How familiar are you with the powerful Devotion to the Holy Face given to us by our Lord Himself? It's a very fascinating story, still playing out in our time.
Some say that the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus began when Veronica courageously broke through the crowd to meet Jesus as He carried the wood of Redemption along the
Way of Sacrificial Love. If
you are unfamiliar with the details of the story of Veronica's Veil,
they are worth knowing and her behavior worth emulating: Veronica's Veil and the Beginning of the Devotion to the Holy Face
She compassionately offered Him her veil so He could
wipe His bruised, bloody, disfigured, defiled, and offended Face. While her heroic gesture has a place of it's own in the history of mankind, the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus actually began in a stable the night He was born, at the moment when the Lord’s most Holy Mother beheld
His sweet little Face for the very first time. The Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus is without a doubt a Marian devotion as well.
What
a great tragedy of inestimable proportions that the Devotion to the Holy Face is largely unknown,
under-appreciated, and under-utilized in our time, especially given the circumstances of its
official inception. This Devotion is a
command from the Lord, first presented to humanity in the mid-1800s as a means of making reparation to God the Father for
mankind’s sins against His Majesty.
This reparation is accomplished by offering our Eternal Father the Bruised, Holy Face of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
This reparation is accomplished by offering our Eternal Father the Bruised, Holy Face of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
When
we offer reparation and when we pray this devotion for our and others' intentions, we must remember to pray without regard to time and space and be sure to pray for every single soul.
"Our principle duty as
Christians is to prepare others to live holy lives in today's unholy
world."
~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
During this time, our Lord gave Sr.
Mary the powerful “Golden Arrow” prayer that shoots directly into the Heart of
God to heal the wound inflicted on the Heart of God by the malice of
sinners (that prayer follows below).
On
February 27, 1844, following Holy Communion, Jesus told Sr. Mary to receive Him
in the Sacred Host as King, and to offer her soul to Him for His dominion.
Then,
He urged her to present herself before Him in the name of her nation, as an
ambassador offering Him her Communion in the spirit of reparation for the
crimes of which her nation was guilty, most notably those against the Divine
Majesty and those against the holy Church.
After
Sr. Mary received the divine King, she laid before Him the spiritual needs of
her country. Jesus then told her that
He was entrusting France to her care, had appointed her as its ambassador, so
that she could negotiate about terms of peace with Him.
She
replied, “My God, I have given myself entirely to You for the accomplishment of
Your designs. Do in me as You
will.” Having accepted the obligations
which God had imposed upon her, she begged Him to make her worthy of His
designs, or better yet, to accomplish Himself His will within her. P. 140.
"The
most fundamental need we have in our lives is to beg God for His
forgiveness." ~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
She
reported that for days, the Lord had kept her so united to Him in the Eucharist
that even while she attended to her other duties, she was “in spirit
uninterruptedly at the food of the altar where I leave my heart.” No matter where she was, she reported that “I
am always in sight of Him, keeping Him
company.” The Lord asked this interior
exercise of her, as it was His Will that she remain ever before the Blessed
Sacrament, on behalf of France, praying for it continuously.
We are to do the same thing in our
time. Ask the Lord to appoint you the
ambassador of your country and wherever you are, remain ever before the Blessed
Sacrament interiorly, always praying and offering reparation to God on behalf
of your nation.
On
March 16, 1844, the Lord showed Sr. Mary during Holy Mass the enormity of the
crime of blasphemy. He said to her, “You
cannot comprehend the malice and abomination of this sin. If My Justice were not restrained by My
Mercy, indeed, it would instantly crush the guilty. In fact, all creatures even those that area
inanimate, would avenge this outrage against their Creator’s majesty, but I
have an eternity in which to punish the guilty.” P. 141
Then,
Jesus made her understand the excellence of the Work of Reparation. He had her see how the Devotion of Reparation
surpasses other devotions, how pleasing it is to God, and also the Angels and
Saints, and how beneficial it is to the Church.
He
also cautioned her to not be disappointed if she did not feel particular
gratifying emotions while reciting the prayers.
In addition, He informed her that the demon would give her an aversion
for this devotion, and that these things should not worry her.
