_STIGMATA_

Have you watch the movie “Passion of Christ” The movie Passion of Christ really shows how Jesus Christ suffered in a brutal way just to save us. In the movie, did you see the wounds? Have you ever wonder how painful those wounds are? Every time I see those wounds, I remember the word STIGMATA.

Have you encountered the word Stigmata? When you hear such word, what comes into your brain? Some may think that stigmata is a part of plant but definitely it’s not. Maybe they are referring to the stigma. Stigma and stigmata are not the same.

What is a stigmata?Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus. The term originates from the line at the end of Saint Paul’s's Letter of the Galatians where he says, "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus", with "marks" in the Latin Vulgate rendered as "stigmata". An individual bearing stigmata is referred to as a stigmatic.The causes of stigmata are the subject of considerable debate. Some contend that they are miraculous, while others argue they are hoaxes or can be explained medically.Stigmata are primarily associated with the Roman Catholic faith. Many reported stigmatics are members of Catholic religious orders. The majority of reported stigmatics are female

Reported cases of stigmata take various forms. Many show some or all of the five Holy Wounds that were, according to the Bible, inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion: wounds in the hands and feet, from nails, and in the side, from a lance. Some stigmatics display wounds to the forehead similar to those caused by the crown of thorns. Other reported forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, wounds to the back as from scourging, or wounds to the shoulder as from bearing the cross.

Some believe that the condition can be explained by 'frontier science' such as with the unexplained phenomena of the mind exerting physical effects on the bodyThere have been claims that non-religious people under deep hypnosis, when told that they had a crown of thorns on their heads cutting into their flesh (in the manner similar to Christ), have had bleeding welts appear on their foreheads even when nothing had come into contact with the skin. Thus if this is true, the effects have been inflicted by the mind onto the body. Other accounts of this strong mind-body connection have been observed and documented in experiments such as the case in which heart disease patients were administered a placebo pill, but told that it was a new 'super-medicine', and their conditions noticeably improved. It is thought by some that the deep trance-like state which deeply religious people claim to go into mimics this type of hypnosis, and the extremely strong and vivid impressions of the wounds and suffering are somehow transmitted from the mind to the bodyThis also fits with the fact that stigmata was first observed at around the time when graphic detail of the crucifixion started to appear in Christian art, making the wounds and suffering easier to comprehend and imagine in the minds of observers of the art.