It is Thy Face, O Lord, that I seek [Catholic Caucus]

Vultus Christi ^ | 02-16-10 | Fr. Mark Kirby

[mlizzy]

John Paul II and the Holy Face

When the history of the pontificate of the Servant of God, the Venerable John Paul II is written by a generation to come, there is no doubt that his insistent and consistent focus on the Face of Christ will emerge as a grand spiritual theme, a recurrent motif, and, a spiritual gift to the Church. Over the years of his long pontificate, John Paul II's personal fascination with the Holy Face of Jesus became a pastoral imperative. Already in 2001, he drew the eyes of the Church to the Face of Christ. At the closing of the Holy Door on January 6th of that year he said: "Christianity is born, and continually draws new life from this contemplation of the glory of God shining on the face of Christ."

Growth in Holiness

Linked to the mystery of the Face of Christ and, for John Paul II, inseparable from it, is growth in holiness: "May the Lord grant that in the new millennium, the Church will grow ever more in holiness, that she may become in history a true epiphany of the merciful and glorious face of Christ the Lord."

Universal Call to Holiness

In Novo Millennio Ineunte, Pope John Paul II developed his teaching on the Face of Christ. Clearly, for John Paul II, this is more than another devotion proposed to the piety of the faithful ...

[mlizzy]

Take a look at the special mandate under which the author, Fr. Mark Kirby, lives (in the sidebar).

[Salvation]

Posted on yesterday’s daily thread.