THE Holy Face of Jesus imprinted on Veronica’s veil was used by the early Christians when they prayed for the reparation of sins. This was the image shown on the cloth used by Veronica to wipe the sweaty, bloody and disfigured face of Jesus on His way to Mount Calvary. Unmindful of what the cruel soldiers will do to her, pious Veronica pushed her way through the guards to wipe Jesus’ face.
In appreciation and gratitude, the Savior rewarded her and left His sacred countenance on the cloth.
The Shroud of Turin
In the 16th century, the Shroud of Turin, Jesus’ burial garment, was displayed. Jesus’ face on the cloth, however, was unrecognizable.
On May 28, 1898, Secondo Pia made the initial photograph of the Shroud of Turin. The faithful, for the first time, saw a post-crucifixion image of the Lord.
The shroud is a proof of God’s love for men and generosity of His spirit. During the 100th year of the shroud, Pope John Paul II visited the Cathedral of Turin. Addressing the crowd, he referred to it not only as a proof of the Lord’s suffering for men, but also an “icon of the suffering of innocent people in every age.”
In 1840 a Carmelite nun, Sister Marie of Saint Peter, toured France. She reported a vision and conversation with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus urged her to spread a devotion to the Holy Face in reparation to His sufferings during the passion.
In 1844 in a vision, Jesus told her, “Oh, if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, ‘Admirable is the Name of God,’ in a spirit of contrition for blasphemy.”
She also received the Act of Reparation to Jesus Christ, a prayer, later known as the Golden Arrow—Holy Face Devotion, which was spread among French Catholics in 1844.
In 1849 Venerable Leo Dupont started a nightly adoration to the Holy Face, which earned him the title “Apostle of the Holy Face,”
After his death in 1876, his house in Saint Etienne was transformed by the Archdiocese of Tours to an oratory managed by the priests of the Holy Face. The devotional prayers were approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885 and reiterated by Pope Pius XII in 1958.
In 1889 Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face wrote many prayers to express her devotion to the holy image. Because there was no crafted medal of it during her time, she made a small card with the image and pinned it over her heart, and composed the Canticle of the Holy Face.
“Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps. Ah, you know, Your sweet face is for me heaven on earth. My love discovers the charms of Your Face through my own tears when I contemplate your sorrows.”
Saint Thérèse also composed the Holy Face Prayer for Sinners: “Eternal Father, since Thou hast given me for my inheritance, the adorable Face of Thy Divine Son, I offer that face to Thee and I beg Thee, in exchange for this coin of infinite value, to forget the ingratitude of souls dedicated to Thee and to pardon all sinners.”
Holy Face medal
On the first Friday during the Lent of 1936, Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli reported a vision of the Holy Face, to be honored through a medal.
Jesus told her: “I wish that My Face which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, suffering and love of My Heart be more honored. He who meditates upon Me consoles me.”
On following visions, she was specifically instructed how the medal should be made.
One side of the medal with the face of the Lord on the Shroud of Turin should have the inscription, Illumina, Domine, Vultum tuum super nos (May, O Lord, the light of thy countenance shine upon me.)
On the other side the monogram JHS and Mane Nobiscum Domine (Stay with us Lord) are inscribed with the radiant reflection of the Sacred Heart.
The first medal that was crafted was offered to Pope Pius XII.
During World War II, soldiers, sailors and aviators wore the medal for protection. In the words of the Blessed Mother, the medal will be a “weapon of defense, a shield of courage, and a token of love and mercy of Jesus.”
The Holy Face Association states that the medal became a badge for soldiers. And “never has it been heard that a prisoner of war, wearing the badge has been executed.”
‘Do you still listen to Me?’
“Do you still listen to Me,” was the message Jesus emphasized when His image bled twice in Cotonon, Benin, in Occidental Africa, Gulf of Guinea, on February 17, 1996.
When the doctor who was to make a blood analysis arrived, the blood has coagulated. Thirteen witnesses heard a voice say: “I will return and the doctor will make the examination.” The doctor arrived on time on March 15, 1996, to collect the blood in a test tube. The test tube was filled to a quarter when the doctor stopped to heed an instruction from a voice: “That is enough, I will fill it up.”
The result of the blood analysis: AB group, Rh positive—genuine human blood—Fr. Adolf Faroni said in Christ Narrates His Passion.
On July 3, 1998, Barnabas Nwoye, a Nigerian youth, had visions of the agonizing Christ. He saw during the second vision the agonizing Jesus with a crown of thorns, with a heart crowned with thorns on the right side, and on the left, a heart pierced with sword.
Instructing Nyowe to have the portrait duplicated, Jesus promised peace and serenity in the souls of people who will adore it. And numerous miracles, as well.
A litany and consecration prayer to the Precious Blood of Jesus were dictated by Jesus for the faithful.
Fr. Stephen Obiukwu of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria, and Fr. Ayo Maria Atoyebi, OP, bishop of Kwara State, Nigeria, affixed their Nihil Obstat (Nothing Hinders) and Imprimatur on the prayers distributed worldwide.
• Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris College in Calauan, Laguna.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
3 comments
AB+ blood type! A “Universal Acceptor!” (I KNOW this, because it is my husband’s blood type.) It is befitting Our Lord-is a UNIVERSAL ACCEPTOR!!! Hallelujah! Amen!
Sana you will not claim your Husband to be the reincarnation of Jesus. And start a religion a la Quiboloy and start fleecing people of their hard-earned money.
What’s wrong with you, Jacq Hammer?