"If you look at us, our sins fade and in tears, the guilt is dissolved".
Wow, wow wow. This is an incredibly powerful sermon from Sensus Fidelium (priest's name not mentioned) on the Holy Face of Jesus' role in preventing us from falling away or from "being scandalized" during the trials that could come our way. It was only when Jesus looked at Peter, that he came to his senses. Jesus' Holy Face redeemed St. Peter's denial of Him during His passion.
Unless we too meditate on His passion and His Holy Face in advance, we too like over-confident disciples in Matthew 26:33, may fall away / 'be scandalized'. As members of Christ's mystical body, we are His bride: His Holy Church and we too will face the passion one day, perhaps even the kind of persecution our brother and sister Christians around the world are facing e.g. in Syria and the underground Church in China.
What is the good news however? If we have in fact fallen away, then it is in contemplating Jesus' face, that tears of repentance and conversion result. Let's pray for that repentance this lent, in ourselves first and foremost, then for unbelievers and finally for the successor to Peter: Pope Francis at this time.
Remember, it was only Jesus' look at Peter after the cock crowed twice, that produced repentance. That look producing that conversion of the 1st pope who had just fallen away blaspheming and denying His Lord angrily, in turn, enraged the enemy. That same look of Jesus, which saved Peter, cost our Lord greatly. Immediately afterwards, the adorable Holy Face of Jesus was severely abused: the men held him, blindfolded him, mocked him and struck His beautiful face repeatedly. This means that Peter was one of the first (perhaps the first?) to benefit from the passion and be saved through the Holy Face of Jesus.
A beautiful saying of St. Ambrose is: "If you look at us, our sins fade and in tears, the guilt is dissolved". King David in psalm 80 says: "Oh Lord, convert us, show us Thy Face and we shall be saved". St, Ambrose also said: "How good are the tears that wash away sins so those whom Jesus gazes at, start to cry". Our Lord taught Sr Marie of St. Peter the power of the Holy Face prayers in saving not only individual souls but countries. "The Holy Face prayers gives the Father delight such that whole countries and great personages, can be spared"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS8lo9XeOHw&feature=shareHere is another meditation on how we can avoid being scandalized in the Passion of the Church... by way of devotion to (always looking at, as it were) the Ho...
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