During Advent the Church celebrates the longing to see God’s Face, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a Triduum (three days of prayer beginning on December 15) and a Feast (on December 18th)–It is called The Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face. The prayer may also be continued until Christmas.
Virgin in Prayer Artist: Sassoferrato 1640-50
Every expectant mother shares something with the Blessed Virgin Mary — the longing to see the face of her child. The mother cannot yet kiss or caress her baby, she cannot hear the sound of a cry, or smell that baby-sweetness, so she waits in loving attentiveness for the stirring of the babe beneath her heart, that fills her with joy and knowledge of the baby’s presence within.
During the 3rd week of Advent, on December 18th, in some places in the world the Church celebrates a beautifully contemplative feast which is called the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast has it’s origin in the year 656 in Spain and spread throughout the Middle Ages. Because the ancient law of the Church prohibited the celebration of feasts during Lent, the Church transferred the Feast of the Annunciation from March 25th to the season of Advent. The Tenth Council of Toledo 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 fasts were changed, the Annunciation was celebrated twice, on March 25th and December 18th.
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On the days leading up to Christmas we are invited to contemplate, together with Mary, the Divine Child within her womb, who is Our Savior. We too, through sanctifying grace, bear the supernatural image of God within us. Like Mary, we desire to become a peaceful sanctuary for the living God. We are called to be attentive, in prayer, to the faint stirrings of His presence in our hearts, which will fill us with a deep longing to see His Face as we pray:
Prayer for the Triduum and Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face
“Mary, your life with Jesus was one of the purest, most fervent, most perfect 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 being derive life and joy; the Face whose features enraptured God from all eternity, the Face for which all ages expectantly yearned. You were to see this Face unveiled, in all the beauty and grace as the face of your own child.
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.” (Prayer by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D.)
“Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.” (Heb. 11:1)
The Holy Face of Jesus Christ–the Beatific Vision–is at the center of the Angelic Worship.
Devotion to the Holy Face of Christ is a sign of hope for the world.
Although the world seems a hopeless mess, the Jubilee Year of Hope reminds us that there is indeed many reasons to hope. We can hope for eternal life with God in Heaven–to one day see Him face to face. “Hope is the confident expectations of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God and incurring His punishment.” (CCC 2090) Hebrews 11:1 states: “…what we hope for can come about,” and we can also be certain that what we cannot see exists.”
Humanity is in the midst of a battle for souls, but those who follow Christ–God’s “little ones”–can be certain in the hope that they are also being defended and fought for by the Angels and Saints. But the greatest aid that falls within their own power is the devotion to the Face of Jesus Christ as characterized by Pope Benedict XVI:
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.
Pope Benedict XVI contemplates the Face on the Veil of Manoppello. September 1, 2006. (Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
“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.”
St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Doctor of the Church, teaches us the “Little Way” of child-like confidence in God.
To be one of God’s “little ones” is to be the greatest in His Kingdom; requiring child-like confidence, humility and trust in God’s all-mighty power, mercy, and love. In the Gospel of Matthew we read: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. and whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea… See that you do not despise one of the little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” (Mt. 18:2-7, 10)
The Holy Angels have worshipped and served Christ from the Incarnation to the Resurrection, and when He comes again, they will announce the Last Judgement. “With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. They ‘always behold the Face of my Father who is in heaven (Mt. 18:10) ‘they are the mighty ones who do his word, ‘hearkening to the voice of His word.(Ps 103:20)'” (CCC 329)
“When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to each, it pursued the woman who had given birth to a male child.” (Rev. 12:13)
“Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. Although the dragon and his angels fought back, they were overpowered and lost their place in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent known as the devil or Satan, the seducer of the whole world, was driven out; he was hurled down to earth and his minions with him” (Rev. 12)
“Who is like God!” St. Michael, holds before us the Holy Face of Jesus. (Sculpture by Cody Swanson, Old St. Patrick’s New Orleans. photo: Patricia Enk)
The center of this battle raging between Angels and demons –in heaven and on earth — is the Incarnate Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ. It is Jesus–in His “little ones”–who is rejected, reviled and persecuted. The devil, who knows his time is short, wants to obliterate the Face of God, not only in churches that have vandalized and desecrated, but in the souls of human beings. The battle lines have been drawn between the culture of life and the culture of death–especially of the littlest and weakest among us. The devil’s particular object of hatred is the woman and the unborn. Some can no longer recognize that a child in the womb is a human being. Many persons reject their God-given identity as male and female. Racial hatred is causing deeper and deeper division, and human trafficking increases as humanity is blinded to the Face of God in their neighbor made in His image and likeness. Now Ai presents new threats to humanity, reducing a human person to a number; an algorithm.
