The Church has been blessed with different images of the Holy Face of Jesus from His time here on earth. After watching the new documentary film, The Face of Jesus (see the film in theaters for a special encore on June 26th only), I learned that we have three different images of Jesus’ face from each day of the Triduum. We have the veil of Veronica which shows his face on his way to the Cross on Good Friday, the Shroud of Turin, which shows us His face in death and in the tomb on Holy Saturday, and the Holy Veil of Manoppello, which shows His face on Easter, the day of his Resurrection. Each of these images can draw us deeper into contemplation of His holy face.
Five Things We Can Learn Contemplating The Holy Face Of Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus teaches us five important things: relationship, intimacy, silence, suffering, and prayer.
- Relationship
How do we come to really know a person? It is definitely not by being distracted by the things going on around you when having a conversation with someone. When you want to get to know someone, you put all your attention on the other. You look at them face to face. The human face is connected to intimacy. Why do we desire FaceTime or video calls when we miss a loved one? We want that face-to-face connection, more than just their voice on a regular phone call. Desiring to see the face of Jesus isn’t any different. Jesus shows us his face because He wants a relationship with us.
- Intimacy
In the time that I was working on my album, Intertwined, my spiritual director gave me a picture of the Holy Face of Jesus, to which St. Therese of Lisieux had a devotion. I found it very beautiful and I kept it on my piano so that it could be an inspiration for my prayer as I worked on the album. I didn’t know it when he gave me the image, but the The Face of Jesus documentary taught me more about how that image was painted during a miracle associated with the Veil of Veronica. Something that struck me one day about the image of the face was that you could not see Jesus’ eyes in the image because they are downcast. This is the same with the image of Divine Mercy and the Shroud of Turin. It led me to reflect that if we really could see the eyes of Jesus, it would be too intimate for us to handle here on earth! Our hearts would burst with ecstasy! Think about how intimate it is to lock eyes with someone for even a moment. The eyes behold the heart. My reflection made me long to seek His face, His eyes, and His heart.
- Silence
To truly see the eyes of His heart requires silencing our hearts. The Shroud of Turin shows us Jesus in the silence of the tomb. It can bring those who look at the wounds to silence as well as they consider His Passion. In his book, The Power of Silence, Robert Cardinal Sarah states, “Silence precedes and prepares for the privileged moment when we have access to God, who then can speak to us face to face as we would do with a friend.” Without silence, without cutting down distractions, we cannot seek His face, and in turn, we will struggle to hear His voice and think of Him.
- Suffering
One day, after I had already written all the music for Intertwined, it dawned on me how prevalent Jesus’s face was in this album. Intertwined is all about intimacy with Jesus as our bridegroom and spouse. What more important way to receive Jesus as divine lover than to behold His suffering face? In Catholic wedding vows, we promise to be faithful in good times and bad. Remaining with someone in their suffering is a true test of love. One of my good artist friends Lucy Villanueva painted the Intertwined album art to emphasize this concept of the album. Depicted is St. Mary of Magdalene holding Jesus and beholding His face after He has been taken down from the cross. Mary of Magdalene standing by Jesus on the cross is an example for us to follow with our own suffering.
- Prayer
Track six on the album is called “Psalm 27:8”. One day in prayer, I was struck by the psalm and was inspired to write a song that simply repeated the words from the psalm:
“‘Come,’ says my heart, ‘seek His face;’ Your face, Lord, do I seek!” These words are so rich and are meant to be meditated on through repetition so that the listener can pray with how Jesus wants them to seek His face with their heart. There is such importance to being devoted to the Holy Face of Jesus. By seeking His face, you will seek His heart, which is the most important thing we can do.
Thanks to my spiritual director, I began a devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. But, after watching The Face of Jesus, I see that this devotion is especially needed in the Church today. We need to rediscover the power of silence and personal prayer, the place of the Cross in our lives, the value of real human relationships outside of social media, and intimacy with God. I learned so much and was able to contemplate even more about how beautiful the devotion is to the Holy Face of Jesus, and I know it will continue to inspire my music even more. I highly recommend this documentary, and I pray that you may find a deeper love of Jesus through His Holy Face.
