are woven through the day itself; the further eight are companions for the weeks ahead — one at a time, returned to slowly. The booklet is not finished when the day is.
Within the Day
‘Struck By The Divine Arrow’
St Gregory of Nyssa — The Wound That Expands
The divine Archer strikes the soul with the arrow of love. The wound it makes is not damage. It is opening.
‘Glory to God for All Things’
St John Chrysostom — The Wound That Becomes Doxology
Forced to walk in the rain toward Pityus, forbidden shelter, he died with these words: Glory to God for all things.
‘The Altar Receives All Things’
The Divine Liturgy — Where the Wound Is Placed on the Altar
Do not leave the wound in the car before entering the church. Bring it in. The Liturgy does what the servant cannot do alone.
Further Contemplations — For the Weeks Ahead
One at a time, returned to slowly. The booklet is not finished when the day is.
‘The Wound That Does Not Disappear’
The Risen Christ and the Servant’s Marks · John 20:25
‘The Restless Heart’
St Augustine & St John Climacus · The Wound of Holy Longing
‘Wounded in the Seeking’
The Bride Struck at the Walls · Song of Songs 5:7
‘The Gift of Honest Poverty’
The Servant’s Most Private Wound · Psalm 51:17
‘What Our Thoughts Do to Us’
The Wound Transformed From Within · Philippians 4:7
‘Descended into Desolation’
The Dark Night as Preparation · Psalm 130:1–2
“She Stood”
The Theotokos · Prototype of the Wounded Servant · John 19:25
“Have You Sinned, and Come to Complain?”
The Wound Turned Outward · Matthew 5:44
‘Hidden from His Own Eyes’
St Pishoy Kamel — The Wound That Bore Fruit in the Dark · John 12:24