The Holy Angels and the Saints point us to contemplation of the Face of Christ as a sign of hope for the world. Like the Holy Angels we should keep our eyes fixed on the Face of God in worship; Like St. Therese, and all the Saints, we need to become like a little child, who despite the darkness, surrenders to the crosses of life, and seeks the Face of God in humility and trust. We must also be like a “Veronica,” that is “a true image” of the Face of Jesus in our charity and compassion for others. Of course, the best example is set by Our Blessed Mother, who always looked at the Holy Face of her Son through the veil of faith; “Blessed is she who believed” in hope “that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!” (Luke 1:45) “To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the Face of Christ.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae)
The Face of the Risen Christ is the banner of victory over sin and death!
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have salvation and power come, the reign of our God and the authority of his Anointed One. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who night and day accused then before our God. They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. So rejoice, you heavens, and you the dwell therein! But woe to you, earth and sea, for the devil has come down upon you! His fury knows no limits, for he knows his time is short’ (Rev 12).”
St. Michael Prayer — St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Angels, who, by her great humility, crushed the head of Satan:
Sublime Queen of Heaven, exalted Lady of the Angels, you have the power and commission given by God to crush the head of Satan. Therefore, we humbly beseech you to send to our aid your heavenly legions, so that, under your command and by your power, they may pursue the hellish spirits, fight them everywhere, ward off their impudent attacks, and fling them back into the abyss. Who is like God? You holy angels and archangels, defend and protect us. Good, kind mother, you remain always our love and our hope! Mother of God, send us the holy angels to defend us and keep the evil one far from us. Amen.
To try to condense the history and theology of the devotion to the Holy Face or attempt to describe the place in our prayer life for the “Veronica” or “True Image” of the Face of Jesus, and its relationship to our transformation in Christ, is far beyond the scope of a few paragraphs. Yet, a Christian can’t keep silent either when it comes to bearing witness to God’s glory, power and might. One is compelled to say something about it. Pope St. John Paul II gave the Church page after page on the subject, and then, nearing the end of his life, dedicated the entire millennium to the Face of Christ. We should all have a few questions about that grand gesture, and try to search out some answers–not only for the benefit of our own soul, but for the benefit of other’s souls as well…
“Your Face, O Lord, do I seek; do not hide Your Face from me.” (Ps. 27)
The many challenges of this millennium, wars, violence, and other threats to human dignity, such as the rapid advancement of AI, have made the significance of dedication to the Face of Christ very clear–that we need to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ! When one begins to look into the devotion to the Face of Christ; the deeper and more beautiful the mystery of the Human Face of Jesus grows. Just recently, the Vatican had approved a Eucharistic miracle in which the Face of Jesus appeared on a Consecrated Host. Volumes of books cannot contain the meaning of that treasure! I do know, however, that the devotion to the Holy Face, in each of its aspects, all converge on this single truth:
The mystery of the human face began “in the fullness of time” (Gal 4:4), when the Word of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity–Jesus Christ, True God and True Man–became Incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To reject, or God forbid, destroy an icon or image of the Face of Jesus would be to reject the great humility of God and the Incarnation. Centuries ago, when iconoclasm raged, the Emperor Leo III had wanted to destroy icons of the Face of Jesus. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Germanus, then begged him, “May this calamity, my lord, not come to pass under your reign. For he who would bring this about is a precursor to the Antichrist, and an enemy of the salvific Incarnation of God.” Those are strong and frightening words.
