A Beacon Of Light… Jesus Meets His Mother And Veronica
By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)
- + + As we journey through the second week of Lent, we will be reflecting on the Fourth and Sixth Stations of the Cross: Jesus meets His afflicted Mother and Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
In the Fourth Station, we find ourselves amid the crowd that is gathering along the streets to watch the spectacle of Jesus carrying His cross. Jesus has just gotten up from the first fall and struggles to continue to Calvary. Then it happens: Jesus notices His Mother in the crowd. He turns His head to gaze at her. You see the blood dripping from the crown of thorns as it runs down His face. You see the pain and agony in his face. You see the cry of help in His eyes as He gazes toward His Mother, Mary.
Jesus’ eyes convey a message to His Mother. His eyes say: I know you want this to stop but I must go on, I must fulfill my Father’s will. She, in turn, gazes back intently into her son’s eyes. She knows His pain, as she sees the prophecy of Simeon fulfilled as a sword pierces her heart.
This very poignant moment was portrayed in the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I remember how vivid and heartbreaking this moment was. It brought tears to many eyes, including my own.
In his book, The World’s First Love, the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen reminds us how important Mary is. In his book he says: “The key to understanding Mary is this — We do not start with Mary — We start with Christ, the Son of the Living God. . . . The less we think of Him, the less we think of her; the more we think of Him, the more we think of her — The less we adore His Divinity, the less reason we have for respecting her. . . . We did not make her different, we found her different” (Fulton Sheen, The World’s First Love, pp. 67-68).
This Fourth Station invites us to think about the times when humanity has met Mary along the path of life. When have we gazed upon the face of the Blessed Mother? This has happened so many times. Humanity has seen the face of Mary in her various apparitions. Those of Lourdes, Fatima, and Knock have been moments of Mary’s gaze on us all.
In Lourdes it was was one of mercy calling us to repentance. In Fatima Mary’s gaze was one of concern for sinners, calling humanity to pray that all hearts may convert and return to her son, Jesus. In Knock it was one of compassion, as she appeared silently just to be with the struggling people of Ireland.
In these apparitions, we meet the Blessed Mother whose gaze penetrates our souls. Sadly, we have hidden ourselves from Mary’s motherly gaze. Archbishop Fulton Sheen offers this analogy for our reflection: “If we have a box in which we keep our money, we know that one thing we must always give attention to is to the key . . . without the key we cannot get to the money. . . . Mary is the key to Jesus” (Fulton Sheen, The World’s First Love, p. 77).
Having reflected on the intimate gaze of Jesus and Mary, the Sixth Station of the Cross brings us to the moment Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. According to medieval legend, the veil belonged to a woman who took pity on Christ as He toiled with His burden of the cross on the way to Golgotha. She gave Christ her kerchief to wipe His brow, and when He returned the cloth, His image miraculously had been impressed upon it.
This kerchief was believed to have been preserved as the relic called the “true image” or, in Latin, vera icon. In time, these words combined to form “Veronica,” the name given by legend to the compassionate woman at Golgotha.
But on that dreaded day, Veronica, with a woman’s own peculiar vision, looked out on a countenance bruised and stained with dust and blood, and saw in it the very Face of Divinity. Braving human respect, she touched a towel to His visage, and as if to remind us that the likeness between Christ and us is most perfect in suffering and sorrow, the Divine Savior, on His way to Calvary, left the impression of His divinely sorrowful face.
Gazing Upon The Holy Face
Like the Blessed Mother and Veronica, we too are given the opportunity to gaze upon the holy face of Jesus. On the day of our Baptism we were reborn of water and the Holy Spirit. This rebirth freed us from the pangs of original sin and prepared us to receive the sacred image of the Holy Face of Jesus.
The moment the baptismal water is poured over our heads, our souls are readied for Christ. Immediately, at this moment, the image of the sacred face of Christ is forever stamped, or indelibly infused into our souls.
This divine impression of our souls is what makes us unique. It is because of this impression we are considered to have been made in the image and likeness of God. Imagine, even though humanity turned its back, God has found us worthy to share in His divine image. He has imprinted us with His very self!
As we reflect on this Station of the Cross, a question is being asked of us: Do we recognize the face of Jesus within our lives? Meaning, when we are wallowing in our miseries or complaining about our struggles, where do we go for counsel? We tend to look everywhere else, but often, all we do is drown ourselves in more misery.
We hear about many who turn to drugs, alcohol, and other self-gratifying means of coping with the world. Some look to the sciences of psychology by utilizing the aide of psychotherapy to see themselves in a new way. This can be good in itself, but what if we could stop all the confusion? What if we could refocus and get back on track? Well we can! It’s called conversion of heart. It’s called refocusing ourselves on the divine image of the face of Jesus. The divine image within us!
Begin Again
The Fourth and Sixth Stations of the Cross have reintroduced us to the loving gaze the Lord has for us. We see it in the gaze shared between Jesus and Mary. We see the gaze of the Blessed Mother in her many apparitions throughout the world. Each of these apparitions presents for us different aspects of a mother’s care for her children. In each of these gazes, Mary’s goal is to return the lost sheep to her Divine Son.
The compassionate Veronica reminds us that the “true image” we are searching for lies within our reach.
My dear brothers and sisters, this week’s reflection calls us to re-examine our relationships in life. When we look at another, do we gaze upon them with the loving and compassionate eyes of Jesus, Mary, and Veronica?
Maybe in the past our gaze has been one of jealousy, envy, or even malice. Maybe it has been one of judgment, instead of a reasoning heart. It’s not too late to make a change! Jesus’ image of the Holy Face within us is looking for us to return that gaze. In the beginning it might be just a glance, but that’s a start!
Conversion takes time. It took St. Augustine thirty years before his conversion was complete. Remember the Lord can draw straight lines even if using crooked souls! Jesus is ready to meet us and begin again. Please don’t wait, the time is now!