Devotions to the Holy Face and its special significance for the Lenten Season

Holy Face Shroud of Turin--------Holy Face from Veronica's Veil

The  devotion to the Holy Face is one of the earliest devotions in the Church during which the devotee contemplates the face of Christ in His Passion - A face most glorious from birth, but disfigured in consequence of the sins of men. The two major relics of this devotion as seen above are: the winding Cloth of Our Lord's burial, known as the Shroud of Turin; and the Miraculous Image of Jesus imprinted on the Veil of holy Veronica, who compassionately wiped Our Lord's face, when He was bearing the cross. These relics have been carefully, and miraculously, preserved in the Church for millennia, through to the present day

There is a significant  call in the Providence of God linking Lenten observances with the Holy Face devotions. Studying the historical timeline we are looking also into the  messages of Our Lady at Salette and Fatima to show that the enemies Our Lady warned us against are the same that Our Lord told Sr. Mary Peter of Tours, in the 1840's atheistic communists.

The Tuesday  before Ash Wednesday (fat Tuesday) in past centuries was also called Shrove Tuesday. It was considered to be a day of examination and repentance. It was a time for the faithful to decide on their Lenten penances and to go to confession in order to prepare to make a good Lent 

Last year Shrove Tuesday, fell on February 13th. I was researching the historical timeline then and I mistakenly made a false assumption.  I just realized I needed to correct my error of calling Shrove Tuesday a feast or memorial of the Holy Face. I thought because the Devotions and Novena to the Holy Face  are approved,  that the Church also gave Our Lord what he asked for in the 1840's. I was wrong the church never officially declared Shrove Tuesday a Memorial or Feast of the Holy Face. I apologize for that that error and would have corrected it earlier if it was brought to my attention.

I was surprised because as I looked for information on the Devotions I  discovered a PDF. copy of the 1887 Manuel of the Arch Confraternity of the Holy Face   In it, on page 256, there is a Mass written in honor of the Holy Face in the Tridentine (extraordinary form). 

Until I learn differently,  I am assuming that  the Mass written for the Holy Face in the 1887 Arch-Confraternity Manuel was at one time approved for use by the Arch-Confraternity in Tours. I am making inquiries to see if it still is and if  permissions may be obtained for the Mass to  be said by Confraternites of the Holy Face attached to the arch-confraternity. I am hoping to learn how we may spread Confraternites of the Holy Face in the church.

In the meantime let us be happy that we can participated another year in the Novena in order  to make Reparation. Let us continue to do what we can to spread the Holy Face Devotions to those around us.

In 2018, Shrove Tuesday 
fell on February 13th. The anniversary of the death of Servant of God Sr. Lucia of Fatima.
We should not let this significant timing pass unnoticed. It is not a random coincidence. 

Nothing in the unfolding of Divine Providence 
is random or chance.

Fatima Sanctuary Statue

Golden Star under Rosary

The number 13 was prominent during the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Our Lady appeared in each of her six apparitions to the three shepherd children on the 13th of each month. Early Fatima scholars recognized it as a sign linking the Fatima Message with the book of Ester. Another visible sign in each of her apparitions was a star embedded in her pure white gown just below her knees. It was under the crucifix which dangled from the Rosary that she held in her hands. This star signified her as a Jewish Princess. Theologians from the early beginnings of the apparitions called it the Star of Esther, in reference to the Old Testament Book of Esther. Here Queen Esther is a type for the Virgin Mary, and personifies, Our Lady especially under her titles of Our Lady of Fatima. 

Sr. Lucia of Fatima

The magnitude of February 13th, or “the 13th of Adar”, could not be fully realized, even by Fatima scholars until the death of Sr. Lucia, the last surviving Fatima seer. In the Book of Esther the Jewish people were to be exterminated on the 13th of the Month of Adar in the Hebrew Calendar. Queen Esther asked her people to pray and fast for her as she approached the king to have the edict rescinded. (See Addendum II at the end of the post for an account of the variations between the Hebrew and Gregorian Calendar.)

Sr. Lucia lived to be 97 years of age and was called to eternal life on February 13, 2005. The timing of Sr. Lucia’s death is the final stamp by God linking the Fatima Messages with the Book of Esther. The date of Sr. Lucia’s death has been before our eyes for some time but few in the Church realize its significance. This is a silent symbolic call from God that shouts for prayer and penance. Individually, our prayers and penances bring the grace and mercy of God. However, we need the whole community of the faithful to pray together to defeat the evil around us. Let us wake up and answer this call and pray it will be also heard and presented in the Church.

