By Knowing this Mother We Will Truly Know the Son

It is a fact of history that the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which appeared on the tilma of St. Juan Diego in 1531 came into existence at the very time that the Veronica image in Rome came to be hidden from the eyes of the world. It seems that Mary herself wished to in some way compensate for this great loss. What was Europe's loss became America's gain. At least eight million people in Mexico entered the Church founded by her Son Jesus Christ as a result of Mary's loving gesture for our memory. We have a chance to compare the image of the Holy Face of Manoppello with that of Our Lady of Guadalupe. What wonders will we learn??!! First let's read the book by Paul Badde on Our Lady of Guadalupe. It can be ordered from Amazon.com or directly from Ignatius Press www.ignatius.com. I urge you to get it.

In the Face of Jesus the Face of Every One

Words of great depth and experience delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at his Weekly Audience in Rome yesterday. May they reach down into the heart and soul of each and all.

"In these days in which we remember the Shoah, my memory turns to the images taken in during my repeated visits to Auschwitz, one of the concentration camps in which was carried out the brutal massacre of millions of Jews, innocent victims of a blind racial and religious hate. As I renew with affection the expression of my total and indisputable solidarity with our brother recipients of the First Covenant, I hope that the memory of the Shoah moves humanity to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the human heart.

May the Shoah be for everyone a warning against forgetting, against negating or reductionism, because violence committed against even one human being is violence against all. No man is an island, a well-known poet has written. May the Shoah teach especially, as much the old generations as the new ones, that only the tiring path of listening and dialogue, of love and pardon, leads peoples, cultures and religions of the world to the desired encounter of fraternity and peace in the world. May violence never again humiliate the dignity of man!"

California Exhibit of Paul Badde's Photographs of Holy Face of Manoppello

At 4PM on December 31, 2008 Fr. Lawrence Goode, Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in East Palo Alto, California, inauguarated an exhibit of photographs of the Holy Face of Manoppello taken by Paul Badde. There are accompanying articles explaining the Holy Face in English and Spanish taken from the official website of the Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello: www.voltosanto.it. The exhibit is situated just to the right of the Main Altar of the church adjacent to the Baptismal font and to the statue of St. Joseph. In the photograph can be seen Fr. Goode together with the parishioner Placida Nava who had just returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Church of St. Francis of Assisi is close to Highway 101 at 1425 Bay Road, just about half way between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose. The pastor hopes that the exhibit of the Holy Face will be a source of hope, inspiration and prayer for the many people who attend this church whose lives are often difficult.

One Year Retrospective

With great thanks to the two people who are most responsible for making this blog possible: Fr. Carmine Cucinelli, O.F.M., Cap. and Paul Badde I dedicate this link of the photos which have been posted in the past year on this blog. Please paste this link on your browser to see a slide show of the Holy Face of Manoppello as well as other related photos, the great majority of which have come either by the kindess of Father Carmine or Paul. www.picasaweb.google.com/randlfrost/holyfaceofmanoppello