Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus
Date and Significance
The Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. This feast was officially approved by Pope Pius XII on April 17, 1958. It serves as a day of reparation for the blasphemies against Jesus and the profanation of Sundays.
Historical Background
The devotion to the Holy Face was promoted by Sister Marie of St. Peter, a Carmelite nun in France, in the 19th century. She reported visions in which Jesus expressed His desire for this devotion to be established. The devotion emphasizes acts of reparation for the suffering Jesus endured.
Practices Associated with the Feast
- Novena: A nine-day prayer period leading up to the feast, where participants make reparation alongside Christ.
- Holy Hour: Devotees often spend an hour in prayer, reflecting on the wounds of Jesus’ face.
- Mass: Special Masses are held to honour the Holy Face, focusing on prayers of reparation.
Promises of the Devotion
Jesus made several promises to those who honour His Holy Face, including spiritual protection and the promise of salvation for their souls. This devotion encourages the faithful to unite in prayer and reflection, especially during Lent.
HOLY FACE OF JESUS 4p LETTER 20251114HOLY FACE OF JESUS
The Day Before Ash Wednesday
The Holy Face Devotion is considered by its followers to be a divine remedy and a spiritual weapon against communism, which they view as an atheistic, anti-God movement. According to the devotion, which originated with Sister Mary of St. Peter in 1840s France, its purpose is to make reparation for sins, including blasphemy, the profanation of Sundays, and atheism. Devotees see this as a direct spiritual combat against the perceived evils of communism and a way to defend against its ideology, which they believe denies God, attacks family and property rights, and promotes deceit.
CATHOLIC PRAYERS FOR THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS
Offering of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ
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, 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 You, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. Amen.
Aspiration to the Holy Face
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Adorable Face of Thy Beloved Son, for the honour and glory of Thy Holy Name, for the conversion of sinners and for the salvation of the dying. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Face of Jesus
Holy Face of Jesus, Be my joy.
Holy Face of Jesus, Be my strength.
Holy Face of Jesus, Be my health.
Holy Face of Jesus, Be my courage.
Holy Face of Jesus, Be my wisdom.
Holy Face of Jesus, Image of the Father, Provide for me.
Holy Face of Jesus, Mirror of Thy Priestly Heart, Be my zeal.
Holy Face of Jesus, Gift of the Spirit, Show me Thy love.
Holy Face of Jesus, saddened by sorrow, Grant my requests through Thy merits. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Face of Jesus
Holy Face of my sweet Jesus, living and eternal expression of the love and of the divine martyrdom suffered for the redemption of mankind, I adore Thee and I love Thee.
Today and for always I consecrate to Thee my whole being.
By the purest hands of the Immaculate Queen, I offer Thee the prayers, actions, and works of this day, in expiation and reparation for the sins of poor creatures.
Make me Thy true apostle. May your gentle gaze be ever present to me and, at the hour of my death, grow bright with mercy. Amen.
Holy Face of Jesus, look with mercy upon me.
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 by its imprint in our souls. Amen.
Devotion to the Holy Face
Holy Face of my sweet Jesus, living and eternal expression of the love and of the divine martyrdom suffered for the redemption of mankind, I adore Thee and I love Thee. Today and for always I consecrate to Thee my whole being. By the most pure hands of the Immaculate Queen I offer Thee the prayers, actions, and works of this day, in expiation and reparation for the sins of poor creatures. Make me Thy true apostle. May Your gentle gaze be ever present to me and, at the hour of my death, grow bright with mercy. Amen.
Short Prayers and Invocations
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Adorable Face of Thy beloved Son Jesus for the honour and glory of Thy Name, for the conversion of sinners, and the salvation of the dying.
Oh Jesus, through the merits of Thy Holy Face, have pity on us and on the whole world! (3×)
O Lord, show us Thy Face and we shall be saved! (3×)
A Litany of the Holy Face in Reparation
This Litany was composed by Sister Mary of St. Peter, and approved by Mgr. Morlot, Archbishop of Tours, in 1847. His Holiness Pope Pius IX grants to all who recite, with a contrite heart, these prayers in honour of the Holy Face of Jesus Christ an indulgence of 100 days for each time; applicable to the souls in Purgatory.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us.