Events in Book of Ester link 

The Holy Face Devotions with the 

Messages of Fatima and La Salette 

We are assuming the reader is familiar with the story in the book of Ester. At some point it would be good to read and meditate over the scriptures once more in the light of the Fatima Message.

Sr. Mary Peters of Tours with Golden Arrow

If we read over the historical account of the Holy Face Devotions over the centuries we see that our Lord came first to Sr. Mary Peter of Tours from 1843-1847. Sr. Mary Peters was a discalced Carmelite Nun from Tours and is best known for starting the devotions to the Holy Face ofJesus and for the Golden Arrow Prayer. She also introduced the Little Sachet Sacramental.

Our Lord asked her to promote the Devotion to His Holy Face as a means of Reparation for "Revolutionary men" -- the communists through whom God is allowing the world to be chastised for its unbelief’. The express purpose of this devotion was to make reparation for their idolatry, and blasphemies in the abuse of His Holy Name and the profanation of Sundays, all sins against His Divine Majesty in the first three commandments.

"The earth is steeped in crime! The Holy Name of the Lord is blasphemed; the very day of Sunday itself is profaned: these fill the measure of iniquity. In no age has crime been so malignant. My Name is every where blasphemed; even by the little children!" 

(Words of Our Lord to Sr. Mary Peter of Tours mid 1840’s) 

What will our Lord say about us?

Is this not also included in the Fatima Message?

Our Lady came to Fatima to ask us to help her to prevent Russia from spreading her errors throughout the world, namely atheistic communism. She expressed in various ways the urgent need to make reparation to God for poor sinners who have no one to pray for them. She asked us not to offend God anymore for he is already deeply offended! The Holy Face Devotion and the appearance of Our Lady at La Salette with the prophecies of impending chastisement are reflected with the same urgency today in the Fatima message. Our Lady came to Fatima remind us of our duties towards God who is already deeply offended. Spend some time in prayer meditating on the Message of La Salette and of Our Lord to Sr. Mary Peter of Tours in the light of the Fatima Message.

Examining the various symbols in the apparitions; The Holy Face, La Salette and Fatima, we also see that the prophecies point to the time of the apparitions as well as possibilities for a future fulfillment. Similar to the prophecies contained throughout scripture. The Apparitions of Our Lord or Lady over the course of time no matter how far in the past are always present to God. With God there is no past or future there is only the eternal present. The symbols and gestures as well as the dates and times during these apparitions are not coincidences. There is a measure and a message to proclaim, in the timing of God's manifestations within the historical context, of the moment and again in the unfolding of history. There are mysteries that will be understood only as the Church prays and meditates over the events. With the help of the Holy Spirit we will be able to penetrate the hidden meaning that God shares with those who pray. In prayer and meditation the Church may discover the meaning for the present time and also see the possibilities of a future fulfillment of the prophecies. They are always conditional, dependent on our responses to the call for penance.

Establishment of the Confraternity of the Holy Face as works of Reparation 

Our Lord also revealed to Sr. Mary Peters: "works of reparation” that can be utilized in our time. (Manual of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face in Tours, 1887 - an Archconfraternity erected in perpetuity by the Holy See by Pope Leo XIII. This richly indulgenced work of reparation emphasizes reparation to Our Lord in his agony and is the Divine tool given by God to defeat Communism, but it is also an instrument given to the individual devotee as a seemingly unfailing method of appealing to God in prayer-----through adoration of His Holy Face and Name.The Statutes of the Archconfraternity, submitted to Pope Leo XIII, declare: "...the veneration of this adorable Face to be the great means of preventing and repairing the impious outrages committed against the Majesty of God, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and the Authority of the Church." The Archconfraternity had in mind particularly the crimes perpetrated by free-masonry, and later by communism. The Archconfraternity adopts as its motto the invocation to which the Holy Father has attached an indulgence:

"Lord, show us Thy face, and we shall be saved," from Psalm 79.4 

"Deus converte nos, et ostende faciem tuam, et salvi erimus." 

"O God, convert us, and show us Thy face, and we shall be saved."

Please follow the links here and at the end this post for information and copies of the original ArchConfraternity Statutes published in 1887. You may with the help of God’s grace be called to establish a confraternity of the Holy Face in your diocese or parish.  1887 Manuel of the Arch Confraternity of the Holy Face

                                   

Our Lord also dictated to Sr. Mary of St. Peter the following "Golden Arrow" Prayer, which, as He promised, would so touch His most loving Heart as to bring forth from It streams of grace for the conversion of sinners. “This prayer will wound my heart delightfully and will heal the wounds inflicted by blasphemy” 

"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."