“Vera Icon,” The Veil of the Holy Face held in the Vatican served as a model, painted by Meister von Sankt Lorenz around 1415, nearly 100 years before the “Veronica” or True Image was said to have been stolen during the Sack of Rome. in 1527. (Photo: Paul Badde)
” A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Holy Face – of the Shroud of Turin – visible in the photographic negative.
It is clear that icons and images of the Face of Christ have a very important place in the Church, especially in those gifts of God that are known as “achieropoieta.” These refer to relics of such as the Face of Jesus or the Blessed Mother (ie. on The Tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe), on which the image is inexplicably present; they exist without the aid of paint or brush. They are said to be “made by the Hand of God:” Relics such as the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Veil of Manoppello, are both are miraculous images; which far surpass all man-made icons, however beautiful they may be.
The very fact of the existence of both the Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Manoppello are the reason why man-made images are permitted by God, and why the Old Testament admonition against creating images ended when Jesus gave us the New Covenant. The Incarnation meant that the Word of God could now be seen, heard and depicted. God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ–and “by God’s own Hand” had created the images bearing the Face of Jesus–thus breaking the Old Covenant law–thus, freeing us from idolatry. When venerating the icon or image we are venerating His Person.
Under the New Covenant, in His Divine Providence, He gave to mankind these supernatural images [achieropoieta] to communicate truths about His Only Begotten Son. These miraculous images are evidence of His Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection. They show us “the Word of God” made flesh; that God exists and He became Man in Jesus Christ; that He suffered for our sakes, died and rose from the dead! And that we, His unworthy creatures, are made in His image and likeness, and so we are meant to reflect His image and likeness to others.
Our Faith may be weak when it comes to accepting certain truths or miracles; but Jesus, who understands our weakness, does not stop at giving us His Holy Face and His Holy Name; He has also given to us precious relics that may be seen and touched: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin…” so that we may “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” (Heb 4:15)
This stunning photo of the Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello (and my favorite!) was taken by Paul Badde, author of “The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus” and many other books about the Holy Veil. The Veil presents quite a challenge for the photographer, because it is very sheer and the image changes according to the light and angle from which it is viewed.The Face may even disappear, or appear as I first saw it–as a living image, seen as though it were reflected in a mirror.
Jesus has given us His own Face in such relics because He wills to meet us in our weakness–to show us His Human Face and restore us–to help us to encounter, contemplate, honor and reverence Him. This is a tremendous gift that represents “the Gift” Himself–Jesus Christ–given to mankind at the Incarnation; it is a reminder the the Eternal Word became man!
We may not be able to make a pilgrimage to see the holy relic of the Shroud or see the Veil of the Holy Face of Manoppello; but we may keep copies of those images in our Churches and homes, or wear a Holy Face medal as a daily reminder of His love and mercy for us; they are a blessed source of “grace for timely help.” (Heb 4:15)
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Many parishes around the world have “enthroned” an image of the Holy Face, which is a particularly beautiful way for the faithful to correspond in some way to God’s Gift of His Son; by bringing His Image before the faithful for veneration and prayer. Very recently, another enthronement of “the Most Holy Face of Jesus” was made with a copy of the Holy Veil of Manoppello in San Jose de Mindanao Seminary Complex that occurred on August 19, 2025 in the Philippines. Poster of Enthronement:
“For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the Face of [Jesus] Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6)
“In olden days, God who was without body or physical form, was not depicted at all. But now, since God has appeared in the flesh and has interacted with man, I am able to depict the visible aspect of God. I do not worship matter, I only worship the Creator of matter, Him who for my sake became matter Himself, and took it upon Himself to dwell in matter, and who by means of matter brought about my salvation.” ~St. John Damascene
“Restore us, LORD God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” (Psalm 80:19)
During Advent the Church celebrates the longing to see God’s Face, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a Triduum (three days of prayer beginning on December 15) and a Feast (on December 18th)–It is called The Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face. (a bit of the history may be found here.) The prayer may also be continued until Christmas.
