In Rome and in
other places, Shrove Tuesday is observed as the Feast of the Holy
Face of Jesus.
Masses in honour
of the Holy Face appeared as early as the fourteenth century. In 1958
Pope Pius XII approved the observance of a feast of the Holy Face
of Jesus on Shrove Tuesday. At Manoppello, the feast of the Holy Face
is celebrated on August 6th, the Transfiguration of the Lord. The
Benedictines of Jesus Crucified honoured the Holy Face with the Litanies
sung in procession on the Sunday After Ascension.
The present Mass
of the Holy Face of Jesus for Shrove Tuesday was approved by the Holy
See in 1986. A flash of paschal glory before beginning Lent! Here
are the Proper Mass texts of the Mass in English.
INTROIT
Of you my heart has spoken: “Seek his face.” It is your
face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face (Ps 26:8-9).
(Cf., Tibi dixit, GR 88)
Collect
O God, who willed
that your only–begotten Son
should become man,
and show us in his human nature a perfect image of your
divinity, grant, we beseech you, that by venerating the image of his
Holy Face we may be united with him
in the mysteries of his Passion and Death,
and so come to contemplate forever his glorious Face
in the joy of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
Lesson
Lesson from the second letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians
2 Cor. 11:19-33; 12:1-9
Brethren: You gladly put up with fools, because you are wise yourselves!
For you suffer it if a man enslaves you, if a man devours you, if a man
takes from you, if a man is arrogant, if a man slaps your face! I speak
to my own shame, as though we had been weak. But wherein any man is
bold - I am speaking foolishly - I also am bold. Are they Hebrews? So am
I! Are they Israelites? So am I! Are they offspring of Abraham? So am
I! Are they ministers of Christ? I - to speak as a fool - am more: in
many more labors, in prisons more frequently, in lashes above measure,
often exposed to death. From the Jews five times I received forty lashes
less one. Thrice I was scourged, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered
shipwreck, a night and a day I was adrift on the sea; in journeyings
often, in perils from floods, in perils from robbers, in perils from my
own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in
perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false
brethren; in labor and hardships, in many sleepless nights, in hunger
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those
outer things, there is my daily pressing anxiety, the care of all the
churches! Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I
am not inflamed? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that
concern my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, Who is
blessed forevermore, knows that I do not lie. In Damascus the governor
under King Aretas was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to
arrest me, but I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall,
and escaped his hands. If I must boast - it is not indeed expedient to
do so - but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a
man in Christ who fourteen years ago - whether in the body I do not
know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows - such a one was
caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man - whether in the
body or out of the body I do not know, God knows that he was caught up
into paradise and heard secret words that man may not repeat. Of such a
man I will boast; but of myself I will glory in nothing save in my
infirmities. For if I do wish to boast, I shall not be foolish; for I
shall be speaking the truth. But I forbear, lest any man should reckon
me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me. And lest the greatness of
the revelations should puff me up, there was given me a thorn for the
flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me. Concerning this I thrice
besought the Lord that it might leave me. And He has said to me, My
grace is sufficient for you, for strength is made perfect in weakness.
Gladly therefore I will glory in my infirmities, that the strength of
Christ may dwell in me.
Gradual
Ps 76:15-16
You are the God Who alone works wonders; among the peoples You have made known Your power.
V. With Your strong arm You delivered Your people, the sons of Israel and Joseph.
Gospel
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 8:4-15
At that time, when a very great crowd was gathering together and men
from every town were resorting to Jesus. He said in a parable: The sower
went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the
wayside and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up.
And other seed fell upon the rock, and as soon as it had sprung up it
withered away, because it had no moisture. And other seed fell among
thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. And other seed
fell upon good ground, and sprang up and yielded fruit a hundredfold. As
He said these things He cried out, He who has ears to hear, let him
hear! But His disciples then began to ask Him what this parable meant,
He said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom
of God, but to the rest in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and
hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: the seed is
the word of God. And those by the wayside are they who have heard; then
the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, that they may
not believe and be saved. Now those upon the rock are they who, when
they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, but
believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which
fell among the thorns, these are they who have heard, and as they go
their way are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and
their fruit does not ripen. But that upon good ground, these are they
who, with a right and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast,
and bear fruit in patience.
Offertory
Make my steps steadfast in Your paths, that my feet
may not falter. Incline Your ear to me; hear my word. Show Your wondrous
kindness, O Lord, Savior of those who trust in You.
Secret
May this sacrifice which we offer You, O Lord, ever give us new life and protection.
Through Jesus Christ,
thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Post Communion
O almighty God, grant, we humbly beseech You, that those whom You
refresh with Your sacrament may also worthily serve You in a way that is
well pleasing to You.
Through Jesus Christ,
thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
SAINT ONESIMUS
Onesimus
lived in the first century. He was a slave who robbed his master and
ran away to Rome. In Rome he went to see the great apostle, St. Paul,
who was a prisoner for his faith. Paul received Onesimus with the
kindness and love of a good father. Paul helped the young man realize he
had done wrong to steal. But more than that, he led Onesimus to
believe in and accept the Christian faith.
After Onesimus became a Christian, Paul sent him back to his master,
Philemon, who was Paul's friend. But Paul did not send the slave back
alone and defenseless. He "armed" Onesimus with a brief, powerful
letter. Paul hoped his letter would set everything right for his new
friend, Onesimus. Paul wrote to Philemon: "I plead with you for my own
son, for Onesimus. I am sending him back to you. Welcome him as though
he were my very heart."
That touching letter is in the New Testament of the Bible. Philemon
accepted Paul's letter and Paul's advice. When Onesimus returned to his
master, he was set free. Later, he went back to St. Paul and became
his faithful helper.
St. Paul made Onesimus a priest and then a bishop. The former slave
dedicated the rest of his life to preaching the Good News that had
changed his life forever. It is believed that during the persecutions,
Onesimus was brought in chains to Rome and stoned to death.
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