Venerable Leo Dupont-Holy Man of Tours 

Many Catholics are unaware of the providential connection between the public devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus (received by Sr. Mary St. Peter of Tours from 1843-1847) and the church approved apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at La Salette in 1846. This was recorded by the Holy Man of Tours Leo Dupont, He was the friend and confidant of Sr. Mary Peters. He record her communications with Our Lord and wrote her biography. He was called the "Apostle of the Holy Face", and helped spread the devotion after the death of Sr. Mary Pete,  He was declared Venerable by the Holy See during Pope Pius XII’s Pontificate and currently awaits beatification. There is a link below to read the original book he wrote on the life of Sr. Mary Peter of Tours published in 1884. 

Here are selected parts from Chapter XVI “La Salette from the 480 page scanned copy of the book Ven. Leop Dupont wrote on the: “The Life of Sr. Mary Peter Carmelite of Tours”,1884 Imprimatur.

  Click to download the pdf book

Sr. Mary Peter was overwhelmed at the enormity of the approaching chastisement that was awaiting France, and begged Our Lord and Lady to send another soul outside of the cloister who would be in better position to make the warnings from Heaven to others: 

“All my prayers, all my communions, all my aspirations and all my thoughts were offered for the establishment of this work of reparation so dear to my heart, (The Holy Face devotions). if it were possible, to proclaim it all over France, by making my countrymen know the misfortunes that menaced them, Oh how I suffer in being the only confidant in a matter of such importance, and which I am obliged to keep within the secret walls of the cloister! Oh most Holy Virgin I implore you to come to some pious soul in the world, and make her a partaker of that which was communicated to me in reference to France!"

A little while later, in answer to her prayer, Our Lady appeared to two shepherd on September 19, 1846, at La Salette, a remote mountain village in France. Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, while grazing their cows on the steep mountain slopes of La Salette saw a woman bathed in light. As they approached closer they observed her seated on a rock with her head in her hands weeping bitterly. Our Lady here as well as at Fatima, shows herself as the refuge of sinners. She interposes herself as an afflicted mother between the wrath of God and her guilty children.

“If my people will not submit I shall be forced to let fall the avenging arm of my Son," She told them. “Oh! If you only knew how much I suffer for you” The tears streamed from her eyes and fell on the image of an unusual crucifix resting near her heart with a hammer and pincers affixed to it. During the course of the long apparition our Lady spoke and walked with them. She gave them a public message and each child also received a private secret message that was to be revealed at a later time. The crucifix our Lady wore seemed to be alive, at times the image of our Lord was in agony, and at other times, he appeared motionless and dead.

When word of the apparition of Our Lady at La Salette finally reached Sr. Mary Peter she wrote again in thanksgiving: “I render thee thanks Divine Mother for having given me these two little shepherds as sounding trumpets, to cause the mountains to re-echo in the ears of France, that which was made known to me in solitude. The voices of my two little associates were soon heard over all the earth, and their announcements produced a great impression on mankind.”

Reflecting on Our Lady of La Sallete who was seated upon a rock weeping: May we say Our Lady was weeping over the church and her errant children whose sins are bringing upon themselves and the world God’s chastisement? When she finished giving Her message to them she departed Her final sorrowful glance as She left was east toward the direction of Rome. Through simple shepherd children in the apparitions of La Salette and Fatima, the Blessed Virgin rebukes the people for their impiety, manifested in their contempt for the commandments of God. May we also say that she not only wept over the sins of that time, but she also wept and continues to weep over the sins that we are committing today as well?

Rev. Michael Gasnier, O.P., in his study of "The Roses of the Apparition of La Salette", said: "Certain details even though they remain subordinate to the essential value of an apparition, have nevertheless, a proper signification. This signification has a bearing on the end of Mary's message, completing and interpreting it, and which, in consequence, should be considered separately. These particulars, when considered in their entire value, possess many a touching lesson. Not only do they give a greater comprehension of the inexhaustible mystery of the Apparition but they also permit one to advance more and more into the intentions and desires, and I would almost say, into the maternal psychology of Our Blessed Mother."

Meditating in the line of Providence once more, let us consider the La Salette crucifix in order to find its true significance outside of the obvious indication for the time of the Passion of Our Lord and Lent. Melanie said that: "The Lady had a very small chain to which was attached a crucifix: at the right, of the corpus were pincers and on the left, a hammer"

The hammer and pincers placed on either side of the cross, on which Jesus hanged crucified, have relations to the great mystery of the Crucifixion. Recall that Our Lord said that on His right would stand the blessed on the last day and on His left those destined for hell. It was the hammer that was used by the executioners charged with the task of crucifying Jesus. However, indirectly, it was moved also by all of us sinners of the earth. The hammer, therefore, was the instrument of God's enemies and of his enemies alone. 