We can be sure that when we pray
this devotion we may not always feel pleasant emotions, and that the devil will
also make every effort to stop us from practicing it for the sake of our
nations and our world.
Jesus said to Sr. Mary, “Oh, if you
only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, ‘Admirable is the
Name of God,’ in the spirit of reparation for blasphemy!” p. 142.
Jesus
also made her see how really needy and weak she was, and how poorly she had
profited by all the graces He had sent her, but in His great Mercy, we was
willing to forgive everything. She asked
for His pardon, and His pardon was granted.
Jesus said to her, “A workman cleans the tool which He wants to
use.” P. 142.
Jesus
then made her see to what degree a Carmelite must be divested of self and
detached from everything, seeking only the glory of God and His Church, the
salvation of souls, which should then imbue her with the desire for suffering
and humiliations. He taught her how of
herself she could never expect to acquire these virtues, while the One who
forgives sins could “readily give birth to these virtues” in her soul, provided that she beg Him to do this.
Jesus
asked her, “Are you willing to walk in My ways?” After her consent, He said, “Cast yourself
blindly into My Sacred Heart. For your
badge I give you the cross and the thorns that lay buried within My Heart. Do not turn away from this cross nor from
these thorns because, My daughter, you are being called to a high
perfection. Think therefore only of Me
and in return I will think of You.
Attend to My affairs and I promise you that I will take care of
yours. And now, as long as you live I
want you to look upon this day as one of the most beautiful days of your entire
life!” p. 142-143.
"The price of heaven is carrying the cross." ~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
The authenticity of these revelations were revealed in time, and church officials did make the determination that they were genuine. However, following Sr. Mary's death just after the final revelation, the information, including the Lord's requests to have the Devotion to the Holy Face established officially and have it spread, were sealed by church authorities and remained sealed for three decades.A layman by the name of Leo Dupont, who was a lawyer and also a friend of the Carmelites who helped them as a contact in the world, had learned of the revelations while Sr. Mary was still living, and and established the Devotion to the Holy Face in his own home after her death.
For three decades, many, many people came and prayed with Leo Dupont in his home at the altar where the image of the Holy Face of Jesus was venerated. That image was part of a miracle our Lord had granted to Veronica's Veil which was kept in Rome.
Leo kept an oil lamp burning continuously in honor of our Lord's Sacred Face, and oil from the lamp was used to anoint the many sick people who came asking the Lord for cures. The miracles were so
numerous that Pope Pius IX declared him to be perhaps the greatest
miracle-worker in Church history, and he has been declared venerable.
Leo kept an oil lamp burning continuously in honor of our Lord's Sacred Face, and oil from the lamp was used to anoint the many sick people who came asking the Lord for cures. The miracles were so
numerous that Pope Pius IX declared him to be perhaps the greatest
miracle-worker in Church history, and he has been declared venerable.
So many incredible and delightful stories can be found in the wonderful book The Holy Man of Tours: The Life of Leo Dupont by Dorothy Scallan. Leo was in his eighties and confined to his bed upstairs due to illness (he had another Devotion to the Holy Face on the second floor) when he was finally and joyfully presented the news that Sr. Mary's revelations were unsealed and had been officially approved by the Church.
In 1885 Pope Leo XIII recognized the
revelations, and in 1958 Pope Pius XII declared a special feast day for the
devotion: the day before Ash Wednesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi
Gras (Fat Tuesday).
"Never question God's dealings
with you. Respect God's work in your soul with silence." ~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
Carrying on the Devotion to the Holy Face in our time, in imitation of Venerable Leo Dupont
Prayer of Reparation in Praise of the Holy
Name of God, Entitled
“THE GOLDEN ARROW”
MAY
THE MOST HOLY, MOST SACRED, MOST ADORABLE, MOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE AND
UNUTTERABLE NAME OF GOD BE ALWAYS 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.
There are nine promises connected
with the Devotion to the Holy Face, which is known to have helped St. Therese of Lisieux of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face attain
great sanctity:
1.
By offering My Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused, and the
conversion of many sinners will be obtained.
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2.
