Living Image of Jesus

   The first known photograph of the Holy Face of Manoppello

 

        The Holy Face of Manoppello reveals and contains an astonishing number of images of Jesus, no single photograph or even any very, very large group of photographs of the Holy Face of Manoppello will ever cause one to say "Now I have seen the full extent of how Jesus truly looks".  I can only say and affirm that the Holy Face of Manoppello is a living image on a marvelous veil displayed for all to see every day inside a compact basilica which communicates the whole Gospel, as I have said before, showing forth the Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious Mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

 I urge all those who follow this blog to take the time during this Lent to go to the part of the blog which contains "all photos on the blog" which is listed at the top of the "Important Websites" referred to at the left column of the blog.  All Photos on Blog   There are hundreds of photographs of the Holy Face of Manoppello which I have been blessed to see and post on the blog.  Most of the photographs were taken by the author and journalist Paul Badde to whom I am extremely grateful. 

Today at Mass for the Second Sunday of Lent, the Deacon who gave the homily connected the transfigured face of Jesus which Peter, James, and John saw on the mountain and the disfigured face of Jesus which John saw on Calvary.  He said that  the transfigured Jesus' face  was a preparation for the apostles to endure the vision of Jesus' disfigured face and that we too must gaze upon the transfigured face of Jesus to endure the crosses which we will see our loved ones and ourselves carry.  

To illustrate what I am trying to express, I would like to post here a sample of the variety of photographs of the Holy Face of Manoppello which I have had the honor to post since starting this blog over a dozen years ago.  

 

Votive Mass of the Holy Face

 

Over the years this blog has promoted the Votive Mass of the Holy Face.  In 2008 and 2011 posts from the blog (see links below) included the prayers in English and Latin of the Votive Mass of the Holy Face which is celebrated at the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello.  These prayers can be printed out by readers.  Booklets containing printed copies of these Masses can be obtained by sending an email to randlfrost@gmail.com

https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2011/01/latin-text-for-votive-mass-of-holy-face.html

https://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2008/05/votive-mass-in-honor-of-holy-face-of.html

There is also a Mass of the Holy Face to be celebrated on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday)To quote Fr. Mark Kirby, O.S.B. of Silverstream Priory in Ireland, 

   "Masses in honor of the Holy Face appeared as early as the fourteenth century. In 1958 Pope Pius XII approved the observance of a feast of the Holy Face of Jesus on Shrove Tuesday.   A Mass of the Holy Face of Jesus for Shrove Tuesday was approved by the Holy See in 1986."  The prayers in English for this Mass can be found at https://vultuschristi.org/index.php/2015/02/9416/