Love destroyed the work of hate represented by the pincers which Joseph of Arimathea used to detach Jesus from the cross. Love will destroy the work accomplished by the hammer; and it was used only by the friends of Jesus.

Through our prayers and works of reparation we participate in the love that Joseph of Arimathea showed Our Lord when he took him off the cross. We also participate in the consolation that Veronica gave Our Lord when she wiped his bloody sweat from his face on his way to Calvary. 

The Holy Face Devotion forgotten 
During World War I 

Bl. Maria Pierina de Micheli 

Unfortunately, the Holy Face devotion was lost around World War I. Likely because of the sufferings of the time and lack of modern communication. Sometime just before the start of WWII from 1935-1945 our Lord came again to Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli, a holy nun from the Congregation of The Daughters of the Immaculate Conception. 

Our Lord chose her to give his second plea to the world for devotion to his Holy Face. He urged her in many visions to spread once again the devotion, in reparation for the many insults He suffered in His Passion. He told her he wanted reparation for the times he was slapped, spit upon and kissed by Judas, as well as for the profanation of the Blessed Sacrament through neglect, and sacrileges. Bl. Mother Pierina was beatified on Sunday, May 30, 2010 by Benedict XVI at the Basilica of St. Mary Major the first beatification ever held within its walls.

"Do you see how I suffer? The executioners crucified me on Good Friday, Christians crucify me on Sundays. 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 my Face be venerated by a special feast every year on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. I wish that the feast be preceded by a novena of nine days which the faithful make reparation with me, joining together and sharing in my sorrow."

“By My Holy Face you will obtain the conversion of numberless sinners. Nothing that you ask in making this offering will be refused you. According to the care you take in making reparation To My Face, disfigured by blasphemers, I will take care of yours, which has been disfigured by sin. I will reprint on it My Image, and render it as beautiful as it was on leaving the Baptismal Font.” 

                           Our Lord to Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli

                             

© Carmelite Monastery St. Therese,

Clinton Twp. MI

ArchConfraternity in U.S.A.

       What can we do?
Our Lord asked for a novena 9 days before Shrove Tuesday, however, the novena may be said any time there is a great need for reparation. One could also pray the novena nine days before Good Friday while walking with our Lord during his sufferings. However this year the significance of Shrove Tuesday with the Fatima Message and the Book of Ester we should have as many people as possible take part in this work of reparation.The novena this year begins on Sunday February 16th and ends February 24th the day before Shrove Tuesday. Here is the link for the Novena to the Holy Face. 
                   Link for the Novena to the Holy Face:
   https://www.holyface.org.uk/content/holyfacenovena.htm

1885 ArchConfraternity 

       For The Holy Face       

In the revelations to Sister Mary of St. Peter, Our Lord was very specific in stating the extreme importance of this devotion to his Holy Face for making reparation to God, for holding back the justice of God during the evils of the day, and for obtaining the resolution to all of the problems in our families. To His priests He promises He will defend them before His Father in Heaven and give them His kingdom if they, through words, prayers or writings, defend His cause in this work of "reparation." Pastors, therefore, and priests who desire to answer this call should endeavor, through regular procedure, to establish the Confraternity of the Holy Face in their parishes. Follow link how to establish confraternities:   http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/confraternity.htm

Addendums: 
The Public Message of La Salette

Similar to the Fatima Message, Our Lady also gave the children of La Salette a public message which was given told to the bishop and made public. After an initial period of investigation by the local authorities, the apparitions were declared to be worthy of belief in 1851 by the bishop of Grenoble. This legitimized devotion to Our Lady of 

La Salette.

At the same time Cardinal de Boland instructed, Melanie and Maximin to write down the content of the secrets, which were then sealed in envelopes and transmitted to Pope Pius IX. These secrets remain buried in the Vatican secret archives for nearly a century and a half, until they were finally unearthed by Fr Michel Corteville in 1999, who working together with Fr Rene Laurentin, eventually revealed the messages to the public in 2002 in their book Découverte du secret de La Salette, (Discovery of the Secret of La Salette, Fayard, 2002).” Read More…. http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-lady-of-la-salette.html

The Secrets of La Salette

Time does not allow for a full expose on the various versions of the secrets in circulation on La Salatte. Which ones are authentic and which are not. In essence they all say the same thing with varying degrees of embellishment. It is too convoluted and will not serve our purpose here to address this except to say that there were secrets and they have been revealed. To correct these common misunderstandings of the La Salette secrets, it is essential to return to the original accounts, in their various versions, to distinguish the primitive version from later embellishments. This has become possible for the first time in over a century, thanks to the rediscovery of the original secrets submitted by the children directly to Pope Pius IX in 1851. They compared the authentic secrets to other versions that appeared over the years, and explain the relationship of these to the originals, thereby constructing a documentary history of the revelations of La Salette. Follow this link for details:  Public and Secret messages of La Sallette  http://www.arcaneknowledge.org/catholic/lasalette.htm

Controversies

We should not let the controversy over the secrets of La Salette detract from the importance of the message itself. It is a plea for men to stop offending God and for reparation. It is the same plea given at Fatima.

