Ultrasound image of smiling baby “Their face is the Face of Christ” –Pope Francis
On this infamous anniversary of the legalization of abortion in The United States, we reflect on the millions of faces which we will never see and the blindness of those who deny the humanity of unborn babies. Science and technology has made it possible to see this reality in an undeniable way, as shown in the ultrasound picture of the smiling baby in the photo above. They have a face and unique identity; he or she is created in the image and likeness of God! May they gaze on the Face of God and intercede for us before the throne of God that He may remove the blindness from our eyes and purify them, so that, we too, may one day see God face to Face.
O Jesus, whose adorable Face was formed and hidden in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary for nine months — have mercy on us!
Gossamer-thin veil of Manoppello Photo: Paul Badde
Ever since I first laid eyes on the Holy Face of Manoppello, Italy, I have wanted to paint it. Surely every artist who has looked upon the image has felt the same desire. The “Il Volto Santo” seems to be the prototype of ancient images of the Face of Christ in the Eastern and Western Church as there is abundant evidence in museums and churches. There were more than a few obstacles to fulfill this desire of my heart to paint His Face. For one thing, I didn’t attempt to take a photograph when I saw the “Il Volto Santo” as I had come to pray as a pilgrim to the Basilica in Manoppello, and made up my mind to get a picture or holy card at the Sanctuary’s small gift shop. Also, I had seen numerous photographs–all different, some strange, flat or distorted, the color itself varying greatly from one picture to another. Some photos are very dark and the image appears covered with wounds, as one would see Christ in His Passion. Others bright, beautiful and fresh, with wounds healed as it must have appeared at the moment of The Resurrection.
The changeability of the image itself posed a great challenge. When standing by myself before “Il Volto Santo,” I saw the face with wounds, from a crown of thorns, bruises, blood, torn beard and red inflamed skin. But, upon kneeling … words cannot express what is felt, a living face of a man, wounds very faint and the eyes…! The eyes filled with mercy and peace more deep and still than if Jesus had stilled the waters of the ocean to it’s depths… Again, nothing could compare to what my eyes beheld. In addition, seeing was one thing and experiencing another. I knew that trying to use paint to convey that experience of God’s Mercy and Peace would fall infinitely short of the goal. Still, the desire to paint His Face remained.
More than two years passed before I even began. As I said, no photo I’ve seen would do, but finally I decided to look at several and use the elements that, for me, came close to my memory of the veil. Even though I cannot paint icons in the traditional sense, I do paint them in my own fashion, not having formal art education. Being a wife and raising six children has been my primary vocation in life, and I’ve fit my painting in between the many things that fill a mother’s day. So, when I got fed up with my own excuses not to begin to paint the Face of Jesus, I prepared an icon board, selected a few pictures and began to draw.
Artists look at things a little differently, I think. I had planned on making a simple outline of the main features of the face from a relatively clear photo of the Veil of Manoppello that I came across, but my plan took a different turn. Come to think of it, that is often how the Holy Spirit works. Icons are said to be “written” by the hand of the artist through the Holy Spirit. I drew the lines, and as other faint lines and shadows appeared to my eyes, I drew them as well with the same value or darkness as the most obvious lines.
My drawing on gold-leaf on board.
The results left me astonished. What isn’t readily apparent manifested itself in such a beautiful way. Faint marks on the forehead, for example, appeared as marks from thorns. Faint short lines on the face which turned this way and that were obviously the hair from a torn beard. Looking very closely and drawing each curved line became soft waves of hair. All were there, but faintly. The drawing just made the facts more noticeable. The concentration of the lines above the brow and below the nose accentuated the space surrounding the eyes as though a blindfold had protected them from some of the blows inflicted on the rest of the face.
Painting by Fra Angelico showing Jesus blindfolded.