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On the days leading up to Christmas we are invited to contemplate, together with Mary, the Divine Child within her womb, who is Our Savior. We too, through sanctifying grace, bear the supernatural image of God within us. Like Mary, we desire to become a peaceful sanctuary for the living God. We are called to be attentive, in prayer, to the faint stirrings of His presence in our hearts, which will fill us with a deep longing to see His Face as we pray:
Prayer for the Triduum and Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face
“Mary, your life with Jesus was one of the purest, most fervent, most perfect 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 being derive life and joy; the Face whose features enraptured God from all eternity, the Face for which all ages expectantly yearned. You were to see this Face unveiled, in all the beauty and grace as the face of your own child.
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.” (Prayer by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D.)
“Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
“From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator,” “for the author of beauty created them.” (Wisdom 13: 3, 5)
The spiritual beauty of God is reflected most perfectly in the woman He created to be His Mother. No stain of sin would mar the beauty of His reflection in her soul. Never for one instant would she be under the power of the devil. “The Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception) Mary herself proclaims, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:47)
As the Immaculate Conception, Mary bears in herself the most perfect reflection of the face of God. Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The Blessed Virgin saw shining upon her, as no other creature, the face of the Father, rich in grace and mercy.” What in Heaven and on earth could be more beautiful than the Mother of God? It is God who has willed that Mary be beautiful, not only fair in face, but in the fullness of grace. Yet, beauty has a purpose, and that is to draw us by the beauty of the graces God has given her towards the Beatific Vision–the Face of God. Mary has no greater desire than that we turn towards the Face of her Son, as she does, with eyes of love.
Strangely, there are some who see the Blessed Mother not as a gift from God who leads us to her Son, but as an obstacle. They want to separate the Mother from the Son, even resorting to violence of smashing statues and slashing paintings of her, mistakenly thinking that somehow this could be pleasing to God, but it is only pleasing to the devil. It is blasphemy. When we separate ourselves from Mary, we separate ourselves from Christ. In The Everlasting Man G.K. Chesterton tells a story from his childhood, many years before he became a Catholic, which left a deep impression on his soul:
“When I was a boy a more Puritan generation objected to a statue upon my parish church representing the Virgin and Child. After much controversy, they compromised by taking away the Child. One would think that this was even more corrupted with Mariolatry, unless the mother was counted less dangerous when deprived of a sort of weapon. But the practical difficulty is also a parable. You cannot chip away the statue of a mother from all round that of a newborn child. You cannot suspend the new-born child in mid-air; indeed you cannot really have a statue of a newborn child at all. Similarly, you cannot suspend the idea of a newborn child in the void or think of him without thinking of his mother. You cannot visit the child without visiting the mother, you cannot in common human life approach the child except through the mother. If we are to think of Christ in this aspect at all, the other idea follows I as it is followed in history. We must either leave Christ out of Christmas, or Christmas out of Christ, or we must admit, if only as we admit it in an old picture, that those holy heads are too near together for the haloes not to mingle and cross.”
Jesus alone is “the Way” that leads to the Father, but Mary is the most beautiful image and likeness of Christ, which will lead us to Him. Dostoevsky once said that “Beauty will save the world!” Mary has a spiritual beauty to share with the world that attracts and expresses what is beyond words, in the depths of her heart, the love of a mother for her Savior and Son.
“Our Lady, in whose face – more than any other creature – we can recognize the features of the Incarnate Word.” –Pope Benedict XVI Madonna and Child from the Robert Lehman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art
A Little Litany by G.K.Chesterton
When God turned back eternity and was young, Ancient of Days, grown little for your mirth (As under the low arch the land is bright) Peered through you, gate of heaven – and saw the earth.
Or shutting out his shining skies awhile Built you about him for a house of gold To see in pictured walls his storied world Return upon him as a tale is told.
Or found his mirror there; the only glass That would not break with that unbearable light Till in a corner of the high dark house God looked on God, as ghosts meet in the night.
Star of his morning; that unfallen star In the strange starry overturn of space When earth and sky changed places for an hour And heaven looked upwards in a human face.
