Is Jesus' Glorified body all banged up?

[nfinke]

Heres something Ive always kind of wondered, which doesnt really have any bearing on theological teaching at all, and really isnt important.

So when Jesus was resurrected, notably His glorified body still had the piercing wounds in his hands and his side from when He was on the cross. Im not sure if scripture explicitly says the holes in His feet were still there, and i dont think Ive ever heard of someone with stigmata having wounds in their feet, but I would imagine they were still there.

The thing this always brought to mind is that obviously before He was sent to Golgotha, Jesus was brutally scourged. Ive heard people say (though Im not sure where they got the info) that it was so bad His rib cage was partially exposed. So the real question is (since im not sure if the scriptures confirm or deny this), did all those wounds remain on Jesus’ glorified body as well as a sign of the suffering He went through? Or, is it like we see on all the religious art, where His body was essentially perfect and without blemish, with the exception of the wounds in the hands and side that He decided to keep?

 

[Zaccheus]

Short answer: no.
Longer answer: the wounds on His hands and feet are not disfigurements in His case. They are badges of glory.

 

[dscath]

A long discussed question…in the case of Jesus, I think the appearance of his glorified body will be quite different from ours…his wounds will be evident, on his glorified body, to remind us of the sacrifice made on our behalf.

But, in my own thoughts, the glorified bodies of the faithful will be without blemish…otherwise we could expect those whose bodies were significantly disfigured due to accident or disease will not be apparent in our glorified bodies…I don’t expect to run into, say, St. John the Baptist, carrying his head under his arm.

 

[Dan_Defender]

St. Gemma Galgani did have stigmata on her feet.
I think St Thomas Aquinas wrote on the properties of glorified bodies. The body is fully subject to the spirit so it can do wonderful things, I can imagine showing wounds at will is one of them. Doesn’t mean there is any associated pain, as in Heaven there is no pain or sorrow.

 

[JGD]

…So the real question is (since im not sure if the scriptures confirm or deny this), did all those wounds remain on Jesus’ glorified body as well as a sign of the suffering He went through? …

IMO, whether Jesus’ wounds are visible or not in His glorified body depends on whether He wants them to be visible or not. As an example from Scripture, Jesus walked and talked with a couple of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. I think they would have noticed had their been open wounds on His hands and feet (questioned Him about it if nothing else). Also, Jesus seems to have changed His general appearance to keep the two disciples from recognizing Him immediately - perhaps because He wanted to connect recognition of Him with the “breaking of the bread” (Eucharist).

The Council of Trent Catechism states the following about one of the qualities of resurrected bodies called “subtility” - “Another quality is that of subtility, which subjects the body to the dominion of the soul, so that the body shall be subject to the soul and ever ready to follow her desires. This quality we learn from these words of the Apostle: It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body.” (CTC p.93)

 

[White_Tree]

I don’t know, but here is an interesting account that appeared in the Scottish magazine Life and Work. This version is translated from the Spanish from Mario Roso de Luna’s El libro que mata a la Muerte, which discussed this story. It seems to suggest he does still have some of the wounds of the crucifixion. Emphasis added:

Strange news came to us when we were in the ditch at war… certain rumors were spreading along the stretch from Switzerland to the sea, yet their origin or authenticity were unknown. Word came and went quickly and I remember the moment in which my partner George Casey looked at me strangely with his blue eyes and asked me if I had seen the friend of the wounded ones. He then told me what he knew in respect to the rumor that was circulating. He told me that after many violent battles, a man dressed in white had been seen bending over the wounded soldiers as bullets were fired all around him and grenades fell at his feet. However, nothing had the power to harm him. He was a hero superior to all heroes or something greater still.

This mysterious person whom the French call ‘the comrade dressed in white’ seemed to be everywhere at the same time. In Nancy, Argona, in Soissons, in Ypres, and everywhere, all men spoke of him with their voices lowered. However, some of them smiled and said that the ditch was affecting their nerves.

I was frequently being careless with my words and I exclaimed that I must see in order to believe, and that I needed the German knife to wound me so that I may fall to the ground.

The following day, we were at battle at the front; the cannons were roaring from morning till night and began again the following day. At midday we received the command to move in and take the front, which was two hundred yards from our position. As we were advancing we realized that our cannons had failed to fire at the moment of attack. We needed hearts of steel in order to march on. None of us thought; we only acted, and we continued to march on.

We had advanced 150 yards when we realized that we had acted poorly. Our captain commanded us to take cover, and precisely at that moment both of my legs were wounded and by divine mercy I fell into a hole. I must have fainted because when I opened my eyes I was alone. The pain was excruciating, however I remained motionless for I was in fear that the Germans would see me, being only 50 yards away from them. I was hoping that someone would have pity on me. Soon I realized that there were men nearby that would have considered themselves in danger within the obscurity of the night if they had known that a comrade was still alive.

(Part 1 of 2)

 

[White_Tree]

I felt relieved as nightfall grew nearer. The night fell and I suddenly heard footsteps that were not weak, but firm and strong, as if neither obscurity nor death could have altered their movement. I never would have guessed who was approaching. Even having seen the clarity of the white cloth within the obscurity, I assumed that it was a farmer wearing a shirt, and it even occurred to me to be an insane woman. But suddenly, with amazement—whether of happiness or terror, I do not know—I realized that he was the comrade dressed in white and at that precise moment the German rifles began to fire. The bullets could not have missed such a target because he raised his arms begging them to stop. He then retracted his arms and remained in the form of a cross, as the crosses that are frequently seen alongside the roads of France. He then spoke. His words were very familiar. I remember only the beginning of his words, ‘If you have known,’ and the end, ‘But now they are hidden to your eyes.’ Then he bent over and took me into his arms, I, the heaviest man of my group. He carried me as if I were a child. I suppose that I fell asleep because when I awoke that childlike feeling was gone. I was a man wishing to know what I could do in order to serve and help my friend.

He was looking towards the stream holding his hands together as if he were praying. I then saw that he too was wounded. I believe that I saw a deep wound on his hand and as he prayed a drop of blood fell from his wound to the ground. I screamed without control because the wound appeared to me to be more terrifying than any of the wounds that I had seen throughout that bitter war.

‘You are also wounded,’ I said with humbleness. I do not know whether he heard me or whether he saw it in my expression, but he answered with gentleness, ‘This is an ancient wound, but it has been bothering me lately.’ I then noticed that the same cruel mark appeared on his feet.

Amazingly enough, I did not realize who he was until I saw his feet. I then recognized him as the living Christ. I had heard the chaplain speak of Him a few weeks before, but now I understood that He had come towards me, towards I who had removed Him from my life in the ardent fever of my youth. I wished to speak with Him and give Him thanks, but I could not find the words. He then stood and said, ‘Remain close to the water today and I will come for you tomorrow; I have a duty for you to do for me.’ Moments later He was gone.

As I waited for Him I wrote this in order not to forget this experience. I feel weak and lonely and my pain increases but I have His promise and I know that He will come for me tomorrow.

(Part 2 of 2)

 

[BlueKumul]

So will I be able to grow wings at will?

 

[Dan_Defender]

lol would you want to? I rather travel at the speed of thought without wings

 

[esieffe]

IMO, whether Jesus’ wounds are visible or not in His glorified body depends on whether He wants them to be visible or not.

I know in the diary St. Faustina, Christ appeared to her with the wounds from the Cross and from the scourging. Christ said to her that the wound were due to the sins against his sacred heart, if I recall correctly. So I think you are right.