Reparation

The Holy Name of Jesus – God has a Face and a Name

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The Holy Face of Manoppello photo: Paul Badde
The Holy Face of Manoppello
photo: Paul Badde

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has taught us, in his many writings about the Holy Face, that 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!

The revelation of the Face of God, Pope Benedict XVI says, 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 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.”

"IHS" Monogram of The Holy Name - Church of The Gesu, Rome
“IHS” Monogram of The Holy Name – Church of The Gesu, Rome

The expression “name of God” means God as He Who is present among men.  His name, Pope Benedict XVI teaches, is the concrete sign of His Existence.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “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.”

"Extreme Humility"
“Extreme Humility”

Because of the  profound relationship with God and His Name and Face, sins committed against this relationship with Him–causing pain and suffering to His Sacred Heart– 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 and the Holy Name is fitting in order to make amends for what we have done to Him.

Discalced Carmelite Nun Sr. Marie St. Pierre
Discalced Carmelite Nun 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.

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.”

Reciting the Golden Arrow or other prayers that honor the Holy Face and the Holy Name, are anCbXuGNOW4AE8kgW act of compassion and love, which have the effect of wiping the blood, sweat, dust and spittle from The Face of Jesus.  And by doing so, Our Lord also restores His Image in our souls.

Blessed Mother Maria Pierina De Micheli

“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.

“Oh Savior Jesus, who didst will that reparation should be as public and universal as had been the offense, penetrate us with the true spirit of reparation.  Give us the grace to love Thy Divine Face, to make it known and loved by the whole world, in order that it may be to us a source of light and means of salvation.  Amen. ” ~  Blessed Mother Maria Pierina De Micheli (who is also known for the Holy Face Medal, which bears the Face of the Shroud of Turin on one side, and the symbol for the Holy Name on the other.)

"Whoever gazes upon me already consoles me." - Our Lord to Bl. Mother Pierina De Michelli
“Whoever gazes upon me already consoles me.” – Our Lord to Bl. Mother Pierina De Michelli

Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus – Act of Consecration to The Holy Face

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                                                           Act of Consecration
“Jesus Christ is the Face of the Father’s Mercy.  These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith.” –Pope Francis

Jesus Christ the Alpha and the Omega
Jesus Christ the Alpha and the Omega
“Christ’s response, “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father, “lead us into the heart of Christological faith.”  — Pope Benedict XVI

O Lord Jesus, we believe most firmly in You, we love You.  You are the Eternal Son of God and the Son Incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  You are the Lord and Absolute Ruler of all creation.  We acknowledge You, therefore, as the Universal Sovereign of all creatures.  You are the Lord and Supreme Ruler of all mankind, and we, in acknowledging this Your dominion, consecrate ourselves to You now and forever.  Loving Jesus, we place our family under the protection of Your Holy Face, and of Your Virgin Mother Mary most sorrowful.  We promise to be faithful to You for the rest of our lives and to observe with fidelity Your Holy Commandments.  We will never deny before men, You and Your Divine rights over us and all mankind.  Grant us the grace to never sin again; nevertheless, should we fail, O Divine Saviour, have mercy on us and restore us to Your grace.  Radiate Your Divine Countenance upon us and bless us now and forever.  Embrace us at the hour of our death in Your Kingdom for all eternity, through the intercession of Your Blessed Mother, of all Your Saints who behold You in Heaven, and the just who glorify You on earth.  O Jesus, be mindful of us forever and never forsake us; protect our family.  O Mother of Sorrows, by the eternal glory which you enjoy in Heaven, through the merits of your bitter anguish in the Sacred Passion of your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for us the grace that the Precious Blood shed by Jesus for the redemption of our souls, be not shed for us in vain.  We love you, O Mary.  Embrace us and bless us, O Mother.  Protect us in life and in death.  Amen. 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.

"Holy Face of Tours"
“Holy Face of Tours”

Our Lord told Sr. Marie St. Pierre that the image of His Holy Face is like a Divine stamp, which if applied to souls, through prayer, has the power of imprinting anew within them the Image of God.

Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin

Prayer to reproduce the Image of God in our souls

I salute You!  I adore you and I love you, O adorable face of my beloved Jesus, as the noble stamp of the Divinity!  Completely surrendering my soul to You, I most humbly beg You to stamp this seal upon us all, so the image of God may once more be reproduced in our souls.  Amen.

