In Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis states, “Introduce everyone to the great mystery of God’s mercy by contemplating the face of Christ,” (25) and similarly on June 29, 2016, he states in the newly released apostolic constitution, “Seeking the face of God has always been a part of human history.” (Vultum Dei quaerere “Seeking the Face of God” no. 1) From the beginning Adam and Eve experienced their greatest joy by gazing at the face of God in the garden; however, after the fall, they could no longer gaze upon the face of God.
Since then man unknowingly searches for the face of God in fame, pleasure, power, money, drugs, sex, and rock & roll, but each time he comes up empty, unfulfilled, and disillusioned. Yet, Pope Francis reminds us that from the beginning, “men and women called by God and in love with Him have devoted their lives exclusively to seeking His face.” (Vultum Dei quaerere no. 2)
Gazing at the face of God is our greatest desire, and if we could see His face, we would die of love and ecstasy, or as God explains to Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.” (Ex. 33:20) St. Paul explains this too, but he gives us the hope of one day gazing at His face fully, “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then, we will see face to face.” (1Cor.13:12)
Face from the Shroud of Turin
St. Faustina expresses something similar, “God’s presence continued to pervade my soul. Oh, what happens to a soul that meets the Lord face to face, no pen has ever expressed or ever will express!” (Diary 691) and she further explains, “However, the soul receiving this unprecedented grace of union with God cannot say that it sees God face to face, because even here there is a very thin veil of faith, but so very thin that the soul can say that it sees God and talks with Him.” (Diary 771)
St Faustina and Divine Mercy – Buchanan
This is difficult to understand since we usually stop at the “‘Eucharistic Face’ of Christ, the new force from whom the Church draws her life.” (Ecclesia De Eucharistia no. 7) St. Gaetano Catanoso similarly says, “If we wish to adore the real Face of Jesus, we can find it in the divine Eucharist, where with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Face of Our Lord is hidden under the white veil of the Host.” Miraculously, St. Faustina actually sees the “Eucharistic Face”, “I saw the face of the Lord Jesus in the Sacred Host which was exposed in the monstrance. Jesus was looking with kindness at everyone.” (433)
The reality is that the “Eucharistic Face” helps us to “constantly seek His face,” (Ps.105:4) since it is our deepest longing, “My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God?” (Psalm 42:2) St. Faustina, again, expresses a profound yearning to see His face, “When will the veils be lifted for me as well? Although I see and feel to a certain extent how very thin is the veil separating me from the Lord, I long to see Him face to face.” (Diary 807)
Finally, in the Old Testament, “the prophets summoned the people to conversion of heart while zealously seeking the face of God.” (CCC 2595) So, too, in our millennium, St. John Paul II puts the entire Church on the path of seeking His face, “To contemplate the face of Christ, is the “programme” which I have set before the Church at the dawn of the third millennium.” (Ecclesia De Eucharistia no. 6) Knowing that, “in the beatific vision…we shall see God ‘face to face’, ‘as He is,'” (CCC 163) let us “contemplate unceasingly the face of Christ” (Vultum Dei quaerere no. 7) for, “It is from the face of God that this JOY flows out upon ALL.” (Diary 1592)
ST. FAUSTINA PRAY FOR US.
http://www.willingshepherds.net/Holy%20Face.html
Lovely. 🙂
Thanks, Deacon! It had never occurred to me that the face of God can be contemplated in various forms. This also reminds me of Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love” where her vision of Jesus’ bloody face in His Passion opened up a whole theology on the goodness of God in the Trinity as well as His mercy and Love.
God’s children are so wonderful, special, and incredible!!! St. Julian of Norwich writes about her vision of the Holy Face, “I saw the red blood trickling down from under the crown of thorns, hot fresh, and plentiful, just as it did at the time of his passion.”
St. Faustina also saw the Holy Face during the passion, “His eyes flooded with tears and blood, His face disfigured and covered with spittle. The Lord then said to me, ‘The bride must resemble her Betrothed.’ I understood these words to their very depth. There is no room for doubt here. My likeness to Jesus must be through suffering and humility. ‘See what love of human souls has done to Me. My daughter, in your heart I find everything that so great a number of souls refuses Me. Your heart is My repose. I often wait with great graces until towards the end of prayer.'” [Diary 268]
Then on Holy Thursday St. Faustina writes, “At ten, I saw the Sorrowful Face of Jesus. Then Jesus spoke these words to me: ‘I have been waiting to share My suffering with you, for who can understand My suffering better than My spouse?’ I asked pardon of Jesus for my coldness. Ashamed and not daring to look at the Lord Jesus, but with a contrite heart, I asked Him to give me one thorn from His crown. He answered that He would grant me this favor, but not until tomorrow, and immediately the vision disappeared.” [Diary 348]
During Mass, St. Faustina writes, “I saw the suffering Face of Jesus in every Host [contained] in the chalice. From that moment, I felt a more intense yearning in my heart.” [413]