UPDATE: March 27 – Pope Francis’s Urbi et Orbi blessing in the pouring rain, before a dark, empty St. Peter’s Square. May the Lord hear our prayers and turn these tears from Heaven into the wine of love, faith and hope for the people of the world! (Blessing is at 54:45)
In solidarity -The Cloistered “Advocata” Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and His disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.'” (John 2:1-3)
We have no wine. Our priests are offering Mass privately, but the faithful must learn to do without the Eucharist due to the pandemic. Catholics now find themselves at the beginning of a sacramental drought, and thus having to dig deeper in search of the “Living Water” by more frequent prayer and by turning to the Mother of Jesus, our advocate. She knows already what humanity is suffering. Mary immediately presents our need to her Son, “They have no wine.” She tells us, as she told the servers at the Wedding at Cana, “Do whatever He tells you.” Mary always points to Jesus. She desires that we look at the Face of her Son, listen, and act, then Jesus will turn our water into wine.
“To contemplate the Face of Christ, and to contemplate it with Mary, is the ‘program’ which I have set before the Church at the dawn of the third millennium…It is the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to make His Face shine also before new generations of the new millennium. Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated His Face.” –Pope St. John Paul II
Making the Stations of the Cross, together with the Sorrowful Mother is another powerful means to contemplate the Face of Jesus in His Passion, together with Mary.
The Way of the Cross by Archbishop Georg Gänswein – Sophia Press
I can recommend The Way of the Cross, with beautiful meditations by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, which has just been released and may be ordered here from the Sophia Press website.
Advocata Nostra with golden hands and cross Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
Salve Regina – Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
Listen to Pope St.John Paul II in the video below — This is what it is to have WINE!!!
📹VIDEO: This message from Saint John Paul II is especially valid today. Turn up the volume and listen to what this great saint told us with such passion. In these uncertain times, let's not be afraid, let's look at the Lord. #coronavirus#COVID19pic.twitter.com/8anxaUlIyW
— National Catholic Register (@NCRegister) March 21, 2020
Prayer to the Holy Face for the liberation from the coronavirus
Lord Jesus, Savior of the world, hope that will never disappoint us, have mercy on us and deliver us from all evil! Please overcome the scourge of this virus which is spreading, heal the sick, preserve the healthy, support those who work for the health of all. Show us your face of mercy and save us in your great love. We ask you through the intercession of Mary, Your Mother and ours, who faithfully accompanies us. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
+ Bruno Forte
Archbishop of Chieti – Vasto (Italy)
Lord, God of Hosts, bring us back, let Your Face shine upon us and we shall be saved!
The “Living Face” of Jesus as it appears on the Veil of Manoppello. Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Pope Francis calls for 9 pm Rosary for protection from Coronavirus on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph.
Detail, St. Joseph with the Child, by Alonso Miguel de Tovar
From Aleteia: “At the end of the general audience March 18, the pope said he is joining the initiative promoted by the Italian bishops to pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary at 9pm (Italian time) on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph.
Presumably, this initiative will gain ground across the globe, with each time zone joining in and creating a chain of prayer.”
“Every family, every member of the faithful, every religious community: All of us spiritually united tomorrow (Thursday) at 9 pm in praying the Rosary, the Luminous Mysteries”
‘We are led to the Luminous and transfigured Face of Jesus Christ and His Heart by Mary, Mother of God, health of the sick, to whom we turn with the prayer of the Rosary, under the loving gaze of Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family”–Pope Francis
“Mary — Mother of God, and Health of the Sick, to whom we direct the Rosary, under the loving gaze of St. Joseph, Protector of the Holy Family, and our families — brings us to the luminous and transfigured Face of Christ and his Heart.
And we ask that he especially protect our families, in particular the sick and those who care for them: doctors, nurses, and volunteers, who risk their lives in this service.” — Pope Francis
Prayers are being offered around the world for the end of Coronavirus. Many churches, including the Vatican are live-streaming (may be seen below) the Mass for those who cannot attend Mass during the health crisis.