By My Holy Face, they will work wonders, appease the anger of God and draw
down mercy on sinners.
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3.
All those who honor My Face in a spirit of reparation will by so doing
perform the office of the pious Veronica.
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4.
According to the care they take in making reparation to My Face disfigured by
blasphemers, so will I take care of their souls which have been disfigured by
sin. My Face is the Seal of the Divinity, which has the virtue of reproducing
in souls the image of God.
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5.
Those who by words, prayers or writings defend My cause in the Work of
Reparation, especially My priests, I will defend before My Father, and will
give them My Kingdom.
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6.
As in a kingdom they can procure all that is desired with a coin stamped with
the King's effigy, so in the Kingdom of Heaven they will obtain all they
desire with the precious coin of My Holy Face.
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7.
Those who on earth contemplate the wounds of My Face shall in Heaven behold
it radiant with glory.
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8.
They will receive in their souls a bright and constant irradiation of My
Divinity, that by their likeness to My Face they shall shine with particular
splendor in Heaven.
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9.
I will defend them, I will preserve them and I assure them of Final
Perseverance.
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OUR
LORD'S REVELATIONS WERE FOLLOWED BY 30 YEARS OF MIRACLES attesting to the truth
and power of this devotion. In 1885 Pope Leo XIII, by papal brief, established
this devotion as an arch confraternity; and contrary to custom, immediately
established it for the whole world. The devotion was universally practiced until just before World War I, and what happened next around the world indicates clearly that the world largely did not do as our Lord requested.
But the Lord never abandons His children, nor does Blessed Mother. Once again, they came and made an appeal to mankind and once again, Their messenger was a Bride of Christ.
"No one gives me a kiss of love on My face to make amends for the kiss of Judas."
~ Jesus to Sr. Maria Pierina
Later Apparitions and the Devotion to the Holy Face
In the 20th century, our Lord and Blessed Mother appeared to a nun named Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli. Her mystical experiences began during her childhood and continued throughout her life.
Often, Jesus showed Himself to her sad and sometimes bleeding, and asked her for reparation as he had to Sr. Mary 100 years prior. Her desire to suffer and sacrifice herself to save souls increased. In 1936, during night adoration that First Friday in Lent, Jesus had her share in His spiritual sorrow and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and appeared to her with His Face covered with Blood. He was very sad, and said to her, "I
wish that my Face, which reflects the intimate sorrow of my soul, and
the suffering and love of my Heart, be better honored. He who
contemplates me consoles me."
On the Tuesday after Palm Sunday, Jesus appeared again and said, "Each
time my Face is contemplated I will pour my love into hearts and
through my Holy Face the salvation of many souls will be obtained."
On the first Tuesday of 1937, while she prayed, the Lord Jesus instructed her on the
Devotion to His Holy Face and concluded by saying, "Perhaps some souls fear that the devotion to my Holy Face may diminish that to my Sacred Heart. Tell them that, on the contrary, it will complete and increase it. Contemplating my Face, souls will share my sorrows and will feel the need for love and reparation. Is this not the true devotion to my Heart?"
On the first Tuesday of 1937, while she prayed, the Lord Jesus instructed her on the
Devotion to His Holy Face and concluded by saying, "Perhaps some souls fear that the devotion to my Holy Face may diminish that to my Sacred Heart. Tell them that, on the contrary, it will complete and increase it. Contemplating my Face, souls will share my sorrows and will feel the need for love and reparation. Is this not the true devotion to my Heart?"
Blessed Mother Requests a Scapular-Medal of the Holy Face
In May 1938, while Sr. Maria Pierina was praying in the Community Chapel, Blessed Mother appeared on the altar step in a beam of light and was holding a Scapular made of two small pieces of flannel joined by a cord. The image of the Holy Face of Jesus was on one of the pieces, along with the words "Iliumina Domine Vultum Tuum Super Nos" (May the light of Thy Face, 0 Lord, shine upon us) and the other, a Host surrounded by rays and the words "Mane Nobiscum Domine" (Stay with us, 0 Lord).
