Special Devotions
Devotion & Novena to the Holy Face of Jesus
In Tours, France a young Carmelite nun, Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre (1816-1848), received a series of revelations in the 1840s from Our Lord about a powerful devotion He wished to be established worldwide – the devotion to his Holy Face.
The express purpose of this devotion was to make reparation for the blasphemies and outrages of the ‘revolutionaries’ of that time, the blasphemies of atheists, freethinkers and Masons, and for blasphemy and the profanation of Sundays by Catholics.
We read in her autobiography:
“Then He unfolded His Heart to me, concentrating therein the powers of my soul, and addressed me thus: ‘My Name is everywhere blasphemed; even little children blaspheme it.’ And He made me understand how that dreadful sin pierced and wounded His Heart more than all other crimes.
“By blasphemy, the sinner outrages Him to His Face, attacks Him openly, and pronounces upon himself his own judgment and condemnation. Blasphemy is a poisoned arrow, wounding His Divine Heart continually. He told me that He would give me a “Golden Arrow” with which to wound Him delightfully and heal the poisonous wounds caused by sin.”
Our Lord then dictated to Sr. Mary the following Golden Arrow prayer, assuring her that every time she said it, she would lovingly wound His Heart.
The Golden Arrow Prayer
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.
Our Lord told Sr. Mary on March 16, 1844: “Oh if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, ‘Admirable is the Name of God!’ in the spirit of reparation for blasphemy.”
Promises of Our Lord to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre
* “By My Holy Face you shall work wonders.” (October 27, 1845)
* “All those who honor My Holy Face in a spirit of reparation will thus perform the office of the pious Veronica.” (October 27, 1845)
* “According to the care you take in making Reparation to My Face, disfigured by blasphemies, so will I care for yours, which has been disfigured by sin. I will reprint on it My Image and render it as beautiful as it was on leaving the baptismal font.” (November 3, 1845)
* “Our Lord has promised me for all those who defend His cause in this Work of Reparation, by words, by prayers or in writing, that He will defend them before His Father. At their death He will purify their souls by effacing all blots of sin and will restore to them their primitive beauty.” (March 12, 1846)
* “By My Holy Face you will obtain the conversion of many sinners. Nothing that you ask in making this offering will be refused to you. No one can know how pleasing the sight of My Face is to My Father!” (November 22, 1846)
* “Our Lord has promised me that He will imprint His Divine likeness on the souls of those who honor His Holy Countenance.” (January 21, 1847)
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
This Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus, printed below, along with the Golden Arrow prayer, is an important part of the Devotion to our Lord in His Holy Face. It was written by Sister Mary of St. Peter, the Carmelite Nun to whom Jesus revealed his ardent desire for this Devotion in reparation for blasphemies against God and the profanation of Sunday.Our Lord told her that it would also be a powerful weapon against atheistic Communism.
(The novena can also be said anytime – but especially on Sunmdays and HOly Days of obligation)
O Lord Jesus Christ, in presenting ourselves before Thy adorable Face, to ask of Thee the graces of which we stand in most need, we beseech Thee above all, to grant us that interior disposition of never refusing at any time what Thou requires of us by Thy holy commandments and divine inspirations. Amen.
O Good Jesus, who has said, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” grant us O Lord, that faith which obtains all, or supply in us what may be deficient. Grant us, by the pure effect of Thy charity, and for Thy eternal glory, the graces that we need and that we seek from Thy infinite mercy. Amen.
Be merciful to us, O my God, and reject not our prayers, when amid our afflictions, we call upon Thy Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Thy adorable Face. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, look upon the Face of Thy Son Jesus. We present It to Thee with confidence to implore Thy pardon. The All-Merciful Advocate opens His Lips to plead our cause. Hearken to His cries, behold His tears, O God, and through His infinite merits, hear Him when He intercedes for us poor miserable sinners. Amen.
