A Face That Changes Everything
Few people know it, but the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent is the feast of the Holy Face of Jesus, a celebration that anticipates the contemplation awaiting us in eternal blessedness.
There is nothing more precious than the face of the person we love: do you feel the desire to seek the true Face of love? In reality, there is a Face that seeks you, a Face marked by suffering but illuminated by infinite love: the Holy Face of Jesus. It is not a legend or a fairy tale. It is a living, real, and transformative encounter that awaits only you. To look at the face of Christ is to look at God. But what does devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus consist of? And above all, where does it come from and when is it celebrated? How can we live out this devotion in our daily lives
Our Desire to See God
“Your face, Lord, I seek. Do not hide your face from me” (Ps 27:8c-9). These words, engraved deep within the human soul, reveal a universal desire: to see God, to know him intimately. While other religions or spiritual traditions portray him as a distant, inaccessible being, Christianity offers us a startling revelation: God showed himself, became flesh, and took on a face - the face of Christ. In him we see and encounter the Father; in him salvation and life in abundance are given to us (cf. Jn 10:10), that is, a happiness that nothing and no one can take away from us (cf. Jn 16:22).
A Face to Discover, Not Describe
The Lord has left us impressions of his Face in certain images “not painted by human hands” (“acheiropoietic” and therefore of divine origin), including the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Face of Manoppello. The Gospel, however, offers us no portrait, no description of the physical features of Jesus’ face. Even though the memory of the Master was still very vivid, the evangelists did not feel the need to describe him physically. Why? Jesus’ face is not so much something to describe as something to contemplate. His unmistakable features can be found through constant prayer, by listening to his words, putting them into practice, and allowing ourselves to be transformed by his love. In reality, when we look at the face of Christ, we contemplate not only the face of God, but can also rediscover the features of our own face and those of every human being.
Devotion: a response of love
Devotion to the Holy Face is not a sterile religious practice, but a passionate embrace, a response of love and reparation to Him who went so far as to give His life. Christ Himself kindled this flame in the hearts of Sister Marie de Saint Pierre and Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli.
Sister Marie de Saint Pierre: the confidante of the Holy Face hears Jesus address these words to her: “Those who contemplate the wounds of My Face here on earth will contemplate it shining with glory in heaven!” The Lord also tells her that He desires a true work of reparation and that the souls who take part in it are like new Veronicas, ready to wipe the Face of Jesus, with love and adoration.
Jesus also reveals the “golden arrow” to her: a special prayer, an arrow of love, a powerful weapon capable of reaching the heart of Jesus with such intense love that it heals His wounds and makes torrents of grace flow from them.
Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli: the apostle of the Holy Face Medal. It is to her that Our Lady herself shows a scapular, with the Holy Face of Jesus on one side and the Eucharist surrounded by rays on the other, while saying to her: “All those who wear this medal and, whenever possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday to make reparation for the offenses suffered by the holy face of my Son Jesus during His Passion and which He receives every day in the sacrament of the Eucharist:
1. They will be strengthened in faith.
2. They will be ready to defend it.
3. They will receive the graces to overcome internal and external spiritual difficulties.
4. They will be helped in dangers of soul and body.
5. They will have a peaceful death under the smiling gaze of my divine Son».
In 1940, Blessed Maria Pierina created and obtained ecclesiastical approval for the Holy Face Medal, minted according to the image of Jesus’ face given to us by the Shroud.
Finally, in 1958, Pope Pius XII declared the feast of the Holy Face of Jesus to be the day before Ash Wednesday (Shrove Tuesday).
Tuesday: a special appointment with the Holy Face
The Lord asked that his Holy Face be honored every Tuesday, and especially on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. This day becomes an opportunity to make reparation for the insults his Face received during the Passion and continues to receive in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Devotion to the Holy Face is the moving journey, the inner adventure of one who is in love and needs to contemplate the face of the beloved. In a hectic and often superficial world, do not limit yourself to reading these words: stop to contemplate the face of Jesus, experience looking at Christ and allowing yourself to be looked upon by him. Close your eyes, open your heart with the desire to be enveloped by the many-faceted beauty of that Face, to let yourself be transformed, healed, comforted, to be touched by his mercy, and to carry that same light into the lives of others.
Join us in prayer and contemplation of the Holy Face of Jesus. Share your experience in the comments!