Or young on your strong knees and lifted up Wisdom cried out, whose voice is in the street, And more than twilight of twiformed cherubim Made of his throne indeed a mercy-seat.
Or risen from play at your pale raiment’s hem God, grown adventurous from all time’s repose, Of your tall body climbed the ivory tower And kissed upon your mouth the mystic rose.
Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe “I am your merciful Mother.”
“Look Closely – Our Lady of Guadalupe – Not Made by Human Hands” click here.
“The Luke Icon: Rome’s Hidden Wonder of the World”
She is more than 2,000 years old, and for the greater part of seven centuries she has been mostly hidden in a cloister in Rome, known only by a few, footnoted in dusty books written by little known scholars. Many copies of the icon have been found around the world, but she is the original, surpassing all the others made by man in beauty and gracefulness. Her beautiful lips are closed, yet she speaks with her eyes. She is known as “Advocata Nostra.”
“Eia, Ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.” “Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us.” ~from the Salve Regina.
Among his many gifts, Paul has an amazing talent for finding lost, ancient relics–to bring them back from obscurity to light. Paul has recently published a very special book that has been twenty years in the making, or one could even say, “a lifetime in the making,” because his story truly begins with his earliest memories of being taught to love the Mother of God by his own dear mother in his native Germany.
The title of the book is: “The Luke Icon: Rome’s Hidden Wonder of the World”–which hides the fact that it is actually a love story–tells of Paul’s long search for the earliest icon of the Blessed Mother, known as “La Advocata” in Italy, which was said to have been painted by St. Luke in the first century.
The Holy Face of Manoppello and Paul Badde(CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Advocata Nostra with golden hands and cross
Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
The Luke Icon: Rome’s Hidden Wonder of the World is partly a biography–because Paul’s search is a very personal one. But since love unites us all in Christ, Paul’s story is woven together with many interesting people, as well as places, surprisingly very near and also far away; there is mystery, intrigue, long years of research, and providential clues that fell in his lap. Many times his holy quest was an uphill battle with crosses, delays, and roadblocks along the way. In the end–in God’s perfect timing–it seems that Divine Intervention cleared away obstacles to suddenly reveal the incredible and astonishing results of his long search.
As I read Paul’s book, (very slowly translating from German, as it is not yet available in English), an image kept coming into my mind of a little boy sitting on a stool watching his mother at work, twisting and knotting various colored threads, as she wove a tapestry. I was reminded of a story told by St. Pio of Pietrelcina, in which he explained why God permits suffering, and evil to exist on our lives, only to bring about a greater good:
“A mother was embroidering on a small weaving frame. Her young son was seated in front of her on a small low stool watching her work. But, as he is watching, he saw only the tangle of threads on the reverse side of the weaving frame, from underneath. And so he says, ‘But mother, what are you doing? The embroidery is so ugly!’ So what does the mother do? She lowers the weaving frame and shows him the other side of the work, the good side with all its colors in place and all the threads making a harmonious pattern…. Have you seen what evil is like? Evil is like the reverse side of that embroidery, and we’re all sitting on a small stool.” ~ St. Pio
Though paint has crumbled away after centuries, and restorations have been done, out of respect, sections of the original have not been touched. Advocata Nostra – Wiki Commons – Public Domain
Paul was looking at “tangles of thread” from over 2,000 years. In addition to the arduous task of finding the Luke Icon in the first place, very difficult questions needed to be answered, such as: Was it actually painted by St. Luke, despite Hebrew prohibitions on the painting of images? Is “La Advocata Nostra” indeed the original? Is there any evidence that the encaustic wax icon belonged to the first century? Was the icon restored? What is the meaning of the gesture of Our Lady’s hands? Are there copies? And more.