The Fatima Message also suffered similar controversies over the Collegial Consecration of Russia that detracted from the essence of the message. The people looked at what they thought the pope should have done instead of incorporating the Message of Penance into their daily lives. Where ever the Holy Spirit is poured out you can be sure the evil spirit will not be far causing confusion and divisions. His time is short. For us to argue over these opinions and it takes us away from doing the work of reparation and the devil wins. Some truths will only be known in Heaven.

Teaching the importance of personal reformation is what we need to accomplish this reawakening in the Church to the beauty and power of reparation contained in the devotions to the Holy Face. The spread and reawakening of this devotion may be the means used by God to help bring about the necessary reparation needed for the longed for Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

Addendum II  

A friend of mine who speaks fluent Latin wrote to remind me that the two calendars, (Hebrew and Gregorian) do not often line up. I sighed and thought; Ok Lord, she is not the only one who will have this observation, so I am back to the computer screen preparing another addendum.

I avoided the subject because of the time I needed to get this out before February 4th, the start of the Holy Face Novena and because It would have unduly lengthened an already long post if I brought out the  calendar variations. I also feared that some people would dismiss this as fancy imaginings, (putting things together on my part) and not look the post over with a prayerful discernment. I decided I would deal with the subject if it was brought up. It was and I expect there are others like my friend in the cyber world, so with Gods help here is the second addendum.

I was aware that the dates in the Hebrew Calendar and the Gregorian calendars do not often align. This is because the Hebrew calendar is Lunar while the western calendar (Gregorian) is Solar. Every four years the western calendar has to add a day ( 29th February ) leap year. This keeps the calendar in step with the Earth's progress around the Sun. The Hebrew calendar is about ten days short of a solar year, so every seven years they add an extra month. This ensures that the seasonal feasts keep to their correct season. This extra month is added at the end of the Jewish Year after the month of Adar II. The leap year month is called Adar I Purim must be celebrated in Adar II in a leap year, so Adar I is considered the "extra" month.

In current 2018 Hebrew calendar, the 13th of Adar falls on 1 March 2018, so the Jews will celebrate their Purim feast after sunset on 28 February 2018 (Wednesday of the second week of Lent).This day is celebrated as the Jewish Feast of Purim-"lots," in reference to the lots cast by Haman in choosing the day on which the Jewish People were to be slain (Esther 3.7-12). The chosen date was the 13th of Adar. The Month of Adar in the Holy Scriptures comprises in Esther: 09, 21.

Adar and Adar II Is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It occurs during anytime during February–March on the Gregorian calendar. Based on a line in the Mishnah declaring that Purim must be celebrated in Adar II in a leap year (Megillah 1:4), Adar I is always considered the "extra" Leap year month. The next Jewish leap year will be in 2020. Incidentally, the Jewish calendar is calculated from Creation and therefore needs no BC or AD. Jewish reference to the Western, Gregorian, calendar are CE or BCE; CE standing for Common Era and Before Common Era.

There are people who are exacting types and may dismiss the whole account just because Adar 13 and February 13 are not the exactly same day this year. So if I may make a plea in defense of God’s silent language in the unfolding of His Divine Providence. God knew in advance that the calendars would not line up every year when he sent Our Lady on the 13th of each month to Fatima for six months. He also knew the calendars would not align when God placed the star on Our Lady’s dress signifying her as a Jewish Princess/Queen. He also realized this when he called Sr. Lucia home on the February 13, 2005. Of all the days of the year to choose he chose this date, placing the final stamp implying that the Fatima Message and the Book of Ester are related

Finally, God foresaw that in 2018 the feast that He requested to honor His Holy Face would fall on Shrove Tuesday, February 13th. If God knowing that Adar 13 and February 13 would not always align. Why should we nitpick and just accept the implied reference? It should be enough for us that the timing of the all these events direct us to look at the Book of Ester and follow the example of Queen Ester in relation to the Fatima Message. 

What is indeed interesting to note that this year the Jewish Passover or Seder fall on March 30th, Good Friday, the same time it occurred when Our Lord was crucified.