I began the painting in silent prayer. Although sacred music can elevate the mind and heart, I greatly prefer the “language of heaven” which is silence. My family would attest to the fact that when I paint, I tune out all noise anyway. The house could come down around my ears and I probably wouldn’t look up. St. Teresa of Avila spoke of ignoring “the mad-woman running around the house” referring to distractions while she was trying to pray. We probably all have our own “mad-woman” who tries to distract us with many cares, anxieties and trivialities as we try to turn our attention to God. Painting is a wonderful way to shut the door on the crazy lady and focus solely on listening to God.
It is true that God’s Face can be found in the Scriptures and in our neighbor, but I seek Him most often in images of Jesus and in particular, I love the image of “Il Volto Santo,” in Italy. It is for me an icon which encapsulates the whole of Divine Revelation in one Face. As I select colors and brush and begin my work, I gaze at Him, the words of Scripture are ever present in my mind, beginning with the longing of all mankind, “Your Face, O Lord, I seek. Hide not your Face from me.” (Psalm 27) “There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him.” “…a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity”(Isaiah 53:2 – 3), “For God so loved the world that He gave it His only begotten Son.” (John 3:16) “The word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) With sorrow, I look at the terrible wounds on the face of Christ, and the words of St. Pope John Paul II echo in my heart, “We cannot stop at the image of The Crucified One. He is the Risen One!” and St. Paul’s words, “All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image.” (2 Cor 3:18) and more and more… There are no end to the depths of the treasures in His Face.
How could I hope a painting could ever match the beauties that are found in His Face? It can never be possible unless He painted it Himself, so I ask Him to paint His image in my heart. I knew at the outset I would be unsatisfied with the result of my painting, because only seeing Him face to face in eternity could satisfy that infinite desire. Still, I can look at the work of my hands, pray, and remember that there is always “more than meets the eye.”
Icon of “Il Volto Santo” by Patricia Enk
The words on the icon are: Illumina, Domine, Vultum Tuum Super Nos. or “Shine the light of Your Face on us, O Lord.”
Closeup of “Il Volto Santo” painting by Patricia Enk
May His Face shine upon you always!
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” –Hebrews 11:1
St. Pope John Paul II “In the Eucharist, the Face of Christ is turned towards us.”
Webster’s Dictionary gives these definitions for “epiphany”: 1. January 6th observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the three wise men to Jesus in Bethlehem or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of Jesus’ baptism. 2. an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being 3. an intuitive discovery or realization [derived from Late Latin epiphania, from late Greek, plural, probably Greek epihaneia “appearance, manifestation,” from epi + phanein “to show.”
The feast of the Epiphany is thus closely linked to the Holy Face–because the Epiphany is the feast on which Jesus Christ first shows Himself to the world represented by the magi–and He shows Himself through a human face, the face of an infant. On the feast of the Epiphany, we ask God to shine His face upon us, to reveal His face to us once more.
The words inscribed on the Holy Face Medal, which bears a replica of the Holy Face image from the Shroud of Turin, and which inspired St. Pope John Paul II to dedicate the millennium to the Holy Face, are based on Psalm 66:2: “Illumina, Domine, vultum tuum super nos,” which means, “May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us,” or as it has also been interpreted, “Show us Thy Face, O Lord.” On the other side of the medal, there is an image of a radiant Sacred Host, the monogram of the Holy Name (“IHS”), and the inscription “Mane nobiscum, Domine,”that is, “Stay with us, O Lord,” which recalls the words of the disciples to Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35). “So he went in to stay with them and it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, and said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.”
On the occasion of the Closing of the Holy Door, January 6, 2001, St. Pope John Paul II prayed for the Church, “May the Lord grant that 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.” Amen!
“Be merciful to us, O my God, and reject not our prayers, when amid our afflictions, we call upon The Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Thine adorable Face. Amen.”
Holy Face on The Shroud of Turin
Pope Benedict XVI teaches us the Hebrew term, “panim”, which means “face” means to see The Face of God, or The presence of God. “Panim” is a term that describes relationships. The Hebrew word “shem” meaning “name” is also a term of relationship. God has a Face and a Name!
