Christ, hear us.

I adore thee, oh supreme Majesty, casting thine eyes upon thy creatures which have issued out of nothing, and each time repeating— “that all things were very good;’’ but I adore thee most of all approaching the dust of the earth, and preparing to make the masterpiece of thy goodness come forth out of it, by creating man and impressing upon him the resemblance to thy Face.

1st POINT. — THE IMAGE OF GOD IMPRESSED UPON ADAM.

One word sufficed for God to cast into space the worlds which we admire; but now behold the Lord collects his thoughts and seems to be preparing himself for still greater works; the Holy Trinity holds counsel together. “Let us make man, said God, after our image and likeness(1).” And he approaches towards the clay, and fashions out of it the body of man, and into the body of man thus fashioned by his hands, he infuses with his divine breath an immortal soul, which seems to be as it were a spark of the divinity itself.

God is, above all things, spirit and heart. He impressed his image upon Adam, whose face will be the mirror of his heart. God is goodness, love and justice; my face ought faithfully to express these sentiments of my heart in order that it may resemble its Creator. “You are a people of election, a holy nation, a sacred priesthood, said St Peter to the faithful, that you may proclaim to the world the greatness of Him who has called you out of darkness into his admirable light(2).”

Let us remember our origin and our end. “Nobility constrains us.” Noblesse oblige, said our ancestors, who had adopted the old motto— Potius mori quam faedari! Let us apply ourselves to resemble God, in so far as a creature can resemble its Creator, by the purity of our souls.

2nd POINT. — THE NECESSITY OF RESTORING THE IMAGE OF GOD IN OURSELVES.

I understand it, oh my God, it is my duty to endeavor, more and more, to reproduce the divine model impressed upon my soul. “The true life consists in knowing thee, oh true God(3).” My sole study ought to be to repair in my soul thine image disfigured by sin.

I will, therefore, apply all the faculties of my mind to know thee, my intelligence to discover thy divine perfections, my imagination to represent to myself thy greatness, my memory to recall thy benefits.

I will above all apply my heart to love thee. A sacred spark has been deposited in me; it is thy grace. For a moment extinguished by sin, it was kindled again by the breath of thy mercy; it ought to enlighten, warm and inflame my whole soul, making of it a burning source of the fire of love destined to be hereafter reunited to the source of all love, of all perfection: to thee, oh my God, who art thyself the essence of charity.

Oh Face of God, impress thyself on my soul, transfigure it from light to light, that I may resemble thee in so far as is possible.

SPIRITUAL BOUQUET.

In lumine tuo videbimus lumen.

For with thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light we shall see light. (Ps. xxxv.)

THE VEIL OF SAINT VERONICA IN THE VATICAN BASILICA.

St Veronica left in the hands of Clement 1st, the fourth successor of St Peter, the precious treasure which she had received from Jesus Christ himself. During the three centuries of persecution which were so fiercely waged against the vessel of the Church, the Popes kept the august relic carefully in the depths of the catacombs; but when Christ caused a new era of religious peace to dawn upon his holy spouse, it was brought forth from its obscure sanctuary, that it might be openly exhibited and venerated by the faithful. Constantine, after he had become a Christian, constructed a church at the foot of the Vatican hill in the very place where St Peter had been buried. It is in this basilica, often added to and several times rebuilt, that the Holy Face has been kept from time immemorial. During seasons when wars were carried on and disturbances were prevalent, it was temporally transported into fortified churches, such as the Rotonda, or Saint Mary of the Martyrs, the church of the Holy Spirit and the castle of Saint Angelo; but it was afterwards always brought back to the Vatican basilica. At the present day, it is placed in a chapel constructed in one of the enormous pillars which sustain the cupola of Saint Peter’s. The ceremony of translation took place on the 23rd December 1625, under the pontificate of Urban VIII.

Illustrious princes and powerful kings have often come in pilgrimage to Rome to venerate the Holy Face imprinted on the veil of St Veronica. They have been seen laying down their scepter and crown, and putting on the surplice and rochet of the Canons of Saint Peter that they might venerate on their knees the holy relic impregnated with the sweat and the blood of the Savior. Multitudes have hastened to assist at the great ostentations which take place several times a year. At the holy feast of Easter, after the solemn office, benediction is given to the faithful with the veil of St Veronica, and at various times God has made his mercy to show itself, through great miracles which have powerfully contributed to the augmentation of the devotion of Christians towards the Holy Face.

INVOCATION.

Oh adorable Face of my Savior, so greatly honored at Rome by the piety of pilgrims and of the faithful, grant that we may come in our turn and pour forth our hearts before thy sacred effigy. Striking our breasts and shedding tears over the remembrance of our sins, may we exclaim like them— “Lord, show us thy Face, and we shall be saved.”

(1) Faciamus hominem ad imaginem ec similitudem nostram. (Gen. I, 26.)

(2) Vos autem genus electum, regale sacerdotium, gens sancta, populus acquisitionis, ut virtutes annuntietis ejus qui de tenebris vos vocavit in admirabile lumen suum. (I Petr, i, 9.)

(3) Haec est vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te. (Joan, XVII, 3.)