Information in this post article was compiled from following links:

1887 Manuel of the Arch Confraternity of the Holy Face 

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/files/ManualoftheArchconfraternityoftheHolyFace.pdf

First Papal Brief (December 16, 1884)

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/papal_brief1.htm

Second Papal Brief (April 22nd, 1885)

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/papal_brief2.htm

Third Papal Brief (October 1, 1885)
http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/papal_brief3.htm

Indulgences granted

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/indulgences.htm

Photo Video of La Salette Shrine 5 min

https://youtu.be/VnMWvUmV-TA

The Life of Sr. Mary Peter, Carmelite of Tours

http://www.todayscatholicworld.com/life-of-sr-mary-st-peter-tours-holy-face.pdf

The Holy Face and connection with La Sallette

https://www.holyface.org.uk/content/srpierina.htm

Link for the Novena to the Holy Face

https://www.holyface.org.uk/content/holyfacenovena.htm

Closing Devotions

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/files/HFhandout3-updated.pdf

Another Novena to the Holy Face

http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/golden-arrow.htm

Feast of the Holy Face on Shrove Tuesday

https://www.holyface.org.uk/content/holyfacefeast.htm

Devotion to the Holy Face Early revelation on Communism

History of devotion to The Holy Face an early revelation concerning communism.

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/timeline.htm

St Therese and Holy Face

http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/files/HFhandout1.pdf

Holy Face Devotion and LaSallette

http://www.tcwblog.com/182861439

Various Versions of the Secret of LaSallette

http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-lady-of-la-salette.html

The Crucifix of La Sallette

https://www.lasalette.org/about-la-salette/reconciliation/spirituality-and-charism/1824-the-crucifix-of-la-salette.html

Secrets of Lasalette.

http://www.arcaneknowledge.org/catholic/lasalette.htm

Our Lady's Apocalypse

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/catholicteaching/privaterevelation/lasalet.html

Seeking the Face of Christ during Lent
 http://speramus-hope.blogspot.com/2014/03/seeking-face-of-christ-during-lent.html

Holy Face Devotions Divine Remedy for our Post Christian Age
https://speramusposterous.wordpress.com/holy-face-devotion-defenders-of-the-holy-name-of-god/remedy-for-a-post-christian-age/

An act of HONORABLE AMMENDS in Reparation for the sin of blasphemy and other Impious Crimes against God and His Church!

The Church is suffering with great wounds because Catholics are not living up to the faith they profess. We must live for God alone and for eternal life! Nothing else matters! Nothing else! Where will you spend eternity? If we are insincere about that we are fools. There is no reward in pretending to be Christian a good Catholic but living like others in the world. Catholics must stand out by their actions, their words and their dress. If we look like pagans we will act like pagans! This is matter for another separate post God willing!

Many of us are talking the talk but in our actions we do not walk the walk with the suffering Christ,  who came to show us how to get to Heaven by His example. If we do not follow His example we will not go to Heaven! Many Catholics consider themselves learned on matters of faith, but they contradict the faith by their deeds. Hiding hidden motives for power, esteem or even with aims to destroy the Church founded by Jesus Christ. 

The sin of apostasy is a sin against the Holy Spirit and is becoming ruination of the church. There are many bad things in the Church and society today, the sins of the clerics play a major role in this, but we cannot excuse ourselves from this tragedy just because our sins are not public knowledge! We too play a role for the times we practiced a half-hearted  Catholicism. We are also sinners and must answer to God for our own sins one day! 

It is true that we should take down the unrepentant, guilty predators but let us remember our own sinfulness before we cast the stones at the guilty. Let us pray and do penance for our fallen comrades. While we point the finger at the public sinners let us remember we also have sinned gravely in our lives and deserved hell.

We also must beware lest we ourselves desert the Church. However badly bruised her members are, the Church is the true spouse of Jesus Christ with out spot or blemish. We must not become disheartened, shocked or discouraged in the apostasy of our day! Our Lord foretold this day many times in scriptures.

I can picture our Lord looking at me the same way he looked at his apostles after he told them that they must eat his body and drink his blood or they will not have life within them. Many of the disciples could not accept the teaching and they walked away from Him. Jesus sadly turned His gaze upon his apostles and said: "Will you leave me also?"  We should make the words of St. Peter our own: "Master, to whom else shall we go? You are the Holy one of God. You have the words of Eternal Life!"

Let us pray for God to help us to help Him clean house. Our job is to pray and sacrifice, as we do our best to be exemplary Catholics in word and deeds. Say your prayers fulfill your  penances and follow the requests of Our Lady at Fatima. Then wait for God! 