The Shroud of Turin and Holy Veil of Manoppello are known as “achieropoieta.” Meaning the miraculous sudarium veil of Jesus’s own human face was “written in light” by the Hand of God, and not human hands. An image created by God’s hand, of course, does not violate the prohibition on images. Paul writes, “This image [the veil of the Face of Jesus] was obviously needed before the first icon of Mary could be created later on, which really over-ruled the old ban on images.” Luke’s Icon of Mary is the iconoclast-breaker that removed the Hebrew prohibitions against painting any human image–“made in the image and likeness of God.” How fitting the Mother of God should be the first!
The position of her hands, raised as though she is interceding for us, caused her to be called by the unusual title of “Advocata Nostra.” She is our “lawyer,” but Advocata can have another meaning, “to call” or “summon.” Or as once Paul told me, “She is the one who is there when you call her.” Mary is ever pleading for us before the throne of God. However, the gesture of her hands, Paul discovered, turned out to mean much more. Paul had found some copies of the icon, made centuries before a restoration in the 1960’s, that reveal that before time had crumbled the paint away, she was holding something very precious in her hands that the restoration covered over. It would have been her most precious possession–a veil. A veil?…Why would she be showing us a veil? Paul makes a very good argument, that the veil that Our Lady holds in her hands is “The Cloth that covered Jesus’s Head” found in the tomb by Saints Peter and John-miraculously imprinted with His Face at the Resurrection–“Il Volto Santo,” the Holy Veil of Manoppello, Italy, is believed to be that veil. After all, it makes perfect sense, that of all of Jesus’s disciples, Saints Peter and John would have given “the cloth that covered His Head” to His own Mother.
It has been a long tradition of the Church that after a newly ordained priest has been anointed with blessed chrism, the oil is then wiped with a linen cloth, called a manutergium, representing the burial, or sudarium cloth of Christ, which is given to the priest’s mother, who keeps it throughout her lifetime, to be placed in her hands at her burial.
“Advocata Nostra” Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN “All generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:48)
When one looks into the eyes of Advocata Nostra, as a child of Mary, one encounters a person, a motherly presence–Mary looks at us, she listens to us. She holds out to us, in her pure hands, her most precious treasure: the veil of the Holy Face of her Son Jesus. Though she is silent, as she “turns her eyes of mercy toward us, Mary seems to say everything: ‘Take courage, my child’...”He is Risen!”
Veil of the Holy Face of Jesus of Manoppello, believed to be the cloth that covered Jesus’s Head at the Resurrection. (photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
August 29, 2024: Antonio Bini, of Manoppello, has written many wonderful pieces, translated from Italian for Raymond’s blog. Most recently, he has written about a very positive developement– the uniting of devotees of the Holy Face in “The ‘Holy Face’ of Christ Unites.” The Holy Face of Jesus has been loved and adored under many different aspects over the centuries, such as The Face from the Shroud of Turin, “Il Volto Santo” Holy Veil of Manoppello, The Holy Face of Chiusa Sclarfani, Italy, The Holy Face of Tours, France, and under many other titles around the world. However, the intention to love, honor and adore the person of Jesus Christ in His Sacred Humanity is always the same… Be sure to give Antonio’s report from Manoppello a read!
The life of a Christian should be the faithful reproduction of Jesus in their soul — this radiant transformation is the work of love of the Holy Spirit. “Those whom He had foreknown He has also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” (Rom 8:29) He who loves will resemble the thing loved…
Come Holy Spirit!
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5) “Because we are dead or at least wounded through sin, the first effect of the gift of love is the forgiveness of our sins. The communion of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:14) in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.” (CCC 734) The Holy Spirit perfects the soul with the first fruits of eternal glory–so we may more closely resemble Jesus Christ. No one has embodied these virtues more perfectly than the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. She is the most perfect, pure, and faithful reflection of the Face of Christ.
In his classic work on the Holy Spirit, The Sanctifier, Archbishop Luis M. Martinez wrote of the the “mystical reproduction” that the Holy Spirit brings about in souls: “…because God gives a wonderful mark of unity to all His works…a most perfect unity shines forth from them because the are the fruit of wisdom. This divine contrast of unity and variety stamps the works of God with sublime and unutterable beauty.”