Adorable Face of Jesus, my only love, my light and my life, grant that I may know Thee, love Thee and serve Thee alone, that I may live with Thee, by Thee and for Thee. Amen.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the adorable Face of Thy Beloved Son for the honor and glory of Thy Name, for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of the dying. O Divine Jesus, through Thy Face and Name, save us. Our Hope is in the virtue of Thy Holy Name! Amen
LITANY TO THE HOLY FACE
This Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus, printed below, along with the Golden Arrow prayer, is an important part of the Devotion to our Lord in His Holy Face. It was written by Sister Mary of St. Peter, the Carmelite Nun to whom Jesus revealed his ardent desire for this Devotion in reparation for blasphemies against God and the profanation of Sunday.Our Lord told her that it would also be a powerful weapon against atheistic Communism.
(The novena can also be said anytime – but especially on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation)
Repeat after each invocation: Have mercy on us
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face Mary and Joseph worshipped with profoundest reverence,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face ravished with joy the angels, shepherds and Magi in the stable at Bethlehem,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face wounded with a dart of Love the aged Simeon and the prophetess Anna in the temple,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was bathed in tears in Thy Holy Infancy,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face at the age of twelve astonished the doctors in the temple,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is white with purity, and ruddy with charity,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is more beautiful than the sun, brighter than the moon and more brilliant than the stars,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is lovelier than the roses of spring,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is more precious than gold, silver, and gems,
O Jesus, the charms and grace of Whose Adorable Face win all hearts,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is most noble in Its heavenly features,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the admiration of angels,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the sweet delight of the saints,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the masterpiece of the Holy Spirit in which the Father is well pleased,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was the delight of Thy Virgin Mother and of Thy holy foster-father, St. Joseph,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the ineffable mirror of Divine perfections,
O Jesus, the beauty of Whose Adorable Face is ever ancient and ever new,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face appeases the Divine wrath,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the terror of the evil spirits,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the treasure of graces and blessings,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was exposed to the inclemency of the weather in the desert,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was scorched by the sun and bathed in sweat on Thy journeys,
O Jesus, the expression of whose Adorable Face is Wholly Divine,
O Jesus, the modesty and mildness of whose Adorable Face attracted both just and sinners,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face gave a holy kiss and blessing to the little children,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face sorrowed and wept at the grave of Lazarus,
V. The light of Thy Face has been shed upon us, O Lord;
R. Thou hast given joy to our hearts.
Let us pray:
I salute Thee, I adore Thee, O Adorable Face of Jesus, my Beloved, noble seal of the Divinity. With all the powers of my soul I apply myself to Thee, and most humbly pray Thee imprint in us all the features of Thy Divine likeness. Amen
Repeat after each invocation: Have mercy on us
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face grew sad at the sight of Jerusalem and wept over that ungrateful city,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face bowed to the earth in the Garden of Olives because of the burden of our sins,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was bathed in bloody sweat,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was kissed by Judas, the traitor,
O Jesus, the power of whose Adorable Face smote the soldiers to the ground in the Garden of Olives,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was struck by a vile servant, derided by enemies and desecrated by their unholy hand,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was defiled by spittle and bruised by blows,
O Jesus, the Divine look of Whose Adorable Face wounded Peter's heart with love and sorrow,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was humbled for us before the tribunals of Jerusalem,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face preserved Its attractiveness and dignity when Pilate pronounced the death sentence,
O Jesus, the brow of whose Adorable Face was crowned with thorns,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was covered with bloody sweat which fell to the ground under the Cross,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face is worthy of all our reverence, veneration and worship,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face the pious Veronica wiped on the way to Calvary,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was lifted up on the tortuous Cross,
O Jesus, the eyes of whose Adorable Face shed tears of Blood,
O Jesus, the mouth of whose Adorable Face was tormented with vinegar and gall,
O Jesus, the hair and beard of whose Adorable Face were plucked out by the executioners,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was disfigured like that of a leper,
O Jesus, the incomparable beauty of whose Adorable Face was disfigured by the sins of the world,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was overcast by the mournful shadows of death,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was washed, anointed and wrapped in a shroud by Mary and the holy women,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was laid to rest in the grave,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was resplendent in beauty on the day of Thy Resurrection,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was radiant in glory on the day of Thy ascension,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face is hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face will appear on the clouds at the end of the world in great power and majesty,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face is the joy of the Just in Heaven,
V. O lord, show us Thy Face;
R. And we shall be saved.
Let us pray:
We beseech Thee, O Almighty and merciful God, grant us and all who venerate the Countenance of Thy dearly beloved Son, all disfigured by our sins, the grace to behold It throughout eternity in the glory of Its majesty, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
The Holy Face on the Shroud of Turin
We read in her autobiography:
“Then He unfolded His Heart to me, concentrating therein the powers of my soul, and addressed me thus: ‘My Name is everywhere blasphemed; even little children blaspheme it.’ And He made me understand how that dreadful sin pierced and wounded His Heart more than all other crimes.