Holy Face of Manoppello photo: Paul Badde
Holy Face of Manoppello
photo: Paul Badde

“All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image.” (2Cor 3:18)

“Show us, O Lord, we pray you, Your Face ever new; that mirror, mystery-laden, of God’s infinite mercy.  Grant that we may contemplate it with the eyes of our mind and our hearts: the Son’s Face, radiance of the Father’s glory and the imprint of His Nature, the human Face of God that has burst into history to reveal the horizons of eternity.  The silent Face of Jesus, suffering and risen, when loved and accepted, changes our hearts and lives.  “Your Face, Lord do I seek, do not hide Your Face from me.” (Ps. 27:8) –Portion of prayer of Pope Benedict XVI in honor of his pilgrimage to the shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello

“It is the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to make His Face shine before the generations of the new millennium.  Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated His FACE!”  –St. Pope John Paul II

Prayer of Pope Francis for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

Pope Francis adoring The Eucharistic Face of Christ
Pope Francis adoring The Eucharistic Face of Christ    

Lord Jesus Christ, You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your Face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief. Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman: “If you knew the gift of God!” You are the visible Face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible Face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Feast of The Holy FaceMay the Lord bless and keep you; may He make His Face shine upon and be merciful to you; may He turn His Countenance toward you and grant you His PEACE! (Num 6:22-27)

 

Shame covers My Face (Ps 69)

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"For God so loved the world..."
“For God so loved the world…”

Isaiah 50:4b-7

The Lord God opens my ear that I may hear;

And I have not rebelled, have not turned back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,

My cheeks to those who plucked my beard;

My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced;

I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

The Golden Arrow in reparation to the Face of Christ

"Behold the Man!"
“Behold the Man!”

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and ineffable name of God, be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, 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.

Act of Love to the Holy Face

Adorable Face of My Jesus, my only love, my light and my life, grant that I may see no one except Thee, that I may love Thee alone, that I may live with Thee, of Thee, by Thee and for Thee.  Amen.

St. Joseph Restoration, and Reparation

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Last year I had not one, but three statues of St. Joseph in my house, old, broken, with decades of

St. Joseph in need of restoration
St. Joseph in need of restoration

different layers of flaking paint. I have restored countless numbers of such statues of Jesus, Mary, St. Joseph, Saints, Angels, even lambs and camels… large and small, in various distressed conditions; some nearly smashed to smithereens, seemingly beyond hope.  Some of the worst had been through Hurricane Katrina.  All the statues had one thing in common, they were dearly loved by someone who couldn’t bear to get rid of them.

The first one showed up on my doorstep twenty years ago.  I am a watercolor artist, so when a friend asked me if I could “fix a statue” because I “painted,” I was confused but decided to give it a shot.  The statue was in terrible shape –but it was me or the trash can. (Not a great choice.)  So, I did some research on restoration and got to work.  Statues have been showing up ever since and I repair them for one reason: I can’t bear to see them broken.  For me, it’s a labor of love.

Restored St. Joseph
Restored St. Joseph

I’ve often wondered if this is how God looks at our souls; broken, disfigured, and in various states of decay.  He looks on us with love and a desire to restore us to our original beauty.  When we come back to His “doorstep,” which is the Church, and “turn back to His Face,” the Divine Artist restores His Image in us.

Our Lord revealed the work of reparation, which is devotion to the Holy Face, “the most beautiful work under the sun,” to Sr. Marie St. Pierre, a Carmelite nun.  Jesus told her that the image of His Holy Face is like a Divine Stamp, which, if applied to souls through prayer, has the power of imprinting anew within them the image of God.

This is Sr. Marie St. Pierre’s beautiful prayer to reproduce the image of God in our souls, “I salute you!  I adore you and I love you, Oh adorable face of my beloved Jesus, as the noble stamp of the Divinity!  Completely surrendering my soul to You, I most humbly beg You to stamp this seal upon us all, so that the image of God may once more be reproduced in our souls.  Amen.”

In fact, anytime we turn to His Face, in prayer, He is beautifying and restoring our souls… and that is THE “labor of love!”

Teresian Sr. Martha and her beloved St. Joseph.
Teresian Sr. Martha and her beloved St. Joseph.

 Happy Feast of St. Joseph!