Miraculous Limpias Crucifix
The revelation of the Face of God took on a new and beautiful manifestation when God became man at the moment of The Incarnation, in the person of Jesus Christ. The Son of God was made man and He is given a Name, Jesus. As fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ gave us a human face that revealed the Face of God. The Incarnation, Pope Benedict XVI teaches, reveals the direct connection between The Holy Face and Holy Name of God. Jesus shows us the Face of the Father for as He told His disciples, “If you have seen Me, you have seen The Father.” But Jesus also makes known to us the Name of God: as He said at the Last Supper when praying to His Father, “I have made Your Name known to them.”
The expression “name of God” means God as He Who is present among men. His name, Pope Benedict XVI says, is the concrete sign of His Existence.
Pope Benedict XI gazes on The Holy Face of Manoppello photo: Paul Badde
Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “To rejoice in the splendor of His Face means penetrating the mystery of His Namemade known to us in Jesus, understanding something of His Interior life and of His will, so that we can live according to His plan for humanity. Jesus lets us know the hidden Face of The Father through His human Face; by the gift of The Holy Spirit poured into our hearts.”
Because of the profound relationship with God and His Name and Face, sins committed against this relationship with Him are reflected in the Face of Christ. The manifestation of our sins on His Countenance come about through blasphemy, atheism, disrespect of God in Sacred things, the profanation of Sunday, hatred of God’s Church. These indignities suffered by Our Lord in His Face represent the most serious sins, because they are against God Himself.
The damage done by our sins to our relationship with God are reflected in the Face of Jesus Christ. For this reason, devotion and reparation to The Holy Face is fitting in order to make amends for what we have done to Him.
Sr. Marie St. Pierre
The Golden Arrow is a beautiful Prayer given by Our Lord to Carmelite Sr. Marie St. Pierre to be said in reparation for blasphemy against the Holy Name.
Holy Face of Tours
The Golden Arrow
“May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God, be forever praised, blessed, adored, loved and glorified, in heaven, on earth, and in the hells, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.”
(The term, “in the hells” refers to the Greek sense of the word as a place of purification, not the hell of the damned, where God’s justice is glorified.)
There are many other beautiful prayers which can be found on the “Prayers” tab, all of which have the effect of wiping the blood, sweat, dust and spittle from The Face of Jesus, as tradition tells us St. Veronica did on the way to Calvary. We too, can be a “Veronica” by saying these prayers, speaking God’s Name with love and reverence and praying for those who do not.
“O God, Who did constitute Your only-begotten Son the Saviour of mankind, and did command that He should be called Jesus; grant in Your kindness that our hearts joy in Heaven may be the Face of Him Whose Holy Name we venerate on earth.” Amen. –Bl. Mother Pierina De Micheli
“May The Lord bless and keep you, may He make His Face shine upon you and be gracious to you: May the Lord turn His Face toward you and give you His PEACE.”
Peace, Pope Benedict XVI tells us, is the summit of the six actions of God in this blessing, which are in our favor, “His most sublime gift, in which He turns toward us the splendor of His Face.”
Today is The Feast of Mary, Mother of God, who is the Queen of Peace, this is also the World Day of Peace. and through the Liturgy we celebrate The Circumcision of Jesus, The Prince of Peace. The Circumcision recalls the great event in which Jesus was named. There is a Discalced Carmelite sacramental called the *”Little Sachet” which contains the gospel of The Circumcision, a picture of The Child Jesus with The Cross and other instruments of His Passion and the words which proclaim the power of The Holy Name, “When Jesus was named – Satan was disarmed.” Devotion to The Holy Face is making reparation to The Holy Name for sins of atheism, blasphemy, profanation of The Holy Name and of The Holy Day of Sunday. When Jesus is named, with love and reverence, Satan is disarmed and there will be peace. The Feast of The Holy Name of Jesus will be celebrated this coming Sunday.
Pope Benedict writes, “To rejoice in the splendor of His Face means penetrating the mystery of His Name made known to us in Jesus, understanding something of His interior life and of His will, so that we can live according to His plan for humanity. Jesus lets us know the hidden Face of The Father through His human face; by the gift of The Holy Spirit poured into our hearts.” This, the Pope says, is the foundation of our Peace, which nothing can take from us.
