DEVOTIONS TO THE HOLY FACE
Translation: "True Image of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Which is conserved and venerated very religiously in Rome,
in the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican."
PRAISES OF THE HOLY FACE
Blessed be Jesus!
Blessed be the Holy Face of Jesus!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the majesty and beauty of its heavenly features!
Blessed be the Holy Face through the words which issued from its divine mouth!
Blessed be the Holy Face through all the glances which escaped from its adorable eyes!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the Transfiguration of Tabor!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the fatigues of its apostolate!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the bloody sweat of the agony!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the humiliation of the Passion!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the sufferings of death!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the splendour of the Resurrection!
Blessed be the Holy Face in the glory of light eternal!
PRAYER OF POPE PIUS IX
O my Jesus! cast upon us a look of mercy; turn Thy Face towards each one of us, even as Thou did turn to Veronica, not that we may see It with the eyes of our body, for we do not deserve to do so, but turn It towards our hearts, that, being sustained by Thee, we may ever draw from that powerful source, the vigour necessary to enable us to wage the combats we have to undergo.
(Audience given to three parishes of Rome, 10 March 1872. –This prayer is indulgenced by several French bishops.)
Prayer of Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face
O Jesus, who in Thy bitter Passion didst become “the most abject of men, a man of sorrows”, I venerate Thy Sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead; but not it has become for me as if it were the face of a leper! Nevertheless, under those disfigured features, I recognize Thy infinite Love and I am consumed with the desire to love Thee and make Thee loved by all men. The tears which well up abundantly in Thy sacred eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value. O Jesus, whose adorable Face ravishes my heart, I implore Thee to fix deep within me Thy divine image and to set me on fire with Thy Love, that I may be found worthy to come to the contemplation of Thy glorious Face in Heaven. Amen.
Short Prayers of Offering of the Holy Face
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the adorable Face of Thy well beloved Son for the honour and glory of Thy Holy Name, and for the salvation of all men. (Prayer of Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre.)
May I expire, burning with an ardent thirst to see the desirable Face of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Prayer of Saint Edme, which Mr. Dupont often repeated during the latter portion of his life.)
Oh Jesus, through the merits of Thy Holy Face, have pity on us and on the whole world. (Three times.)
Arise, O Lord, and let Thy enemies be scattered, and they that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Holy Face of Jesus, covered with Blood, sweat, dust and spittle, in reparation for the crimes of communists, blasphemers and by the profaners of His Holy Name and the holy day of Sunday.
THE GOLDEN ARROW
(Act of praise for the reparation of blasphemies against the Holy Name of God.
Dictated by Our Lord Jesus Christ to Sister Marie Saint Pierre).
May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God, be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in Heaven, on earth and in hell, 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.
(40 days indulgence may be gained by saying this act of praise in honour of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity three times. +Charles, Archbishop of Tours. Tours, Good Friday, 15th of April 1881).
THE HOLY FACE LITANY
Composed by Sister Marie Saint Pierre (Sister Mary St. Peter)
(To be said in reparation for blasphemies, and to implore of God, by the adorable Face of His Son, the conversion of blasphemers).
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.
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 in the Stable of Bethlehem didst ravish with joy the
Angels, the shepherds, and the Magii, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which in the Temple didst transpierce with a dart of love the
saintly old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which was bathed in tears in Thy holy infancy, have mercy on us.
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, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, white with purity and ruddy with charity, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, more beautiful than the sun, more lovely than the moon, more brilliant than the stars, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, fresher tan the roses of spring, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, more precious than gold, silver and diamonds, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose charms are so ravishing, and whose grace is so attractive, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose every feature is characterized by nobility, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, contemplated by Angels, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, sweet delectation of the Saints, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, delight of Mary and Joseph, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, ineffable mirror of the Divine perfections, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose beauty is always ancient and always new, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which appeases the wrath of God, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which makes the devils tremble, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, treasure of graces and of blessings, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, exposed in the desert to the inclemencies of the weather, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, scorched with the heat of the sun and bathed with sweat in Thy journeys, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose expression is all Divine, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose modesty and sweetness attracted both the just and sinners, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which gave a holy kiss to the little children, after having blessed them, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, troubled and weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, brilliant as the sun, and radiant with glory on Mount Tabor, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, sorrowful at the sight of Jerusalem and shedding tears on that ungrateful city, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, bowed to the earth, in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, bathed in a bloody sweat, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, kissed by the traitor Judas, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose sanctity and majesty smote the soldiers with fear and cast them to the ground, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, struck by a vile servant, shamefully blindfolded, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, defiled with spittle and bruised by innumerable buffets and blows, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose Divine look wounded the heart of Peter, with a dart of sorrow and love, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, humbled for us at the tribunals of Jerusalem, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which did preserve Thy serenity when Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, covered with sweat and blood, and falling in the mire under the heavy weight of the Cross, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, worthy of all our respect, veneration and worship, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, wiped with a veil by a pious woman, on the road to Calvary, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, raised on the instrument of most shameful punishment, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose brow was crowned with thorns, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose eyes were filled with tears of blood, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, into whose mouth was poured gall and vinegar, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose hair and beard were plucked out by the executioners, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which was made like to that of a leper, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, whose incomparable beauty was obscured under the dreadful cloud of the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, covered with the sad shades of death, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, washed and anointed by the Mary and the holy women and wrapped in a shroud, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, enclosed in the sepulchre, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the Resurrection, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, all dazzling with light at the moment of Thy Ascension, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, hidden in the Eucharist, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which will appear at the end of time in the clouds, with great power and majesty, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which will cause sinners to tremble, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which will fill the just with joy for all eternity, have mercy on us.
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.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.