MEDITATIONS ON THE IMPRINT OF OUR SAVIOR'S
BLOOD-STAINED COUNTENANCE ON THE VEIL OF VERONICA
TAKEN FROM Devotion to the Holy Face,
TAN BOOKS
with
Imprimatur, 1934
VENERATION of the dolorous Face of our Savior Jesus Christ, as proved
in Rome and practiced throughout the Church, had its beginning during
the very Passion of Our Lord. It came to us through that heroic woman
whose memory, from the first ages of Christianity, has been inseparably
connected with the Sixth Station of the holy Way of the Cross and who
is known to us as St. Veronica. [The name Veronica means "true icon."
According to Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, St. Veronica's actual name
was Seraphia.- Publisher 2010.]
The Son of God was being led forth to execution through the crowded
streets of Jerusalem, followed by a shouting rabble which filled the
air with loud, insulting cries. Our Divine Lord, exhausted by the
tortures of the night, fell beneath the heavy weight of His Cross. A
man, Simon of Cyrene, who was passing by, was compelled by the inhuman
soldiers to assist Jesus in carrying the Cross. The sad procession had
advanced but a short distance farther when suddenly a woman of majestic
appearance broke through the infuriated mob and offered our Saviour a
veil as a sign of her compassion, upon which He wiped His Adorable Face
covered with sweat and blood. In reward for her sympathy, our Blessed
Redeemer imprinted indelibly upon her veil the likeness of His Sacred
Countenance.
The Treasure of the Vatican
A tradition says that at the advice of St. Peter, Veronica later
entrusted the holy Veil to the care of St. Clement, a noble Roman who
was a disciple of St. Peter and his third successor in the See of Rome.
From the hands of Pope St. Clement this venerated relic passed to his
successors, who guarded it most carefully during the long years of
persecution. Ever since that time the holy Veil has remained in Rome,
where it is preserved with the greatest care as one of the most
precious relics of the Vatican Basilica. Every year in Lent the holy
Veil is taken from the rich casket in which it is treasured, and from a
high balcony erected around one of the pillars of the Vatican Basilica,
it is exposed to the veneration of the faithful. An eye witness writes:
"One cannot without feelings of tenderest compassion and sorrow look
upon the noble brow covered with blood, the Divine eyes, livid and
bloody, the whole Face pallid as in death. On the right cheek is seen
the mark of the cruel blow inflicted by the brutal soldier, and on the
left are traces of the insults of the Jews who spat upon Him. The nose
is bruised and blood-stained, the mouth half open, the teeth broken,
the beard disheveled and partly torn out, the hair matted with blood.
But the whole Sacred Face, though disfigured, presents an appearance of
indescribable majesty and compassion, love and sadness."
The miraculous preservation of this Veil proves what great complacency Our Lord takes in the veneration of His Sacred Face.
Transfiguration of the Holy Veil
In the memorable days of Pope Pius IX [Now Blessed Pope Pius IX.-
Publisher 2010.], God deigned, by a touching prodigy, to glorify the
Sacred Image venerated at the Vatican. It was during the exile of the
Holy Father at Gaeta, in 1849, when the Veil of Veronica was allowed to
be exposed for veneration from Christmas to Epiphany. On the third day
of the exposition, the Veil, hitherto somewhat faded, became
transfigured, as it were; the sacred features of our Saviour appeared
lifelike and surrounded by a mild halo. Though covered with a piece of
silk, which would normally prevent one from distinguishing them, the
sacred features could, nevertheless, be distinctly seen. The Holy Face
was of a deathly pallor, the eyes sunken, yet animated with an
expression of profound sadness.
The canons who were guarding the Veil immediately notified their
colleagues and the ecclesiastics of the Basilica. The bells were rung
and the faithful flocked to the Vatican. The witnesses of this prodigy
were filled with wonder and awe; many were in tears, all were visibly
affected.
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