STEFANO PEDICA TIHIIE IHIOI Y I A CIE In the Documents of the Chuuch .1 $4.95 - THE HOLY FACE IN THE DOCUMENTS OF THE CHURCH THE HOLY FACE IN THE DOCUMENTS OF THE CHURCH by Stefano Pedica, O.S.B. TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY Mary G. Duram PUBLISHED WITH ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY HOLY FACE MONASTERY RT. 3 CLIFTON, N.J. Originally published by Marietti Editori Ltd.; Italy 1960. Nihil Obstat Rome, 7th November 1958. Fr. Benedictus Lavaud, O.P. Fr. Mannes Matthys, O.P. Imprimi Potest Rome, St. Stephen's Monastery supra Caccum. 10th November 1958. Dr. Hildebrandus Gregori, Abbot General of the Silvestrine Benedictine Congregation. Imprimatur Casali, 12th December 1959. Canon M. Debernardis, Vic. Gen. Th is edition printed and bound III the U.S.A. at Alb:l House, New York, 1975. THIRD EDITION DEDICATION To you, dear Parents, who are united in the Kingdom of Glory, and who r,ejoice in the light and joy of Jesus' Face, with filial and sacerdotal love. PREFACE The reader will see for himself with what diversity Don Stefano Pedica must have worked on these various theses for a doctorate degree-discussed and approved by our University of the Angelicum. I am convinced that it will do good to publish it, because it is the sum of all the argu­ ments: biblical, patristic, theological, canonical, historical, in favour of the devotion to the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ, especially mentioned in holy Scripture in the splendour of His Transfiguration and in His abasement in the days of the Cross. The face is the soul, it's the person, it is life. In Biblical language, this is the "I am" of man and the "I am" of God, perhaps even more of the h�art.When one speaks of Jesus, certainly His Face is not to be separated from His whole Humanity, and that further, it is not to be re­ garded apart from His Divinity. But in the Holy Face, as in the Sacred Heart, is seen the expression of the plenitude of love and sorrow which is the mystery of the Humanity hypostatic ally united to the Divinity without losing any­ thing of its natural capacity for resignation, sorrow and feeling: one understands how in the contemplation of this Face the human psychology is especially moving and im­ pressive, and that one must let one's heart be moved to ad�ration and prayer. However, also in its "place", pro­ vided that it is not isolated from the "whole" Divine Hu­ man Being to whom it belongs, the Holy Face is eminently worthy of veneration, not less than the Sacred Side, the other Wounds, the Blood, the Sacred Heart. It remains to be seen wh at may be the practical results of practising it, always in the light of theology, and provided that in this devotion, as in others, there are not devious confusions, as Vll could easily happen where complete ignorance could lead to fetichism and superstition. Here, as always, the Church is ready to exercise a vigilant watch, as she has done in this matter. But the good Christian people who at Lucca and else­ where came to adore the Holy Face, did not venerate a part, however noble it might be of the Body of Christ, .bu� adored Him Crucified for our salvation. Also in St. Peter's on Passion Sunday, those who prostrate themselves, do not do so before the Face impressed on Veronica's veil (accord­ ing to tradition) and still less before the veil itself-but with profound respect and ardent hearts adore and invoke Him who on the Via Dolorosa carried the Cross, fell, spoke to the Holy Women, imprinted His Sweat and Blood on a handkerchief offered to Him by pious hands, and finally was crucified for us. And before the Crucified of Blessed Angelico, that Face so tender and majestic, so silent and so eloquent in His Divine grief, is it not the entire mystery of His Life and Death, which echoes within our soul, and makes us believe, adore, weep and ask pardon? Let us stand with the Church, with the Fathers and Spiritual Directors to teach the true way in devotion and in spiritual life. The theologian, on his part, faces and endeavours to solve questions on the scientific plane, as Don Stefano Pedica has done so extremely well in this volume. This teaching is a service rendered to all souls who are moved and united by the Holy Spirit's mysterious influence, to seek God in Jesm Christ according to one or the other as­ pects of His Humanity-without ever separating them from His whole Self-without ever dividing them into separate parts even in the imagination of the psychological accentuations of piety. Father Stefano Pedica having lived for more th an ten years amongst the tumult of great American cities, is yet able