We will be judged on our own sins not the sins of our clergy! Did you pray for God's mercy upon them so that they do not end up in hell with all the other poor sinners? The following prayer of HONORABLE AMENDS may be recited to make reparation and to console our Lord in His sufferings over the treason of his closest friends. Oremus, Let us pray!-Spera Rose

An Act of Honorable Amends 

to the Most Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ

in Reparation for the sin of blasphemy, 

the sin of the profanation of Sundays, 

and of other impious crimes against God and the Church

Most holy and most adorable Face of the Savior, humbly prostrate in Thy presence, we present ourselves before Thee, in order, by a solemn act of faith and of piety, to render to Thee the homage of veneration, praise and love which is Thy due. We also desire to offer to Thee honorable amends and a public reparation for the sins, blasphemies and sacrileges of which the present generation has rendered itself culpable towards the Divine Majesty, and which, in regard to Thee, oh well-beloved Face, renew the ignominies and the sufferings of Thy Passion.

It is with terror and profound affliction that we are witnesses of these monstrous crimes, which cannot fail to draw down upon society and upon our families, the malediction and the chastisements of Divine Justice. We see, in fact, all around us the law of the Lord and the authority of His Church despised and trodden under foot; His thrice holy Name denied or blasphemed, the Sunday which He has reserved for His worship, publicly profaned; His altars and His offices forsaken for criminal or frivolous pleasures. Impious sectarians attack all that is sacred and religious. But it is, above all, the Divinity of Christ, the Son of the living God; it is the Incarnate Word; it is the august Face and the Crucifix which they attack with the greatest fury; the spit and the blows of the Jews are renewed by the insults and the outrages which their hatred dares, in every possible manner, to inflict upon Thee, oh Face full of sweetness and of love.

Pardon, a thousand times pardon, for all these crimes! May we make amends for them by our humble supplications and the fervor of our homage. Oh, but guilty and sinful as we are, what can we offer the Eternal Father in order to appease His just anger, if it be not Thyself, oh sorrowful Face, who has deigned to make Thyself our Advocate and our Victim? Supply what may be wanting in us by Thy satisfactions and Thy merits.

Heavenly Father, we entreat Thee to look on the Face of Thy Christ. Behold the wounds which disfigure It, the tears which escape from Its sunken eyes; the sweat with which It is bathed; the blood which flows in streams down Its profaned and wounded cheeks. Behold also Its invincible patience, Its unalterable gentleness, Its infinite tenderness and Its merciful goodness towards sinners. This Holy Face is turned towards Thee, and, before exhaling Its last sigh, lovingly inclined upon the Cross, It implores Thee in favor of those who curse and outrage It. Oh Father, listen to that suppliant cry, permit Thyself to be touched; have pity on us and pardon us. Grant, moreover, that in presence of this Divine Face, equally formidable and powerful, the enemies of Thy Name may take flight and disappear; that they may be converted and live! 

May the most adorable Name of God; be adored forever and ever.
May the Holy Day of the Lord; be sanctified by all men.

May the Holy Face of Jesus; be loved by every heart.
May holy Church, our Mother; be exalted throughout the whole earth.
May our holy Father, the Pope, Vicar of Jesus Christ: be venerated by all people.
Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Patron of the Archconfraternity, pray for us.
Lord, show us Thy Face; and we shall be saved. Amen. Amen.

Taken from the Manual of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face, 1887, Tours, France, pp. 155-158

I have given My heart as a sensible object of My great love for man, I give My Face as a sensible object of My sorrow for the sins of man.

Jesus, covered in blood and much sadness, said to Mother Pierina:
"See how much I suffer. I am understood by so few. 


What ingratitude on the part of those who say that they love Me! 

I have given My heart as a sensible object of My great love for man, and I give My Face as a sensible object of My sorrow for the sins of man. I desire that it be honored by a special feast on Shrove Tuesday. The feast will be preceded by a novena, during which the faithful make reparation with Me, uniting themselves with My sorrow."

This year, the feast of the Holy Face falls on February 28, 2017 Shrove Tuesday.  

Will You join me in daily prayer for nine days to atone for our sins? Let us ask Our Lord to  help  us to make a good Lent. We do not know if this will be our last lent and the last opportunity for us to do penance before we cross over to behold his face in the light of eternity.

 Our Lord wanted the novena 9 days before Shrove Tuesday but the novena said any time there is a great need for reparation. Our Lord asked for the nine days before Lent begins but one could also pray the novena anytime during Lent. Maybe nine days before Good Friday. During the novena we will walk with our Lord and compassionate our Lord in his sufferings. “I looked for one to comfort me but I found none.” Psalm 69:20

Also See: 
Complete Novena Nine Days
Seeking the Face of Christ During Lent
Jesus wants a special feast day to Honor His Holy Face
Holy Face Devotions
 Devotions to the Holy Face and its special significance for Lenten Season

Hear my voice when I call, LORD;  be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.

