Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 74(4) Nov 2024
Book Review
Unveiling the Sixth Station of the Cross
by Mary Jane Zuzolo
Pub Sophia Institute Press
Reviewed by Dr
Pravin Thevathasan
This
turned out to be a delightful read about a devotion that is growing in
popularity: devotion and reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus. It
certainly is a devotion for our times as it calls us to make reparation
for the sins against the first three of the ten commandments. To be more
accurate, we are asking Jesus to have pity on us and on the whole world
through the merits of His Holy Face, not our merits. We are now being
confronted by the revolutionary forces of Marxism, Modernism, and Masonry
deep within the Church. All these errors lead to atheism.
Like all true devotions, the author notes that devotion to the Holy Face goes back in time to the very beginnings of the Church, specifically to the woman Veronica. But, again as the author notes, hints of the devotion are already to be found in the Old Testament: in the Book of Job, God requests the innocent Job to offer his face as reparation for the sins of his disbelieving "friends."
In more recent times, the devotion was entrusted to the Carmelite order. The author notes that the great St Therese of Lisieux had a wonderful devotion to the Holy Face. Her name in religious life was Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. But before Therese, devotion to the Holy Face was entrusted to a lesser known Carmelite nun: Marie de Saint-Pierre (1816-1848). This saintly nun makes it clear that the devotion is to make reparation for the Enlightenment attempt at trying to banish God. This, in turn, has led to what Pope Benedict XVI referred to as the "dictatorship of relativism". The consequences are there for us to see: abortion, euthanasia, and attempts at marriage redefinition. The "Golden Arrow Prayer" is based on an interior conversation between Jesus and Sister Marie. It is a prayer of reparation to the Holy Name of God, for sins of blasphemy, and for the profanation of Sundays. Interestingly, the author is a direct descendent of her brother. The author also documents the work of Leo Dupont (1797-1876), the Holy Man of Tours who spread devotion to the Holy Face.
So, as the author notes, the devotion to the Holy Face is a devotion for our times. It is entirely compatible with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
A wonderful read.