(After each of the following phrases, say “have mercy on us”)
O adorable Face, which was adored with profound respect by Mary and Joseph when they saw Thee for the first time, (R) have mercy on us
O adorable Face, which in the Stable of Bethlehem didst ravish with joy the angels, the shepherds and the Magi. (R)
O adorable Face, which in the Temple didst transpierce with a dart of love the saintly old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna (R)
O adorable Face, which was bathed in tears in Thy holy infancy (R)
O adorable Face, which, when Thou didst appear in the Temple at twelve years of age, didst fill with admiration the Doctors of the law,(R)
O adorable Face, white with purity and ruddy with charity(R)
O adorable Face, more beautiful than the sun, more lovely than the moon, more brilliant than the stars (R)
O adorable Face, fresher than the roses of spring (R)
O adorable Face, more precious than gold, silver, and diamonds (R)
O adorable Face, whose charms are so ravishing, and whose grace is so attractive (R)
O adorable Face, whose every feature is characterized by nobility (R)
O adorable Face, contemplated by angels (R)
O adorable Face, sweet delectation of the Saints(R)
O adorable Face, masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Eternal Father is well pleased. (R)
O adorable Face, delight of Mary and Joseph (R)
O adorable Face, ineffable mirror of the Divine perfections (R)
O adorable Face, whose beauty is always ancient and always new (R)
O adorable Face, which appeasest the wrath of God (R)
O adorable Face, which makest the devils tremble (R)
O adorable Face, treasure of graces and of blessings (R)
O adorable Face, exposed in the desert to the inclemencies of the weather (R)
O adorable Face, scorched with the heat of the sun and bathed with sweat in Thy journeys (R)
O adorable Face, whose expression is all divine (R)
O adorable Face, whose modesty and sweetness attracted both the just and sinners. (R)
O adorable Face, which gavest a holy kiss to the little children, after having blessed them (R)
O adorable Face, troubled and weeping at the tomb of Lazarus (R)
O adorable Face, brilliant as the sun, and radiant with glory on the Mountain of Tabor (R)
O adorable Face, sorrowful at the sight of Jerusalem, and shedding tears on that ungrateful city (R)
O adorable Face, bowed down to the earth, in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins (R)
O adorable Face, bathed in a bloody sweat (R)
O adorable Face, kissed by the traitor Judas (R)
O adorable Face, whose sanctity and majesty smote the soldiers with fear and cast them to the ground (R)
O adorable Face, struck by a vile servant, shamefully blindfolded, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies (R)
O adorable Face, defiled with spittle, and bruised by innumerable buffets and blows (R)
O adorable Face, whose Divine look wounded the heart of Peter, with a dart of sorrow and love (R)
O adorable Face, humbled for us at the tribunals of Jerusalem (R)
O adorable Face, which didst preserve Thy serenity when Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence (R)
O adorable Face, covered with sweat and blood, and falling in the mire under the heavy weight of the Cross (R)
O adorable Face, worthy of all our respect, veneration and worship (R)
O adorable Face, wiped with a veil by a pious woman on the road to Calvary (R)
O adorable Face, raised on the instrument of most shameful punishment (R)
O adorable Face, whose brow was covered with Thorns (R)
O adorable Face, whose eyes were filled with tears of blood (R)
O adorable Face, into whose mouth was poured gall and vinegar (R)
O adorable Face, whose hair and beard were plucked out by the executioners (R)
O adorable Face, which was made like to that of a leper (R)
O adorable Face, whose incomparable beauty was obscured under the dreadful cloud of the sins of the world (R)
O adorable Face, covered with the sad shades of death (R)
O adorable Face, washed and anointed by Mary and the holy women and wrapped in a shroud (R)
O adorable Face, enclosed in the sepulchre (R)
O adorable Face, all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the Resurrection, O adorable Face, all dazzling with light at the moment of Thy Ascension (R)
O adorable Face, hidden in the Eucharist (R)
O adorable Face, which will appear at the end of time, in the clouds, with great power and great majesty (R)
O adorable Face, which wilt cause sinners to tremble (R)
O adorable Face, which wilt fill the just with joy for all eternity (R)
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Promises of our Lord Jesus Christ – to those Devoted to His Holy Face
- I will grant them contrition Soper fact that their very sins shall be changed, in My Sight, into jewels of precious gold.
- None of these persons shall ever be separated from Me.
- In offering My Face to My Father, they will appease His anger, and they will purchase, as with celestial coin, pardon for poor sinners.
- I will open My mouth to plead with My Father to grant all the petitions that they will present to Me.
- I will illuminate them with My Light. I will consume them with My Love, and I will render them fruitful of good works.
- They will, as the pious Veronica, wipe My Adorable Face outraged by sin, and I will imprint My Divine Features in these souls.
- At their death, I will renew in them the image of God effaced by sin.
- By resemblance to My Face, they will shine more than many others in eternal life and the brilliancy of My Face will fill them with joy.
“Nothing whatsoever will be refused to us” through the Holy Face
Prayers to the Holy Face
O Jesus, Who in Thy cruel Passion didst become the “Reproach of men and the Man of Sorrows,” I worship Thy Divine Face. Once it shone with the beauty and sweetness of the Divinity: now for my sake it is become as the face of a leper. Yet in that disfigured Countenance I recognise Thy infinite Love, and I am consumed with the desire of loving Thee and of making Thee loved by all mankind. The tears that streamed in such abundance from Thine Eyes are to me as precious pearls which I delight to gather, that with their infinite worth I may ransom the souls of poor sinners.
O Jesus, Whose Face is the sole beauty that ravishes my heart, I may not behold here upon earth the sweetness of Thy Glance, nor feel the ineffable tenderness of Thy Kiss. I bow to Thy will—but I pray Thee to imprint in me Thy Divine likeness, and I implore Thee so to inflame me with Thy love, that it may quickly consume me and I may soon reach the vision of Thy glorious Face in heaven. Amen.