Blessed Mother gently approached her and said:
"Listen carefully and refer everything to Father (her priest confessor); This Scapular is an armor of defense, a shield of strength, a pledge of mercy which Jesus wishes to give to the world in these times of lust and hatred against God and His Church. There are very few true apostles. A divine remedy is necessary, and this remedy is the Holy Face of Jesus. All who shall wear a Scapular like this and make, if possible, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday in reparation for the outrages that the Holy Face of my Son Jesus received during His Passion and is still receiving in the Holy Eucharist every day."
Below are promises revealed by Our Lady through Sr. Maria Pierina in favor of those who practice the Holy Face devotion, especially by wearing the Holy Face Medal:
- they will be strengthened in the Faith, and will be made ready to defend it
- they will overcome all difficulties, internal and external
- they will have a peaceful death under the loving gaze of my Divine Son
Our Lady continued to make the request to have the medal made and distributed, but Sr. Maria Pierina
reported that it was not in her power to carry it out.
The same year Jesus appeared again covered with blood and very sadly said, "Do you see how I suffer? Yet, very few understand me. Those who say they love me are very ungrateful! I have given my heart as the sensible object of my great love to men and I give My Face as the sensible object of my sorrow for all the sins of men. I wish that it be venerated by a special feast on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. I wish that the feast be preceded by a novena in which the faithful make reparation with me, joining together and sharing in my sorrow."
- they will overcome all difficulties, internal and external
- they will have a peaceful death under the loving gaze of my Divine Son
Our Lady continued to make the request to have the medal made and distributed, but Sr. Maria Pierina
reported that it was not in her power to carry it out.The same year Jesus appeared again covered with blood and very sadly said, "Do you see how I suffer? Yet, very few understand me. Those who say they love me are very ungrateful! I have given my heart as the sensible object of my great love to men and I give My Face as the sensible object of my sorrow for all the sins of men. I wish that it be venerated by a special feast on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. I wish that the feast be preceded by a novena in which the faithful make reparation with me, joining together and sharing in my sorrow."
The front of the medal is imprinted with an image of the Holy
Face (similar to the image on the Shroud of Turin) surrounded by the words, "Illumina
Domine Vultum Tuum Super Nos (May the light of your Face shine upon us, O
Lord)". The reverse side shows the Blessed
Sacrament surrounded with the words, "Mane Nobiscum
Domine (Stay with us, O Lord)." It came to be called the Holy Face
Medal and spread rapidly; innumerable favors
were attributed to the graces granted to the owners by the Lord.
And so the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus was spread anew in a different time, as was the the new medal in its honor. Since then the devotion and the medal have been accepted around the world with great enthusiasm, and through them, the Lord has granted many graces, conversions and cures.
After having given herself completely to Jesus and then spending her life entirely on Him, she died in 1945 at the age of 54. She was declared a Blessed by the Catholic Church on May 30, 2010, which led to renewed interest in her and her mission.
Other Saints who had a profound devotion to the Holy Face include St. Gertrude the Great, St. Therese the Little Flower, and the recently canonized, St. Gaetano Catanoso.
To learn more about the devotion or to request a free Holy Face Medal, visit the Holy Face Association: www.holyface.com
“Among the truths of our faith, there is none more precious, more important, than what Christ tells us is the precious, priceless value of suffering." ~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
Prayers
Offering
of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father
in Order to Appease
His Justice and Draw Down Mercy Upon Us
Eternal
Father, turn away Your angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become
unsightly in Your eyes. Look instead
upon the Face of Your Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom You are
well pleased. We now offer You this Holy
Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the
crimes of our age in order to appease Your anger, justly provoked against us. Because Your divine Son our Redeemer, has
taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we
now beg of You, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. Amen.
An
Aspiration to the Eternal Father to be Frequently Recited During the Day
ETERNAL
FATHER, we offer You the Holy Face of Jesus, covered with blood, sweat, dust
and spittle, in reparation for the crimes of communists, blasphemers,
(abortion, added), and for the profaners of the Holy Name and of the Holy Day. Amen
Prayer
to Reproduce the Image of God in Our Souls
Our
Lord told Sr. Mary of St. Peter 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.
Prayer: 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 by its imprint in our souls. Amen.