Jesus is reproduced in the soul of a Christian in the same way in which He was brought into the world–the way founded in love, caused by love, and which leads to love: “Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit…of the Virgin Mary. That is the way Jesus is always conceived.” That is the way He is reproduced in a Christian soul. Archbishop Martinez reminds us, too, that in order to resemble Christ, Our Lord, we must go through the pain and suffering of the Cross offered in love:
“He whom we love is a God nailed to a cross. Pain makes us resemble him. It is characteristic of love to have a tremendous desire to resemble the beloved. It is characteristic, too, for those who love to resemble each other.” But, as the soul is transformed, it is also filled with joy! Even as Mary suffered at the foot of the Cross she trusted, giving her “Fiat” as she had done at the Incarnation, with hope in the Resurrection; cooperating with God’s design. We, too, must be willing to cooperate with God’s design, as Mary did with docility to the Holy Spirit:
“After Christ had completed his mission on earth, it still remained necessary for us to become sharers in the divine nature of the Word. We had to give up our own life and be so transformed that we would begin to live an entirely new kind of life that would be pleasing to God. This was something we could do only by sharing in the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul writes: ““But we all with unveiled faces, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His very image from glory to glory.” “(2 Cor 3:18)— St. Cyril of Alexandria
The Apostles, “with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary, the Mother of Jesus.” (Acts 1:14) Mary, as our mother, will also intercede for us, as she did at the first Pentecost to obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and for of the Lord. The Holy Spirit then perfects the soul with the first fruits of eternal glory: charity, joy, peace kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity–so we may more closely resemble Jesus Christ.
The Holy Face of Manoppello- photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
Divine Guest of our souls (photo: Patricia Enk)
This is the work of the Holy Spirit of Love, who is the the light and fire of the Face of God: to sanctify our souls, shining upon us the radiance of His light, transforming us into the His own likeness. Holy Spirit wants to dwell in us and convert our bodies into His temple, as He did in the Virgin Mary to bring grace, mercy, and peace. “Love is not a passing visitor who pays us a call and then goes away. He establishes in us his permanent dwelling and lives in intimate union with our souls as their eternal Guest.” (The Sanctifier by Archbishop Martinez)
As Jesus promised on the last night of His mortal life: “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you shall know Him because He will dwell with you and be in you.” (Jn 14: 16-17) So, let us remain, “with one accord in prayer,” with Mary as the Apostles did, for it is “through Mary the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God’s merciful love, into communion with Christ.” (CCC 725)
Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit
To Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Daughter of the Most High, Mother of God, faithful Spouse of the Holy Spirit — yet also Mary of Nazareth, Joseph’s wife, my mother– hear my prayer for grace, O Full of Grace. Pray your Spouse the Holy Spirit to come upon me — to shelter from all ill, to strengthen me to do what is right, to teach me all truth. Pray him come to me, and abide with me, and be within me a fountain springing up unto eternal life. May he sustain me in sorrow, sanctify me in life, and receive me at the hour of my death. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
“Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee” (Photo: Patricia Enk)
Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of Our Faith
Mother, help our faith! Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature. Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!
–Prayer at the conclusion of the Encyclical Lumen Fidei
“Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
“From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator,” “for the author of beauty created them.” (Wisdom 13: 3, 5)
The spiritual beauty of God is reflected most perfectly in the woman He created to be His Mother. No stain of sin would mar the beauty of His reflection in her soul. Never for one instant would she be under the power of the devil. “The Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception) Mary herself proclaims, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:47)
As the Immaculate Conception, Mary bears in herself the most perfect reflection of the face of God. Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The Blessed Virgin saw shining upon her, as no other creature, the face of the Father, rich in grace and mercy.” What in Heaven and on earth could be more beautiful than the Mother of God? It is God who has willed that Mary be beautiful, not only fair in face, but in the fullness of grace. Yet, beauty has a purpose, and that is to draw us by the beauty of the graces God has given her towards the Beatific Vision–the Face of God. Mary has no greater desire than that we turn towards the Face of her Son, as she does, with eyes of love.
