The liturgical distance between Christmas Day and the glory of the appearance of the Risen Christ on Easter are as short as a flash of lightening! The readings move swiftly from darkest night of the year, into which the light of the Face of the Infant Jesus first appears on Christmas Day, to the readings about the martyrdom of St. Stephen; his forgiveness of his murderers, and the Feast of St. John (Jn 20:1, 2 & 8) where we hear about St. John racing ahead of Peter to the tomb, where they find “the cloth that covered HIs Head;” the sight of which caused St. John “to see and believe.” Through the power of the Resurrection, God moves hearts swiftly from the darkness of sin, death, sorrow, and unbelief — to the radiant light of grace — new life, faith, joy and peace shining on the Face of the Risen Christ.
Pope Leo calls the peace of the risen Christ “the most silent revolution:” “The Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the flock and has other sheep not of this fold (John 10:11,16) is Christ, our peace,” he writes, “who has conquered death and broken down the walls of division that separate humanity (cf. Eph 2:14). His presence, his gift and his victory continue to shine through the perseverance of many witnesses through whom God’s work carries on in the world, becoming even more visible and radiant in the darkness of our time.” Peace is revolutionary, and takes tremendous courage and trust for a Christian to live as they truly believed — as did the martyrs of the past and the present — through trust in the power of the Risen Christ!
Pope Leo writes that the “contrast between darkness and light” is also “an experience that unsettles us and affects us amid trials we face in our historical circumstances. In order to overcome the darkness, it is necessary to see the light and believe in it.” We need to “see and believe” as St. John did when he saw the face of Risen Christ on the cloth; this is why I believe the Face of the Risen Christ on the Veil of Manoppello is a tangible sign for our time — a great gift to us from God! The world needs to turn to His Face once again if it desire to have peace.
We can begin by following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary in contemplation of the Face of Jesus:
“The Virgin Mary is she who more than any other contemplated God in the human Face of Jesus. She saw Him as a newborn when, wrapped in swaddling clothes, He was placed in a manger; she saw Him when, just after His death, they took Him down from the Cross, wrapped Him in linen and placed Him in the sepulcher. Inside her was impressed the image of her martyred Son; but this image was then transfigured in the light of the Resurrection. Thus, in Mary’s heart, was carried the mystery of the Face of Christ, a mystery of death and glory. From her we can always learn how to look upon Jesus, with a gaze of love and faith, to recognize in that human countenance, the Face of God.” ~ Pope Benedict XVI
Peace is possible! When “we forget the light,” Pope Leo writes, “we lose our sense of realism and surrender to a partial distorted view of the world, disfigured by darkness and fear. ” Pope Leo recalled how St. Augustine urged Christians “to forge an unbreakable bond with peace, so that by cherishing it deeply in their hearts, they would be able to radiate its luminous warmth around them.” St. Augustine wrote: “If you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves; be steadfast in peace yourselves. To inflame others, you must have the flame burning within.” Pope Leo reminds us that “Peace is more than just a goal; it is a presence and a journey.”
So, as we begin the New Year, I wish to all, and pray for “God’s greatest gift” of Peace. “Peace, wrote Pope Benedict XVI, for the World Day of Peace, 2013, “is God’s most sublime gift in which He turns towards us the splendor of His Face.”
“May the Lord bless and keep you; may He make His Face shine upon you and be merciful to you; may He turn His countenance toward you and grant you His peace.” (Numbers 6:24)
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of God’s glory shining on the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)
Adoration of the Magi, Fra. Angelico & Fra. Lippi
“May the Lord, grant, in the New millennium, the Church will grow ever more in holiness, that she may become in history a true epiphany of the merciful and glorious face of Christ the Lord.” ~Pope St. John Paul II
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Benedict XVI has characterized devotion to The Holy Face as having three separate components: 1. Discipleship – an encounter with Jesus, to see Jesus in the Face of those in need. 2. The Passion of Jesus, and suffering expressed by images of the wounded Face of Jesus. 3. The Eucharist, “the great school in which we learn to see The Face of God”, which is woven between the other two. The eschatological element then builds on awakening to Christ by contemplating His Face hidden in The Eucharist.
“Our whole life should be directed toward encountering Him,” writes Benedict, “toward loving Him; and in it, a central place must be given to love of one’s neighbor, that love that in the light of The Crucified One, enables us to recognize the Face of Jesus in the poor, the weak, the suffering.” The pope goes on to explain the fruits of this contemplation: “From contemplation of the Face of God are born, joy, security, Peace.”
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 