The Stigmata: Bearing The Wounds Of Jesus Christ

 

To My Readers: As my work and family responsibilities have been piling up, I decided to put together a post on a very misunderstood spiritual phenomenon, the stigmata. This compilation comes from a variety of approved sources, most notably theologian Carty, The Stigmata and Modern Science, [1958], and theologian Farges, Mystical Phenomena Compared with their Human and Diabolical Counterparts, [1926]. The information is compiled by me, and I take no credit except in condensing the information into a concise post. Above is a picture of St. Gemma Galgani (died 1903; canonized 1940), who bore the stigmata.

In my post, I make no mention of the man who arguably is the most famous alleged stigmatist, Padre Pio. I have most serious doubts about his authenticity as both a stigmatist and as a "saint." For the reasons why, please see my post:

https://introiboadaltaredei2.blogspot.com/2017/01/was-padre-pio-ecumenist.html

Feel free to comment as usual, but it may take me a bit longer than usual to respond this week. God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

What is the Stigmata?

The stigmata has been defined by theologians as "participation in the Passion of Christ in a way that is shown outwardly by marks on those parts of the body where Christ bore His wounds. It is a charisma or supernatural gift.”

The external marks of the wounds of Christ are then only the material element of Stigmatization; to be regarded as stigmata in the ecclesiastical sense they must be accompanied by a participation in the sufferings of Christ. Not all marks or wounds, even if they be on those places where Christ bore His wounds, are regarded as even the material element of Stigmatization. To be regarded as stigmata in the ecclesiastical as against the medical meaning of the term, these wounds must not be mere surface marks such as are sometimes produced by hypnotism, but must be deep wounds such as, for example, those of St. Francis of Assisi; they must not vanish after a short time but must remain fresh for years without suppurating, and when they bleed they must emit fresh blood. In addition, these wounds which form the material element of Stigmatization must be accompanied by a participation in the physical sufferings of Christ’s Passion and by the profession and pious practice of the true Faith in the Catholic Church, before they can be regarded as stigmata in the strict sense.

The phenomenon of the stigmata is a sign of the reality of Christ’s passion on the Cross. By God’s will, certain saints who have loved and meditated on the sacrifice of Christ crucified have participated in His sufferings. They offer those sufferings with the same spirituality as Saint Paul, who said, "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church." (Colossians 1:24). 

A few theologians have taught that the apostle Paul himself had the stigmata, and that when he says, "… I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body" (Galatians 6:17), he wasn’t saying it metaphorically, but literally. For stigmatists, the wounds of Christ on their bodies are an unmerited grace; therefore, if they are a form of grace, God is the one who gives them. Stigmatists do not ask for these mystical experiences. The vocation of the stigmatists is to suffer a share of the Passion of Christ—which exceeds all earthly sufferings. St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, to whom Christ appeared with His Most Sacred Heart, participated in the agony of Christ in the Garden and felt that death itself could hold nothing so painful for her. 

What must it be then to share in all the sufferings of the Passion, including the crucifixion, as most of the stigmatists are asked to do? Need we wonder then if Almighty God allows the stigmatists to get a glimpse of Thabor occasionally? Need we wonder if He gives them special gifts? St. Paul says: “we are the sons of God . . . and joint heirs of Christ, yet so, if we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom. 8:16-17). 

In the cases the Church has approved, the stigmata is a grace of God granted to few saints; the stigmata are physical manifestations of Christian mysticism. We must keep in mind that when the Church recognizes a phenomenon as authentic, it accepts the phenomenon but in no case does it propose that it be believed as a doctrine of faith. Moreover, the Church doesn’t canonize anyone just because they have the stigmata. What the Church does when it canonizes is recognize the exemplary Christian life of a saint, whether or not he or she has the stigmata.

So, why does God grant the stigmata? Through the stigmata, God expresses his pleasure in the holiness of life related to the conscious acceptance of the Cross taken up spiritually. It is, then, an experience of suffering colored with joy for the grace received.

A stigmatist receives the mission of being a prophet to remind humanity of the realities that are truly important. They help us to see the extremes to which Christ went to redeem us. They help those who suffer to conform themselves to Christ, offering their own sufferings for the salvation of souls.

