From the Pastor's Desk: The Holy Face of Jesus

In high school we had to take one art class.  We could choose from theatre, art, or band.  Well I was horrible in all three of those, so I chose the lesser of three evils and chose art.  When we got there, we were told that the lowest grade anyone will ever get is an 85.   You can guess what my final grade was for the class, an 85.

One assignment we had to draw a self portrait of our face.  We had to look at ourselves in the mirror, and then then draw what we saw.  I did the best I could but at the end I got tired of looking at myself in the mirror.  The drawing got an 85, but it also helped me to appreciate my family.  I take after the Italian side of the family.  It made me think of my dad, my grandma, my uncles.  It also made me think of my grandfather whom I never met because he died right before I was born, and my middle name is named after him: William.

Just looking at my face made me think of all of that.  

This past Lent and Easter, the Holy Face of Jesus has been a place of prayer for me.  It is a devotion that many saints have cultivated, especially St. Therese of Lisieux.  Her name is St. Therese of the Holy Face of Jesus.  

What struck me was that the Holy Face of Jesus is always shown very serene, asleep in death before the resurrection.

This past year, though, there was another word that came to me in my prayer.  That word was calmness.  In the Holy Face of Jesus we see the calmness of Christ.  Jesus faced the agony and the terror of his passion and death.  Yet, we see him walk that path with great calmness.  He always had control over the situation and reminded Pilate that any power that seemed to be his, was given to him by God the Father. Jesus was in total control through his life, death, and resurrection.  

We too can lean on that calmness of Christ.  Really, calmness is a sign strength.  We do not need to face things with our own calmness and strength because we don't always have that in us, but that Jesus' calmness can permeate our lives.

It is very human of us to worry, be anxious or allow things around to rob us of our joy, peace, and grace.  What Christ shows us is that we can turn to him and he can calm those storms in our lives as he did in the Gospels.  He has total control and wants us to turn to him. 

Whenever we have a time of needing our Lord to calm the storms in our lives, he wants us to say a simple prayer of "Lord I give these things to you.  Show me the way to your peace and help me walk that path."

That is why he sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, so that we may always be connected to him through the Holy Spirit. We are given all of the gifts we need.  The Holy Spirit purifies our prayers, and the Holy Spirit guides us on the path to holiness. Let us take some time to look at the face of Jesus and sees the calmness of his face and know it in our own lives.

This image is a body of Jesus that was cast from the Shroud of Turin.  They were able to make this from a holographic image of the Shroud.  Just notice his face is not a face of terror or horror, but the face of calmness knowing that his mission is now complete.  He can send us the Holy Spirit to give us what we need. All we need to do is ask.

We also see his face here in the Eucharist.  We can sit in front of Him and we can see his loving, calm face.