“May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible, and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored, and glorified, in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.”
This prayer is known as the Golden Arrow Prayer and is one of the prayers prayed by those who have a devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. There are many different devotions in the Catholic Church such as the Divine Mercy of Jesus, Devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus, Devotion to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart, or the Devotion to the Rosary. These devotions are not required practices within the Church however, they have been given to us through the millennia since Jesus walked the earth. These devotions are given to us through the wisdom of Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are given to us when either the Blessed Mother or Jesus Himself appears to people on earth. The devotions that are revealed to them are pertinent to the difficulties that the world faces during this period.
Jesus appeared to Sr. Mary of St. Peter, a Carmelite nun in Tours, France from 1844-1847. This Devotion focused on making reparations for the sins that are committed against the first three commandments. These commandments are the three that focus on how we are to treat God. We are not to have other Gods before Him, we are not to take His Holy Name in vain, and we are to keep holy the Sabbath Day. This devotion is also used to fight the spread of the evils of Communism which was beginning to spread at that time.
When we look at the Holy Face of Jesus which appeared on the veil of St. Veronica as she wiped His face as He carried the cross, we see that this image is sorrowful. Through this devotion and the simple prayers that go with it, those who honor this devotion are seeking to comfort the heart of Jesus in his sorrow, especially for the sorrow that comes from those who deny God, blaspheme his Holy Name, and refuse to honor the Lord’s Day.
When parishioner Alex Thelen asked the Lord in prayer how he could do something good for Him, he was led to this devotion because it was making reparations for the harm done to Him by those on this earth. These sins are committed by those close to us, denying His existence, taking His name in vain, and not honoring Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation.
“I had never heard of this devotion before, and it really intrigued me to focus on one aspect of Christ. We see so many different images of the face of Christ but this one is not showing Him in His glory, it is showing Him in His sorrow and His Passion. When I met with Mary Hobbs, we decided to form a group to pray the prayers and practice the spirituality of this devotion with others,” Alex says.
The group meets on Tuesday evenings at 6:15 p.m. in the Fallon Center Lounge. They have booklets that they use to pray the prayers which take about 30 minutes and then they will read from one of the books written about this devotion.
“Through the prayers and the writings, I receive more insight into the act of reparation and how God wants reparations to be made. We are doing something so simple — praying these prayers — but we are intentionally desiring to comfort our Lord. That is so pleasing to God,” Mary says.
“This act of consolation is such a different kind of union to Christ that I have experienced before. We are consoling Him as He consoles us. When we meditated on His Passion, we see His strength and the virtues that He embodied during that time. We are then emboldened to carry our own crosses with His strength as we spend time with Him,” Alex says.
There are many beautiful promises that Christ gives to those who practice the spirituality of this devotion. The graces secured for oneself and those around you is a beautiful way to strengthen the community that surrounds us.
“When we meet to say the prayers of the devotion, we welcome all who want to join us. It isn’t a large time commitment, and it isn’t even something that you need to go to every week. We really want others to understand how this is such a simple and special way to honor our Lord,” Mary says.
“We are orienting ourselves towards God and keeping the most important things in life at the forefront of our minds and hearts,” Alex says.
All are welcome to join this group that meets weekly. They meet on Tuesdays at 6:15 p.m. in the Fallon Center Lounge.