Prayer
to Obtain the Settlement of All Our Needs
Oh,
Eternal Father, since it has pleased our Divine Savior to reveal to mankind in
our present century the power residing in His Holy Face, we now avail ourselves
of this Treasure in our great needs.
Since our Savior Himself promised that by offering to You, Oh, Eternal
Father, the Holy Face disfigured in the passion, we can procure the settlement
of the affairs of our household, and that nothing whatsoever will be refused
us, we now come before Your Throne.
Offering
to You, Oh, God, this adorable Countenance, disfigured with painful bruises and
covered with shame and confusion, we beg through the merits of this Holy Face
to obtain these, our most pressing needs.
Grand
us pardon, Eternal Father, for the worst crimes of our age, which are atheism,
blasphemy, (abortion, added), and the desecration of Your holy days.
Avert
from us destruction by war and its consequences which loom through the malice
of revolutionary men who have risen up to stamp out religion from the face of
the earth through false indoctrination, and who now stand ready to impose their
wicked designs with militaristic force.
May this offeringof the Holy Face of our Savior before Your throne of
majesty obtain for us deliverance form these evils.
Send
us, Oh, God, zealous and enlightened laborers, by conferring many vocations to
the priesthood and to religion, so that by their prayers, their works, and
their sacrifices they may spread the blessings of Your Church and confound Your
enemies. Amen.
In conclusion, returning to those powerful arrows and the importance of our Blessed Mother in Salvation History, St. Louis de Montfort wrote that the apostles of the latter times who would consecrate themselves to
Mary, without reserve, would be like sharp arrows in Her hands to pierce Her
enemies (True Devotion, pp. 35-38).
The Chaplet of Reparation was given
by Our Lord to Sr. Mary of St. Peter to battle against the enemies of God,
especially communists. Using this chaplet, additional prayers may be recited to
make further reparation to Our Lord.
On the Crucifix say: Eternal Father
I offer You the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ and all the other instruments of
His Holy Passion, that You may put division in the camp of Your enemies; for as
Your Beloved Son has said, "A kingdom divided against itself shall
fall."
On the next five beads say:
1.
May God arise and let His enemies be
scattered and let those who hate Him flee before His Face!
2.
May the thrice Holy Name of God
overthrow all their plans!
3.
May the Holy Name of the Living God
split them up by disagreements!
4.
May the terrible Name of the God of
Eternity stamp out all their godlessness!
5.
Lord, I do not desire the death of
the sinner, but that he be converted and live. "Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do."
On the medal say: the "Golden
Arrow" prayer.
On the thirty three white beads say:
Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those that hate You
flee before Your Face.
On each of the six large beads say:
My Jesus, mercy” and one “Glory Be..”
On the medal at the end say: ETERNAL
FATHER, I offer You the Holy Face of Jesus, covered with blood, sweat, dust and
spittle, in reparation for the crimes of communists, blasphemers, and for the
profaners of the Holy Name and of the Holy Day of Sunday. (It is recommended
this particular prayer also be recited frequently throughout the day).
The following prayer is also
recommended after: "O Mary, conceived without sin Patroness of
the United States of America, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
" Ask our Lord to inspire all
priests to daily offer the Sacrifice of the Mass. If a Mass is not
offered, only God knows how many... millions are deprived of the grace they
would have received had the Mass been offered." ~ Servant of God,
Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
"A Gift from the Lord on the Great Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus."
What the Lord had been planning for His servant
on February 12, 2013, the feast day dedicated to His Sacred Countenance:
What does Jesus have prepared for you?
Ask Him!! He is so in love with you. +
Ask Him!! He is so in love with you. +
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Sources:
The Golden Arrow: The Autobiography and Revelations of Sister
Mary of St. Peter on Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus,
Edited by Dorothy Scallan, Translated by Fr. Emeric B. Scallan, S.T.B.
(Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers,
Inc., 1990).
Servant
of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J. quotes used with permission and obtained
from http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/archives.htm .
Images taken at Ss. Cyril and
Methodius Slovak Catholic Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.A., in the
Archdiocese of Detroit.
Start launching those Golden Arrows!!
God is at work in you!!!
God is at work in you!!!