Prayer to the Holy Face.
O Jesus, who in Thy Cruel Passion didst become the “Reproach of men and the Man of Sorrows”, I worship Thy Divine Face. Once it shone with the beauty and sweetness of the Divinity; now for my sake it has become the face of a “leper”. Yet in that disfigured countenance I recognise Thy infinite love, and I am consumed with the desire of loving Thee and making Thee loved by all mankind. The tears that streamed in such abundance from Thine eyes are to me as precious pearls which I delight to gather, that with their infinite worth I may ransom the soul of poor sinners.
O Jesus, whose Face is the sole beauty that ravished my heart, I may not behold here upon earth the sweetness of Thy glance, nor feel the ineffable tenderness of Thy kiss. Thereto, I consent,
but I pray Thee to imprint in me Thy Divine Likeness, and I implore Thee to so inflame me with Thy love, that it may quickly consume me, and soon I may reach the vision of
Thy glorious Face in heaven!
Amen.
