So this morning I was debating whether or not to blog about the Holy Face image. I checked my email a few minutes ago and I had a notification from the CFR Friars blog. They posted a piece titled Seek His Face this Lent. Ok Jesus. Here is a link to their super-short post. Check it out.
(What is Lent? 40 days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving that Catholics and some Christians participate in leading up to Easter...if you don't know why we do this, message me and I will explain).
Last year, I had a really difficult Lent. It was dark and dreary; and my prayer life was sooo dry! I struggled to concentrate for even 5 seconds in prayer; I felt like I had no direction in prayer or in life; I was constantly fighting negative thoughts about myself and others; and I felt like not only had God abandoned me, but I had abandoned God. (And of course this wasn't true!)
There was one method of prayer that Goad gave me to strengthen my prayer throughout Lent...while also glorifying Him. (Take that, devil!) It was devotion to the Holy Face: a picture left by Jesus on the Shroud of Turin (Jesus' burial cloths). Learn all about the Shroud of Turin here!
Whoever gazes upon Me, already consoles Me..." ~Jesus
So whenever I set aside time to pray, I would whip out this picture of His Holy Face and just "gaze upon Him". The devil couldn't get to me there! Praying with this image became the backbone of my Lenten prayer. And it was beautiful. Jesus was consoled. I was consoled too, not with feelings, but in faith.
My encouragement to you: whether you are having a "difficult" time in life or not, consider spending some time to simply gaze upon the face of God! Because this devotion is not devotion to a picture, it is prayer with Jesus. Jesus has given Himself to us in so many ways; this is just one of the ways. It is a quick, easy, and powerful path to COMMUNION with God. No words are needed. If you have eyes, you can see. If you have a soul, you can love. You have eyes and a soul, because you are reading this and you are loved. You do have love in your soul, even if you wonder sometimes, even if you can't feel it, even if it is not perfect. It is still love, and by gazing upon this image, this love is transformed and perfected and purified. Only ask to love God, and He will show you how to love Him. And then you will realize it's not about your love anyway. Look upon God, and you will realize that He was looking at you and loving you first.
Thanks for the thought Angelle! I feel like I am having a very unfruitful Lent this year. I broke most of my resolutions (like going to bed at the same time and waking up for morning prayer!) and I have just been feeling really lazy and helpless about my prayer life in general. I just found a holy card of the Holy Face in my room, so I am going to start praying with it for the rest of Lent. :-)
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