“By blasphemy, the sinner outrages Him to His Face, attacks Him openly, and pronounces upon himself his own judgment and condemnation. Blasphemy is a poisoned arrow, wounding His Divine Heart continually. He told me that He would give me a “Golden Arrow” with which to wound Him delightfully and heal the poisonous wounds caused by sin.”
Our Lord then dictated to Sr. Mary the following Golden Arrow prayer, assuring her that every time she said it, she would lovingly wound His Heart.
The Golden Arrow Prayer
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.
Our Lord told Sr. Mary on March 16, 1844: “Oh if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, ‘Admirable is the Name of God!’ in the spirit of reparation for blasphemy.”
Promises of Our Lord to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre
* “By My Holy Face you shall work wonders.” (October 27, 1845)
St. Therese had a special devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, and always had its picture near her
* “According to the care you take in making Reparation to My Face, disfigured by blasphemies, so will I care for yours, which has been disfigured by sin. I will reprint on it My Image and render it as beautiful as it was on leaving the baptismal font.” (November 3, 1845)
* “Our Lord has promised me for all those who defend His cause in this Work of Reparation, by words, by prayers or in writing, that He will defend them before His Father. At their death He will purify their souls by effacing all blots of sin and will restore to them their primitive beauty.” (March 12, 1846)
* “By My Holy Face you will obtain the conversion of many sinners. Nothing that you ask in making this offering will be refused to you. No one can know how pleasing the sight of My Face is to My Father!” (November 22, 1846)
* “Our Lord has promised me that He will imprint His Divine likeness on the souls of those who honor His Holy Countenance.” (January 21, 1847)
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
This Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus, printed below, along with the Golden Arrow prayer, is an important part of the Devotion to our Lord in His Holy Face. It was written by Sister Mary of St. Peter, the Carmelite Nun to whom Jesus revealed his ardent desire for this Devotion in reparation for blasphemies against God and the profanation of Sunday.Our Lord told her that it would also be a powerful weapon against atheistic Communism.
(The novena can also be said anytime – but especially on Sunmdays and HOly Days of obligation)
O Lord Jesus Christ, in presenting ourselves before Thy adorable Face, to ask of Thee the graces of which we stand in most need, we beseech Thee above all, to grant us that interior disposition of never refusing at any time what Thou requires of us by Thy holy commandments and divine inspirations. Amen.
O Good Jesus, who has said, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” grant us O Lord, that faith which obtains all, or supply in us what may be deficient. Grant us, by the pure effect of Thy charity, and for Thy eternal glory, the graces that we need and that we seek from Thy infinite mercy. Amen.
Be merciful to us, O my God, and reject not our prayers, when amid our afflictions, we call upon Thy Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Thy adorable Face. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, look upon the Face of Thy Son Jesus. We present It to Thee with confidence to implore Thy pardon. The All-Merciful Advocate opens His Lips to plead our cause. Hearken to His cries, behold His tears, O God, and through His infinite merits, hear Him when He intercedes for us poor miserable sinners. Amen.
Adorable Face of Jesus, my only love, my light and my life, grant that I may know Thee, love Thee and serve Thee alone, that I may live with Thee, by Thee and for Thee. Amen.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the adorable Face of Thy Beloved Son for the honor and glory of Thy Name, for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of the dying. O Divine Jesus, through Thy Face and Name, save us. Our Hope is in the virtue of Thy Holy Name! Amen
LITANY TO THE HOLY FACE
This Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus, printed below, along with the Golden Arrow prayer, is an important part of the Devotion to our Lord in His Holy Face. It was written by Sister Mary of St. Peter, the Carmelite Nun to whom Jesus revealed his ardent desire for this Devotion in reparation for blasphemies against God and the profanation of Sunday.Our Lord told her that it would also be a powerful weapon against atheistic Communism.
