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The Look of Christ Msgr. Charles Pope • August 4, 2016 • I have a large icon of Christ in my room (see photo at right). What icons from the Eastern tradition do best is to capture “the look.” No matter where I move in the room, Christ is looking right at me. His look is intense, though not severe. In the Eastern spirituality, icons are windows into Heaven. Hence, this icon is no mere portrait that reminds one of Christ, it is an image that mediates His presence. When I look upon Him, I experience that He knows...

(Taken from both Chaplet of the Holy Face of Jesus: Roman Catholic Man and Chaplet or Crown of the Holy Face: CatholicTradition.org.) The chaplet has for its object the honoring of the five senses of our Lord Jesus Christ and of entreating God for the triumph of His Church. The chaplet is composed of a cross, 39 beads, six of which are large, and 33 of which are small. The 33 small beads represent the 33 years of the mortal life of our Lord. The first 30 recall to mind the 30 years of His private life, and are divided...

A Short Meditation on the “Look” of Jesus By: Msgr. Charles PopeI have a large Icon of Christ in my room. What icons from the Eastern tradition do best is to capture “the Look.” No matter where I move in the room Christ is looking right at me. His look is intense, though not severe. In the Eastern spirituality Icons are windows into heaven. Hence this icon is no mere portrait that reminds one of Christ, it is an image which mediates his presence. When I look upon him, I experience that he knows me. It is a knowing...

John Paul II and the Holy FaceWhen 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...

I would like to recommend this devotion for a McCain/Palin victory on Nov. 4th.

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday prayed at a sanctuary in this village in central Italy that holds a veil some Christians believe was used to wipe blood and sweat from Jesus' face on his way to his crucifixion and bears his image on the cloth.It was the first time that a pontiff has made a pilgrimage to the little-known, 17th-century sanctuary of Manoppello. Benedict arrived by helicopter and was greeted by a few thousand pilgrims waving flags with the Vatican's white and yellow colors, and carrying banners that read, "Hurrah for the pope," and "Benedict, Benedict."Those welcoming the pontiff included...

The shroud of turin was widely dismissed as a medieval forgery after radiocarbon tests in 1988 dated it to the 13th or 14th century. Now a growing body of evidence is calling for reassessment of the shroud, which is kept in Turin, Italy. The latest item comes from the London-based Journal of Optics, published by the Institute of Physics. Two scientists from the University of Padua, Giulio Fanti and Roberto Maggiolo, report in the journal's April edition the discovery of a heretofore-undetected reverse image on the shroud. They say the smaller, fainter image on the back of the cloth depicts...

Freep the Diocese of Paterson, Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, DD, and the Brother Superior of Holy Face Monastery, Order of St. Benedict. Shame on Both of You. You will have to drop a dime to freep the monastery, no e mail. Please come out to protest Jim McGreevey, Candidate for Governor, State of NJ, who will appear at a Passaic County Democratic Picnic, John Currie County Chairman,on the grounds of the Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, NJ, Route 3 East and Grove Street. The picnic is tomorrow - Saturday afternoon from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.. Protesters will arrive by 12 ...