Signs of True Stigmata

In the history of the stigmatists, we find that the stigmata were always accompanied with other charismata such as living for years without earthly food, the gift of prophecy, the gift of reading the secrets of the heart, the faculty of distinguishing between sacred and profane objects, the gift of perceiving the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in places hidden from view. If any fault against faith or morals is detected in the stigmatists by proper authority—the Bishop or the Holy See—it is a sign that the person in question is not corresponding to the graces that go with the stigmata, or that the stigmata were not genuine. As long as the proper authority issues no condemnation, the faithful need not be disturbed by shrill warnings from unauthorized individuals. In the long list of the stigmatists since St. Francis of Assisi, only a few of those who had real external marks of the Wounds of Christ were found to be unfaithful.

A few Catholic theologians who hold peculiar views about the stigmata refer to the few cases of lapse with apparent triumph, as if they proved that the possession of the marks of the Wounds of Christ was of no consequence. The extraordinarily high proportion of stigmatists faithful to their glorious but painful vocation, amounting to nearly 100%, may be attributed to the fact that, in the Providence of God, only those receive the stigmata who have been tried in the crucible of suffering for many years and who have been found faithful.

What are the criteria that the Church uses to determine whether or not the stigmata are authentic?

1. The stigmata are located in the same general places as the five wounds of Christ.

2. The stigmata all appear at the same time.

3. The stigmata appear spontaneously while the person prays in ecstasy.

4. They cannot be explained by natural causes.

5. They do not deteriorate into necrosis.

6. The do not give off a bad smell; on the contrary, sometimes it is said they smell of flowers.

7. They do not become infected.

8. They bleed daily and profusely.

9. They remain unchanged despite treatment. They do not become worse.

10. They cause a significant modification of the bodily tissues.

11. They do not close perfectly and instantaneously.

12. They are accompanied by intense physical and moral suffering, as from participating in the sufferings of Christ. (The lack of pain is a bad sign and a cause for doubt.)

As to the first criterion, skeptics will ask why some stigmatists have the wounds in the HANDS instead of the WRISTS which according to the Shroud of Turin (and historical/scientific evidence) is where Christ bore the nails. Some stigmatics did have them in the wrist, like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Gemma Galgani, just to name two. The stigmata’s purpose is not to present us an exact medical model of Jesus’ wounds. Otherwise, all genuine occurrences of them would look exactly alike — yet they do not. Instead, through this extraordinary phenomenon, those who witness it are called to grow deeper in union with our crucified Lord. 

As if the above were not enough, the entire life of the person involved is also studied.  He or she must be a person who practices Christian virtues heroically — in particular, their great love for humility and for the cross should stand out.

Throughout history, many cases have appeared; there are so many that the stigmata can be classified as follows:

1. Stigmatization of divine origin.

2. Stigmatization of diabolical origin.

3. Stigmatization of undetermined origin.

4. Stigmatization of neurotic and/or psychological origin, in the case of people who suffer from hysteria and who cause their own wounds, although it may be unconsciously etc.

Answering Skeptics

There are those who claim that all stigmatists belong to the fourth category, those who are fakes, or they have natural explanation relating to mental illness. This is true of atheists and agnostics. That there are fakes and natural causes; conceded. That all are fakes or have natural causes; denied. Authentic stigmata can be distinguished from natural causes and fakes because the genuine stigmata:

 

• conforms to the wounds of our Lord, whereas those of a pathological nature would emerge at random on the body
• bleeds especially on days when our Lord's passion is remembered (such as Fridays and Good Friday)
• emits clean and pure blood, whereas those of the pathological origin suppurate
• can be great at times without harm to the person, whereas that of a pathological nature would seriously weaken a person and require a blood transfusion
• cannot be healed through medication or other treatments, whereas one of pathological origin can
• appears suddenly, whereas that of a pathological origin appears gradually over time and can be linked to underlying psychological and physical causes

Another amazing fact concerning the stigmata are the numerous documented cases where various natural laws, such as gravity, are suspended. For example, we see in the life of the Servant of God, Domenica Lazzeri (1815-1848) where a respected observer, Lord Shrewsbury John Talbot testified in 1837 while observing Domenica lying in her bed:  "Instead of taking its natural course, the blood flowed upwards over the tops of the toes, as it would do were she suspended on a cross."

Then too, how can those like Maria von Morl (1812-1868) who continuously bore the stigmata for exactly 33 years (Christ lived 33 years on Earth), not develop any kind of infection in the large, open wounds on the hands, feet and side over the course of numerous decades?  How is it that there has never been a documented case of infection in the wounds of any of the hundreds of known stigmatics?