(The novena can also be said anytime – but especially on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation)
Repeat after each invocation: Have mercy on us
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face Mary and Joseph worshipped with profoundest reverence,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face ravished with joy the angels, shepherds and Magi in the stable at Bethlehem,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face wounded with a dart of Love the aged Simeon and the prophetess Anna in the temple,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was bathed in tears in Thy Holy Infancy,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face at the age of twelve astonished the doctors in the temple,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is white with purity, and ruddy with charity,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is more beautiful than the sun, brighter than the moon and more brilliant than the stars,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is lovelier than the roses of spring,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is more precious than gold, silver, and gems,
O Jesus, the charms and grace of Whose Adorable Face win all hearts,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is most noble in Its heavenly features,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the admiration of angels,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the sweet delight of the saints,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the masterpiece of the Holy Spirit in which the Father is well pleased,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was the delight of Thy Virgin Mother and of Thy holy foster-father, St. Joseph,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the ineffable mirror of Divine perfections,
O Jesus, the beauty of Whose Adorable Face is ever ancient and ever new,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face appeases the Divine wrath,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the terror of the evil spirits,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face is the treasure of graces and blessings,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was exposed to the inclemency of the weather in the desert,
O Jesus, Whose Adorable Face was scorched by the sun and bathed in sweat on Thy journeys,
O Jesus, the expression of whose Adorable Face is Wholly Divine,
O Jesus, the modesty and mildness of whose Adorable Face attracted both just and sinners,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face gave a holy kiss and blessing to the little children,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face sorrowed and wept at the grave of Lazarus,
V. The light of Thy Face has been shed upon us, O Lord;
R. Thou hast given joy to our hearts.
Let us pray:
I salute Thee, I adore Thee, O Adorable Face of Jesus, my Beloved, noble seal of the Divinity. With all the powers of my soul I apply myself to Thee, and most humbly pray Thee imprint in us all the features of Thy Divine likeness. Amen
Repeat after each invocation: Have mercy on us
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face grew sad at the sight of Jerusalem and wept over that ungrateful city,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face bowed to the earth in the Garden of Olives because of the burden of our sins,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was bathed in bloody sweat,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was kissed by Judas, the traitor,
O Jesus, the power of whose Adorable Face smote the soldiers to the ground in the Garden of Olives,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was struck by a vile servant, derided by enemies and desecrated by their unholy hand,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was defiled by spittle and bruised by blows,
O Jesus, the Divine look of Whose Adorable Face wounded Peter's heart with love and sorrow,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was humbled for us before the tribunals of Jerusalem,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face preserved Its attractiveness and dignity when Pilate pronounced the death sentence,
O Jesus, the brow of whose Adorable Face was crowned with thorns,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was covered with bloody sweat which fell to the ground under the Cross,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face is worthy of all our reverence, veneration and worship,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face the pious Veronica wiped on the way to Calvary,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was lifted up on the tortuous Cross,
O Jesus, the eyes of whose Adorable Face shed tears of Blood,
O Jesus, the mouth of whose Adorable Face was tormented with vinegar and gall,
O Jesus, the hair and beard of whose Adorable Face were plucked out by the executioners,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was disfigured like that of a leper,
O Jesus, the incomparable beauty of whose Adorable Face was disfigured by the sins of the world,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was overcast by the mournful shadows of death,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was washed, anointed and wrapped in a shroud by Mary and the holy women,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was laid to rest in the grave,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was resplendent in beauty on the day of Thy Resurrection,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face was radiant in glory on the day of Thy ascension,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face is hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face will appear on the clouds at the end of the world in great power and majesty,
O Jesus, whose Adorable Face is the joy of the Just in Heaven,
V. O lord, show us Thy Face;
R. And we shall be saved.
Let us pray:
We beseech Thee, O Almighty and merciful God, grant us and all who venerate the Countenance of Thy dearly beloved Son, all disfigured by our sins, the grace to behold It throughout eternity in the glory of Its majesty, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Posted February 7, 2015
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