   
Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.  Psalm 27

 Psalm 27...
⁴ One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
 ⁶ Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his
sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

THE “GOLDEN ARROW” PRAYER

Dictated by Our Lord to Sister Mary of St. Peter

 …One may also make a NOVENA OF REPARATION TO OBTAIN A FAVOR by saying the “Golden Arrow” prayer and “The Litany of the Holy Face” below  on nine consecutive days, preferably before the Blessed Sacrament or the picture of the Holy Face, and by going to Confession and Holy Communion!   Click For History of the  Devotion to the Holy Face

May the most holy 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.

After receiving this prayer, Sister Mary of St. Peter was given a vision in which she saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus delightfully wounded by this “Golden Arrow”, as torrents of graces streamed from It for the conversion of sinners.

LITANY OF THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

I salute Thee, I adore Thee and I love Thee, O adorable Face of Jesus, my Beloved, noble Seal of the Divinity! outraged anew by blasphemers. I offer Thee, through the heart of Thy blessed Mother, the worship of all the Angels and Saints, most humbly beseeching Thee to repair and renew in me and in all men Thine Image disfigured by sin.



Veronica's veil, by Claude Mellan (c. 1649).



O adorable Face which was adored, with profound respect, by Mary and Joseph when they saw Thee for the first time, have mercy on us.

O adorable Face which ravished with joy, in the stable of Bethlehem, the Angels, the shepherds and the magi, have mercy…

O adorable Face which transpierced with a dart of love in the Temple, the saintly old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna, have mercy…

O adorable Face which filled with admiration the Doctors of the Law when Thou appeared in the Temple at the age of twelve years, have mercy…

O adorable Face which possesses beauty always ancient and always new, have mercy…

O adorable Face which is the masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Eternal Father is well pleased, have mercy…

O adorable Face which is the ineffable mirror of the divine perfections, have mercy…

Adorable Face of Jesus which was so mercifully bowed down on the Cross, on the day of Thy Passion, for the salvation of the world! Once more today in pity bend down towards us poor sinners. Cast upon us a glance of compassion and give us Thy peace.   

Reliquary (volto santo di manoppello)


O adorable Face which became brilliant like the sun and radiant with glory, on the Mountain of Thabor, have mercy…

O adorable Face which wept and was troubled at the tomb of Lazarus, have mercy…

O adorable Face which was rendered sad at the sight of Jerusalem, and shed tears on that ungrateful city, have mercy…

O adorable Face which was bowed down to the ground in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins, have mercy…

O adorable Face which was covered with the sweat of blood, have mercy…

O adorable Face which was struck by a vile servant, covered with a veil of shame, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies, have mercy…

O adorable Face which by Its divine glance, wounded the heart of St. Peter with a dart of sorrow and love, have mercy…

Be merciful to us, O my God! Do not reject our prayers, when in the midst of our afflictions, we call upon Thy Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Thine adorable Face.

Detail  (volto santo di manoppello)

     O adorable Face which was washed and anointed by Mary and the holy women and covered with a shroud, have mercy…

O adorable Face which was all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the Resurrection, have mercy…

O adorable Face which is hidden in the Eucharist, have mercy…

O adorable Face which will appear at the end of time in the clouds with great power and great majesty, have mercy…

O adorable Face which will make sinners tremble, have mercy…

O adorable Face which will fill the just with joy for all eternity,  have mercy…

O adorable Face which merits all our reverence, our homage and our adoration, have mercy…

O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!

O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!

O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!

PRAYER TO OFFER THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

TO GOD THE FATHER TO APPEASE HIS JUSTICE

AND DRAW DOWN GOD'S MERCY UPON US

Almighty and Eternal Father, since it has pleased Our Divine Savior to reveal to mankind in modern times the power residing in His Holy Face, we now avail ourselves of this Treasure in our great need. Since Our Savior Himself promised that by offering to Thee His Holy Face disfigured in the Passion we can procure the settlement of all the affairs of our household, and that nothing will be refused to us, we now come before Thy throne.

Eternal Father, turn away Thine 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 His Holy Face covered with blood, sweat, dust, spittle and shame, in reparation for the worst crimes of our age, which are atheism, blasphemy, and the desecration of Thy holy days. We thus hope to appease Thine anger justly provoked against us. The All-Merciful Advocate opens His mouth to plead our cause; listen to His cries, behold His tears, O God, and through the merits of His Holy Face hearken to Him when He intercedes for us poor miserable sinners.

The Holy Face of Manoppello

                             

I have given My heart as a sensible object of My great love for man, I give My Face as a sensible object of My sorrow for the sins of man. 

Let us compassionate our Lord in prayer!