Short Version:
Jesus, Who in Thy bitter Passion didst become ‘the reproach of men and the Man of Sorrows’, I venerate Thy Holy Face on which shone the beauty and gentleness of the Divinity. In those disfigured features I recognise Thine infinite love, and I long to love Thee and to make Thee loved. May I behold Thy glorious Face in heaven! Amen.
Canticle to The Holy Face of Jesus:
Dear Jesus! ‘tis Thy Holy Face
Is here the start that guides my way;
Thy countenance, so full of grace,
Is heaven on earth, for me, to-day.
And love finds holy charms for me
In Thy sweet eyes with tear-drops wet;
Through mine own tears I smile at Thee,
And in Thy griefs my pains forget.
How gladly would I live unknown,
Thus to console Thy aching heart.
Thy veiled beauty, it is shown
To those who live from earth apart.
I long to fly to Thee alone!
Thy Face is now my fatherland, —
The radiant sunshine of my days, —
My realm of love, my sunlit land,
Where, all life long, I sing Thy praise;
It is the lily of the vale,
Whose mystic perfume, freely given,
Brings comfort, when I faint and fail,
And makes me taste the peace of heaven.
Thy Face, in its unearthly grace,
Is like the divinest myrrh to me,
That on my heart I gladly place;
It is my lyre of melody;
My rest — my comfort — is Thy Face.
My only wealth, Lord! is Thy Face;
I ask naught else than this from Thee;
Hid in the secret of that Face,
The more I shall resemble Thee!
Oh, leave on me some impress faint
Of Thy sweet, humble, patient Face,
And soon I shall become a saint,
And draw men to Thy saving grace.
So, in the secret of Thy Face,
Oh! hide me, hide me, Jesus blest!
There let me find its hidden grace,
Its holy fires, and, in heaven’s rest,
Its rapturous kiss, in Thy embrace!
St. Therese of Lisieux, August 12, 1895.
Prayers of Ven. Leo Dupont
O adorable Face of my Jesus, so mercifully bowed upon the tree of the Cross on the day of Thy Passion, for the salvation of men, now again, incline in Thy pity toward us poor sinners; cast upon us a look of compassion and receive us to the kiss of peace. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, in presenting ourselves before Thy Adorable Face, to beg of Thee the graces we most need, we beseech Thee, to give us above all things the disposition of never refusing at any time to do what Thou requires of us by Thy commandments and divine inspirations. Amen.
Prayer of Bl. Pope Pius IX
O my Jesus, cast upon us a look of mercy; turn Thy Face towards each of us, as Thou didst to Veronica; not that we may see It with our bodily eyes, for this we do not deserve, but turn It towards our hearts, so that, remembering Thee, we may ever draw from this fountain of strength the vigour necessary to sustain the combats of life. Amen.
Prayer of Pope Clement VI
O God, Who dost enlighten us with the light of Thy Countenance, and Who, to reward the loving kindness of St. Veronica, didst leave us the impression of Thy Face on her veil as a remembrance, grant that through Thy Cross and Passion, we may one day fearlessly look upon Thy Face, when Thou wilt come to judge the living and the dead.
Almighty and eternal God, through Whose grace the image of Thy Holy Face doth shine forth radiantly to Thy devout people, grant us, we beseech Thee, the remission of our sins, and direct all the thoughts, words, and actions of those who confide in Thy Mercy, Who lives and reingest with the Father, in unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
Prayer of St. Augustine to the Holy Face
I appear before Thy Holy Face, O my Saviour, laden with my sins and the penalties they have brought upon me. What I suffer is far less that I deserve, for although conscious of the justice of my punishment, I cease not to commit fresh sins every day. I sink beneath Thy scourges, yet I do not amend my ways; my heart is full of bitterness, still my obstinacy in evil remains ever the same. My life is spent in misery, and I do not correct myself. When Thou chastises me, I make Thee great promises, which, as soon as Thou liftest up Thy hand, I forget.
I come now to make to Thee, O God, a sincere confession of my sins. I declare in Thy presence that if Thou show not Thy mercy to me, I shall surely perish. Grant me, my Saviour, what I beg of Thee, since of Thy pure goodness Thou hast drawn me out of nothingness to put me into a state wherein I can pray to Thee. Amen. (St. Augustine)
Hail, Adorable Head, crowned with thorns and struck with a reed for us!
Hail, worshipful Face, spit upon and smitten for us!
O bleeding Face, O Face divine, be every adoration Thine!
REPARATION PRAYER
Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, 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, 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 Sister Mary ot St. Peter that the Image ot His Holy Face is like a Divine Stamp which, it applied to souls, through prayer, has the power of imprinting anew within them the Image ot God.
I SALUTE THEE, I ADORE THEE, AND I LOVE THEE,
OH ADORABLE FACE OF MY BELOVED JESUS,
AS THE NOBLE STAMP OF DIVINITY!
COMPLETELY SURRENDERING MY SOUL TO THEE,
I MOST HUMBLY BEG THEE 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.
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