“They pierced my hands…” (King James Bible, Psalm 22:16)

Those pierced hands are the surest token of the wonderful generosity of our Saviour and our God.  For they are the hands of the Giver of all good things, and how much had they already given!  Innumerable were the times when he had been asked to lay those same hands on people who were sick or afflicted, and to give to them new health and strength – and never was he asked in vain.

For with his hands he was always giving, and giving – whether it was his blessing to the children, or the bread of the miracle to the Five Thousand, or the living bread of a greater miracle, the Blessed Sacrament of his own Body and Blood which he gave to us at the Last Supper.

Nor did his generosity stop there, for on the Cross of shame and glory he was open-handed to the end, giving his own life for us and for our salvation.