+Peace and have a Blessed New Year.
*For those looking for the “Little Sachet” or Little Gospel of the Circumcision, it is unfortunately very hard to find. This is one example of the front and back:
“How fair you are, O Virgin Mary, Your face is resplendent with grace.” (from Carmelite Proper)
Love your mother!
“Our Lady, in whose face–more than any other creature–we can recognize the features of the Incarnate Word.” –Pope Benedict XVI
January 1st is the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. We are reminded that God the Father chose Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of His Son, Jesus. St. Pope John Paul II reflected upon this mystery of the Incarnation: “If it is The Father’s plan to unite all things in Christ, then the whole of the universe is in some way touched by divine favor with which the Father looks upon Mary and makes her the Mother of His Son.” Mary was created pure and perfect, without any stain of sin. Jesus loves His Mother above all creatures. She shared in His suffering and ignominious death on the Cross, from which He gave her to John and to each of us as our Mother. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, we can see in her face the reflection of the face of her Son, who is God.
There are some who reject this most precious gift of His own Mother. They slander, mock and revile her, just as they did her Son. Below is a prayer of reparation for blasphemy against the Mother of God–if you would like to send her a kiss instead of insult, please pray it.
An Act of Reparation for Blasphemies against the Blessed Virgin Mary
Most glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and our Mother, turn thine eyes in pity upon us, miserable sinners; we are sore afflicted by the many evils that surround us in this life, but especially do we feel our hearts break within us upon hearing the dreadful insults and blasphemies uttered against thee, O Virgin Immaculate, to which we are so frequently constrained to listen. O how these impious sayings offend the infinite Majesty of God and of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ! How they provoke His indignation and give us cause to fear the terrible effects of His vengeance! Would that the sacrifice of our lives might avail to put an end to such outrages and blasphemies; were it so, how gladly we should make it, for we desire, O most holy Mother, to love thee and to honor thee with all our hearts, since this is the will of God. And just because we love thee, we will do all in our power to make thee honored and loved by all men In the meantime, do thou, our merciful Mother, the supreme comforter of the afflicted, accept this our act of reparation which we offer thee for ourselves and for all our families, as well as for all who impiously blaspheme thee, not knowing what they say. Do thou obtain for them from Almighty God the grace of conversion, and thus render more manifest and more glorious thy kindness, thy power and thy great mercy. May they join with us in proclaiming thee “Blessed Among Women,” the Immaculate Virgin and most compassionate Mother of God.
Hail Mary (three times)
Our Lady of Czestochowa, with slash marks from the sword of a Hussite raider.
Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth
Jesus, Lord at thy birth.
The Holy Night by Carlo Maratta, c.1676
Today, we contemplate the Holy Face of The Infant Jesus, together with Mary and Joseph. God descended to earth and became human to redeem us … but He is so weak, so poor, so helpless! Mary and Joseph knew, that their beautiful, perfect child was also born to suffer. They contemplate Him in silence, like all parents of newborns, because words are useless. Together, with them, we gaze with love on Jesus’ face as He lies in the manger and our gaze becomes our prayer. While we look at Him, he looks at us and loves us; He will give His life for us.
The beauty of the face of the Infant Jesus, draws us into the great mystery of redemptive suffering, to show us how God’s love was to be revealed, through self-sacrifice. Let us enter into this mystery today by gazing on the Holy Face of the newborn Jesus, and, in gazing at Him, discover the hope and joy of His redemptive LOVE!
“Holy Mary, Mother of the Savior, help us to bear witness to the joy and light that the birth of your Son, our Redeemer, brought to the world, and to seek him in all things.” (Contemplating The Face of Christ in the Rosary, Pauline Press.)
Merry Christmas!