At the same time, how can anyone explain the amazing speed at which St Gemma Galgani's (and many others) stigmatized wounds would heal each week? Beginning on Thursday evenings, Gemma would be drawn into ecstasy, and would soon develop the crown of thorn wounds on her forehead. By Friday at noon, she would have the stigmata on both her hands and feet--large open wounds that would be bleeding profusely, with the sheets on her bed being completely saturated in blood. At 3pm on Friday, all of the wounds would stop bleeding and begin to close up, and by the next day (Saturday) the wounds would be completely healed with no scabs--in less than 24 hours, the only evidence of the large nail sized wounds the afternoon before would be a round whitish colored scar, as witnessed and testified by numerous people on many occasions.

As stated above, the Church doesn’t canonize anyone just because they have the stigmata, but if someone does have the stigmata and the Church concludes, after rigorous study, that they are false, then that is an impediment for a future canonization of that person, even if he or she leads a holy life.

Those of Diabolical Origin

The great theologian Cardinal Bona has been quoted as holding the opinion that the devil not only can produce the marks of the stigmata but that he has actually done so. He writes: “ . . . The marks of the wounds (of Christ) can be imitated and impressed by the fiend, as so many examples too painfully have proven.” (See De dicretione spirituum  [1672], Chapter VII by Cardinal Bona [1609-1674]).

It is to be noted that all the Cardinal says is that the marks of the wounds “can be imitated and impressed” by the devil; he does not say that the devil can produce deep wounds that remain fresh for years. He adds that there have been many examples of diabolical stigmata, but in none of the examples commonly quoted do we find reference to deep wounds that have remained fresh for years.

 The case of diabolical stigmata most commonly referred to, especially by writers who endeavor to disparage the true stigmata, is that of Magdalena de la Cruz, and when referred to, the facts of the case are generally distorted. The following are the facts of the case: Magdalena de la Cruz was born in Spain near Cordoba in 1487. At the age of twelve she was solicited by the devil who appeared to her in human form, and she remained under his power for more than forty years. She entered the Franciscan Convent of Sancta Isabel de los Angeles in 1504, of which convent she afterwards became Abbess. She gained a great reputation for holiness and for thirty-nine years exhibited a series of pseudo-mystical phenomena among which were the stigmata which bled. These she frequently exhibited to people who visited her. 

In 1543 she fell dangerously ill and confessed that her holiness was only a pretense and that the extraordinary phenomena in her life were the work of the devil. When she repented, all these phenomena, including the stigmata, ceased and never reappeared. She passed the last seventeen years of her life in the convent of Sancta Clara, deeply penitent, and died in 1560. With regard to her stigmata, it is not stated that they were deep wounds or that they were permanent. As she was fond of displaying them, it may be presumed that they were produced by the devil for each occasion, and that they disappeared during the intervals. At all events they disappeared in 1643 when she repented and never reappeared. Hers is the most extreme case and most commonly quoted of the devil’s attempts to deceive people by counterfeiting the stigmata, and it is to be noted that Divine Providence did not allow the deception to be permanent. Much the same may be said about all other cases of stigmata “imitated and impressed” by the devil. 

Conclusion

The stigmata is a rare and beautiful gift of God, which reminds us of what He suffered for our redemption. It is also a reminder of the true sanctity that women can achieve. Over 70% of stigmatics were women. It is understandable that atheistic writers should seize on the fact to discredit this form of miracle, that is confined to the Catholic Church, by representing the stigmata as the effect of emotionalism or hysteria. They will also ask why these wounds would appear in the body of a woman since Jesus Christ was a man.

The answer is simple, and upholds the dignity of women. The vocation of all true stigmatists is to bear a portion of the physical sufferings of Our Lord and in a mysterious manner to keep Our Blessed Lady company at the foot of the cross. At the actual crucifixion of Our Blessed Lord on Calvary, there were three women present, including Our Blessed Lady and only one man, St. John, the Beloved Disciple. Notice three to one in favor of women. 

While Christ reserved the dignity of the priesthood for men, and given them more frequent opportunities for martyrdom than women; and for the honor of keeping Our Blessed Lady company at the foot of the cross, while not excluding other St. Johns, He has chosen members of the female sex. Women outnumber men in many callings where courage and constancy of a high order are necessary. For instance, prior to Vatican II, women outnumbered men in the mission-fields; the number of women in the various religious orders and congregations was far greater than the number of men. Such is the arrangement of Divine Providence. 

While most of us will never be stigmatics, we can all meditate on the Passion of Our Lord, and perform the Stations of the Cross on Fridays. Attend Mass while contemplating the bloody death of Christ on the cross, as you see its unbloody re-presentation through time and space before your very eyes. Let us bear with patience our daily crosses. As Christ told us, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it." (St. Matthew 16:24-25)

St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us!