I present myself before Thy Holy Face, 0 my Saviour, laden with my sins and the penalties which they have brought upon me. My sufferings are far less than what I deserve, for, although I am conscious of the just punishment of my sins, I do not, on that account, cease to commit fresh ones every day. I am bowed down under Thy scourges, and I do not become better; my heart is full of bitterness, and my obstinacy, in doing evil, remains for ever the same. My life passes away in misery, and I do not correct myself. When Thou chastisest me, I make the best promises in the world; as soon as Thou liftest up Thy hand, I forget all that I promised Thee.

I make to Thee, 0 God! A sincere confession of my sins; I protest in Thy presence, that if Thou do not show mercy upon me, I shall be in danger of perishing utterly. Grant me, my Saviour, what I beg of Thee, although I do not deserve it, since Thou hast of Thy goodness drawn me out of nothingness to put me into a state wherein I can pray to Thee.

Amen.

(1887 Manual of the Holy Face)

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“A single tear shed at the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus is worth more than a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or a year of fasting on bread and water.” ~ Saint Augustine

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( The Following excerpt is taken from the book “The Holy Face In the Documents in the Church” Stefano Pedica, O.S.B.)

St. Augustine mentions the Lord’s Holy Face so many times that it would merit a separate study. Jesus is beautiful, supremely beautiful: in Heaven, on the earth, in the womb of Mary, in the hands of relatives, beautiful in miracles, beautiful under the scourges. Suppose we should consider the Face of Jesus in the Passion. He is here the example of humility and patience. Jesus, says the Saint, shows great and admirable patience in receiving the kiss of Judas. But is it not perhaps a greater and more excellent example of patience which Jesus gave in receiving and bearing the slap on His Sacred Countenance? He received it for our redemption, therefore Augustine finds therein motives of confidence in this pious prayer which he addresses to Jesus: “Be propitious, I pray Thee, and have pity on me, and turn not Thy Face from me, Thou who in redeeming me didst not turn Thy Face from those who insulted Thee, and spat upon Thee.”

If we should consider the Face in Its own nature, this predisposes it to the joy of the Beatific Vision.

St. Augustine’s argument therefore is very strong, so to say, which predisposes the final end to be the vision of God. Now according to modern exegetists the expression : “Facies Dei”-Face of God-does not always have the same significance in Holy Scripture. Augustine distinguishes sharply between “Face of God” and “Face of Christ”.

The Face of God is the joy of the elect. The Face of Christ is the object of love and desire.

For what other object can we aspire towards, than the Face of God-the truth? And elsewhere-the Face of God is the power by which He manifests Himself to the worthy, indeed to the just.

St. Augustine, like all the rest of the Holy Fathers, addresses Christ with the expressions of the Prophets and the Psalms, using at times indiscriminately the expression “Vultum Tuum” and “Faciem Tuam” straight to the Person of the Word, in the same manner that the word “Lord” Dominus refers to both the Father and the Son.

“Quaesivi vultum tuum” I have sought Thy Face. I have sought for Thee and none other beside Thee. Thy Face is my only reward. I will seek Thy Face, O Lord : in this demand will I persevere. Indeed I will not look for any unworthy object, but only Thy Face that I may love Thee more generously, because I find none other more precious. The Face is the reward of the elect. The righteous shall dwell under Thine eyes, and when they will love the face, they will eat the bread of the sweat of their brow ( Gen. 3, 19 ) .

“Let us return, wiping away the sweat, let us end the weariness and the weeping that we may shine in Thy all satisfying Face. Neither let us search anymore, because there is nothing better. Let us not abandon Thee, and we shall not be abandoned by Thee. Because what was said about the Lord, after the Resurrection? I will be filled with overflowing joy with Thy Face, because without Thy Face there would not be joy for us.”

For St. Augustine the Face of Christ is the symbol of the Beatific Vision. The significant passage concerning the Face of Christ to the Divine Essence in the Beatific Vision is easy to see oneself in the following words which he uses to express the form of man and the form of God :

“He gave the human form to the pious and the weak (feeble in faith ) ; to the pure and holy he reserved the form of God, so that we may be able to rejoice in Him and be happy for ever in His sight.”