Jesus alone is “the Way” that leads to the Father, but Mary is the most beautiful image and likeness of Christ, which will lead us to Him. Dostoevsky once said that “Beauty will save the world!” Mary embodies the beauty of her God. She has a spiritual beauty to share with the world that attracts, reflects and expresses what is beyond words, in the depths of her heart, the love of a mother for her Savior and Son.
“Through Her we may see Him / Made sweeter, not made dim, / And Her hand leaves His light / Sifted to suit our sight.”
Excerpt from the Poem “The Blessed Virgin Compared to the air We Breathe” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
“Our Lady, in whose face – more than any other creature – we can recognize the features of the Incarnate Word.” –Pope Benedict XVI Madonna and Child from the Robert Lehman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art
During Advent the Church celebrates the longing to see God’s Face, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a Triduum (three days of prayer beginning on December 15) and a Feast (on December 18th)–It is called The Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face. (a bit of the history may be found here.) The prayer may also be continued until Christmas.
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On the days leading up to Christmas we are invited to contemplate, together with Mary, the Divine Child within her womb, who is Our Savior. We too, through sanctifying grace, bear the supernatural image of God within us. Like Mary, we desire to become a peaceful sanctuary for the living God. We are called to be attentive, in prayer, to the faint stirrings of His presence in our hearts, which will fill us with a deep longing to see His Face as we pray:
Prayer for the Triduum and Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Longing to See His Face
“Mary, your life with Jesus was one of the purest, most fervent, most perfect 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 being derive life and joy; the Face whose features enraptured God from all eternity, the Face for which all ages expectantly yearned. You were to see this Face unveiled, in all the beauty and grace as the face of your own child.
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.” (Prayer by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D.)
O Mary, conceived with0ut sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Madonna, Pompeo Battono, 1742
Shutterstock photo
“It is first of all necessary to let the Blessed Virgin Mary take one by the hand to contemplate the face of Jesus. Mary gives us eyes and a heart that can contemplate her Son in the Eucharist.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI
Mary was “Blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing,” (cf. Eph 1:3) chosen by God from all eternity to be the Mother of the Redeemer. So, ask her to take you by the hand because it is she who leads us to Jesus. Then we may contemplate, together with her, His Holy Face–in His Word, in the Eucharist, and in our neighbor. As the Immaculate Conception, Mary bears in herself the most perfect reflection of the Face of God. Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The Blessed Virgin saw shining upon her, as no other creature, the face of the Father, rich in grace and mercy.”
This Advent, let us fix our gaze on Jesus and Mary rather than on the profane things of the world. We keep Mary before our eyes in order to contemplate in her everything that is good and true and beautiful — She is “God’s Mirror.” “She is the proclamation of a merciful God who does not surrender to the sin of his children,” Pope St. John Paul II tells us “in Mary shines forth God’s sublime and surprising tenderness for the entire human race. In her, humanity regains its former beauty and the divine plan is revealed to be stronger than evil…” In Mary “the Creator has kept the original beauty of creation uncontaminated” so that in the Immaculate Conception, “the Father’s original, wondrous plan of love was reestablished in an even more wondrous way.”
Virgin and Child,1510
And in Her Morning
The Virgin Mary cannot enter
my soul for an indwelling. God alone
has sealed this land as secretly His own;
but being mother and implored, she comes
to stand along my eastern sky and be
a drift of sunrise over God and me.
God is a light and genitor of light.
Yet for our weakness and our punishment
He hides Himself in midnights that prevent
all save the least awarenesses of Him.
We strain with dimmed eyes inward and
perceive
no stir of what we clamored to believe.
Yet I say: God (if one may jest with God),
Your hiding has not reckoned with Our Lady
who holds my east horizon and whose glow
lights up my inner landscape, high and low.
All my soul’s acres shine and shine with her!
You are discovered, God; awake, rise
out of the dark of Your Divine surprise!
Your own reflection has revealed Your place,
for she is utter light by Your own grace.
And in her light I find You hid within me,
And in her morning I can see Your Face.
~Sr. Miriam of the Holy Spirit, OCD (Jessica Powers)
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 