Happy the people who know you, Lord, who walk in the radiance of your face. In your name they sing joyfully all the day; at your victory they raise the festal shout. (Psalm 89:16-17)
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds. And blessed forever be his glorious name; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Today we unite ourselves with The Blessed Virgin Mary, in her longing to see the Face of her Son and her God. Below is an excerpt from The Feasts of Mary by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, SVD:
“Mary, Mother of God, make my interior life of union with Jesus more like your own. After Holy Communion Jesus is with me as God and Man, with His Body and Blood, soul and divinity. Jesus is in me, too, through sanctifying grace, I bear within me the supernatural image of the Divine Sonship. He works in my soul by His grace. He forms Himself in me by supernatural principles, which He implants in my mind; by supernatural intentions and meritorious actions. He follows up in my heart also the aim that brought Him into your womb—He wishes to be born in me, to grow, rule, and reveal Himself. Thus my soul in sanctifying grace is always, in a spiritual manner, like your womb—a sanctuary of the living God!”
“I earnestly want to be filled with the dispositions in which you expected the coming of the Savior and thus prepare myself for His coming into my soul by faith and divine charity, as well as for His coming at the hour of my death and judgment. In union with you may my heart yield itself up to childlike confidence in Jesus so that the graces of His Nativity may be brought to my soul in abundance, and He may be born anew within my heart.”
Let us also remember to pray today for all expectant mothers and unborn babies. O Jesus, whose Holy Face was formed and hidden for nine months in the womb of The Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother, have mercy on us! Happy Feast Day!
Mary and Joseph, longing to see the Face of the Infant Jesus.
Although two weeks of Advent have already gone by, now is the perfect time to intensify our efforts not to give in to the constant noise and flashing images that the world sets before our eyes, but direct our gaze, together with Mary, in anticipation, toward Bethlehem.
You may not know that there is a little known Feast Day coming up on December 18th, which begins the octave leading up to Christmas. It is called the Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (longing to see His Face). The Feast has it’s origin in the year 656 in Spain and spread throughout the Middle Ages. Because of an ancient law of the Church which prohibited the celebration of feasts during Lent, the Church in Spain transferred the Feast of the Annunciation from March 25th to the season of Advent. The Tenth Council of Toledo in 656 assigned the feast to the 18th of December. It was kept as a solemn octave, eight days leading to Christmas. When the ancient laws regarding feasts were changed, the Annunciation was celebrated twice, on March 25th and December 18th. In some places in Spain it is still celebrated on both days.
The following is a portion of a meditation, which Rev. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D., offers for this feast, in a book called Our Lady’s Feast Days:
“Mary, Your life with Jesus was one of the purest, most fervent, most perfect emotions of love to God, whom you sheltered within yourself. How can I ever imagine the emotions of longing and most eager expectation of the Birth of the Divine Child! How great must have been that longing! You were longing to see the Face of God and to be happy in the vision. You were soon really to see the Face of God, the created image of divine perfection, the sight of which rejoices heaven and earth, from which all beings derive life and joy; the Face whose features enraptured God from all eternity, the Face for which all ages had expectantly yearned. You were to see this Face unveiled, in all the beauty and grace of childhood as the face of your own child.”
The Triduum begins Dec. 15 – 17th and may be continued until Christmas. The prayer for this beautiful Feast Day is as follows:
“Most just indeed it is, O holy Mother of God, that we should unite in that ardent desire which you had to see Him, who had been concealed for nine months in your chaste womb; to know the features of this Son of the heavenly Father, who is also your own; to come to that blissful hour of His birth, which will give glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men of good-will. Yes, dear Mother, the time is fast approaching, though not fast enough to satisfy your desires and ours. Make us re-double our attention to the great mystery; complete our preparation by your powerful prayers for us, so that when the solemn hour has come, our Jesus may find no obstacle to His entrance into our hearts. Amen.”
There are two important aspects of Advent mentioned in this prayer that are necessary for us to prepare our hearts for Jesus on Christmas Day: preparation and penance (that Jesus may “find no obstacle in our hearts.”) Sometimes the greatest obstacle to Jesus entering our hearts is our own self-love. Let us have confidence in Mary’s intercession to help us overcome this self-love, removing all obstacles to her Son, so that our hearts will be prepared to receive Him Christmas morning and experience with joy the redemptive love shining of the Face of the Infant Jesus.
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 