to consider that modern society, whilst seemingly seeking after riches and pleasure, nourishes within itself Vllt hidden yearnings for the ideals of purity and goodness which are made manifest in the Saviour's Face. From this was born the idea of this book, described by the Professors of Rome's Angelicum University as erudite, solid and pious. A book of undoubted scientific value, bringing a weighty contribution to contemporary religious literature. The dogmatic historical portions are balanced equally, and whilst it is based as to its theological outline on diverse foundations, it is everywhere penetrated by the vision of the syntheses which are concentrated in the love of Christ. Th is is not the first historical work which Father Stefano Pedica has given us, but this surpasses the preceding ones by the research conducted with the acuteness and penetration of enquiry into the sure possession of historical documents, in the light of the Church's teachings. Raimondo SPiazzi, o.P. IX AUTHOR'S PREFACE The world of today inclines more easily to sensible objects. Jesus Christ gave Himself to all, said St. Augustine, to all humanity. He gave Himself to the good, He gave Himself to those weak in virtue. To good and weak He gave His Form as man "forma hominis", to the pure and Holy He will reserve His Form of God "forma Dei" to the end that all might rejoin in eternity in the splendour of His Face. To the Apostles, pious or weak, He showed Himself many times after the Resurrection, and to the incredulous Thomas He ga ve permission to touch His wounded Breast as the apostle had wished; whilst to the cleansed and pure of heart, He gave Himself under the Eucharistic species, therefore He said the Bread of the strong. Today humanity seeks insistently the Face of Christ; that Face whose Eyes will one day, said Papini, manifest the Divinity to the earth. It searches because it is moved by a universal, diffused but weak piety. Therefore Jesus provi­ dentially shows Himself once more under the Human Form "dedit formam Hominis" as if expecting from humanity purified and willing, to be recognized in His True Divine Essence, "servavit formam Dei mundatis et piis." His Human Form is here, visible on the sacred winding sheet of the Shroud, where can be seen His Immolated Life. One can see His Body, wounded, pierced, flagellated, cruci­ fied, buried. That which will impress one is the Face. Calm, as of one who reposes, sweet, as of one who loves, humble as of one who waits. The Forehead is bathed in blood, the Eyes half shut, the Hair and Beard ruffled and stained with blood. Thou couldst not even cease contemplating Him, whilst in thy heart thou repeatest the words of the pr� 1 "Quaesivi Vultum Tuum; Vultum Tuum, Domine re­ quiram-Cercai il Tuo Volto, e 10 cerchero ancora ..." The very fact that the faithful have wished to represent it, and represent it on pictures, on marble, on wood, on metal, signifies that the desire to see Him and adore Him is insatiable in us. The very fact that the Church is occupied with It and applies herself to It, signifies that He arouses in us sentiments of gratitude, love and reparation. The devotion to the Holy Face is not new, but is an ancient devotion to the Church; it is not a kind of modern piety, but an art of profound Christian religion, cultivated in every century and augmented in our days with ever greater spiritual fruit from souls dedicated to prayer, mor­ tification and reparation. It will be enough to mention some of the numerous texts of the Old and New Testaments, to examine them from the dogmatic standpoint, to read the references and allusions to the Face contained in tradition, and in the writings of the Holy Fathers, to deduce therefrom theo­ logical doctrine and to acknowledge that this cult stands at the foundation of piety towards the Sacred Humanity of Christ. The Face of Jesus, with regard to nature, is a human face: a regal and beautiful face because through His Mother He came from the: line of David so that of Him one can say "progeny of Dayid" (Apoc. 22, 16). The nobility of His origin and the end for which He as­ sumed human nature, above all His Face, from His aspect and His gaze came that divine power which attracted the crowds, calmed the winds, stilled the waves of the sea, chased the swindlers from the Temple, shone on Tabor, converted Peter. This Face, physically perfect, has the characteristic note which renders it worthy of adoration, that is to say, in theological terms we must say that it is divine, in conse­ quence of the hypostatic union, namely the union of hu- Xll man nature and Divine Nature in the unique Person of the Word.