Prayer to the Holy Face for the liberation from the coronavirus
Lord Jesus, Savior of the world, hope that will never disappoint us, have mercy on us and deliver us from all evil! Please overcome the scourge of this virus which is spreading, heal the sick, preserve the healthy, support those who work for the health of all. Show us your face of mercy and save us in your great love. We ask you through the intercession of Mary, Your Mother and ours, who faithfully accompanies us. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
+ Bruno Forte
Archbishop of Chieti – Vasto (Italy)
HOLY HOUR FOR FAITH, HEALING, AND PROTECTION FROM COVID-19
On Friday, Mar. 13 during the 3 p.m. “Hour of Mercy” Fr. John Paul Mary, MFVA, led a Holy Hour on EWTN television — which was live streamed, and may still be viewed above, or on facebook.com/ewtnonline, ewtn.com – invoking Divine Mercy, the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph in these troubled times. EWTN has been re-airing the Divine Mercy Holy Hour. Fr. John-Paul also recited a prayer written by the Archbishop of Chieti, Italy, Archbishop Bruno Forte for the liberation from the coronavirus pandemic which has gripped the world.
Copy of the Holy Face Veil of Manoppello next to a Relic of St. Padre Pio
In tempo di corona virus
Preghiera per invocare la liberazione dai mali
Signore Gesù, Salvatore del mondo, speranza che non ci deluderà mai, abbi pietà di noi e liberaci da ogni male! Ti preghiamo di vincere il flagello di questo virus, che si va diffondendo, di guarire gli infermi, di preservare i sani, di sostenere chi opera per la salute di tutti. Mostraci il Tuo Volto di misericordia e salvaci nel Tuo grande amore. Te lo chiediamo per intercessione di Maria, Madre Tua e nostra, che con fedeltà ci accompagna. Tu che vivi e regni nei secoli dei secoli. Amen.
Holy Face Veil of Manoppello
(photo: Paul Badde/EWTN)
The origins of this miraculous image on a gossamer-thin veil, “not made by human hands,” of the Face of Jesus are a great mystery and gift of God. It’s existence is an invitation to enter more deeply into relationship with God by contemplating the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus in His Holy Face. Devotion to The Holy Face is therefore necessary, so that the great gift of “Il Volto Santo” The Holy Face of Manoppello is not treated as a mere curiosity, but with reverence, love and gratitude. May Jesus Christ draw all souls, by His Merciful Face, reflecting all the love and pains of His Sacred Heart, to Himself. More about the Holy Veil of Manoppello may be found by clicking (here).
“This Mercy of God which has a concrete face, the Face of Jesus, the risen Christ.” –Pope Francis
Please pray that the light on the Merciful Face of Jesus, so darkened by the sins of the world, will shine upon us once more. “Lord, God of Hosts, bring us back. Let your Face shine on us and we shall be saved.”
Holy Veil of Manoppello Photo: Paul Badde/EWTN
2Chronicles 7:14
13.“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14. if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15.Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
Angelo Cardinal Comastri leads prayers live streamed from St. Peter’s BasilicaSt. Veronica sudarium displaying the Veil of the Holy Face
Your prayers are an act of compassion. When a soul performs an “act of compassion,” Jesus leaves His image on the “veil” of the soul. In other words, while contemplating the Face of Jesus in an image, in the Word of God in the Scriptures, in a person made in the image and likeness of God, or above all, in the Eucharist, the soul places itself in the Presence of God. When we are turned completely toward the Face of God, through a daily face-to-face encounter in prayer–by the power of the Holy Spirit–God gradually transforms the soul into the “True Image” of His Son, Jesus Christ. As Pope St. John Paul II says, our hearts must become an “effigy of truth,” a “true icon.” Then our name too will be born from what we gaze upon. It will be “Veronica.”
We have no wine. Our priests are offering Mass privately, but the faithful must learn to do without the Eucharist due to the pandemic. Catholics now find themselves at the beginning of a sacramental drought, and thus having to dig deeper in search of the “Living Water” by more frequent prayer and by turning to the Mother of Jesus, our advocate. She knows already what humanity is suffering. Mary immediately presents our need to her Son, “They have no wine.” She tells us, as she told the servers at the Wedding at Cana, “Do whatever He tells you.” Mary always points to Jesus. She desires that we look at the Face of her Son, listen, and act, then Jesus will turn our water into wine.
Illumina Domine Blog - Devotion to The Holy Face 