Benediction
Dc. Larry Brockman
Welcome to Mardi Gras! Yep, this is the actual day when Mardi Gras is celebrated. Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is the last day that folks could enjoy rich food before the Lenten Fast! And so it was a celebration.
But you know what? That really misses the point of what the next 40 days are all about. Because rather than focus on comfortable living today because we’re going to fast tomorrow, we should be focused on what the next 40 days are all about.
Back in 1840, Jesus appeared to Sister Mary of St. Peter, a Carmelite nun. This appearance was on Shrove Tuesday. Jesus’ face was all disfigured and in suffering. The suffering was caused by people who mocked Jesus and Blasphemed against Christianity. Jesus told Sister Mary that people should pray on Shrove Tuesday in remembrance of his Holy Face for the reparation of the Sins of the Blasphemers. In 1885 Pope Leo XIII established the Archconfraternity to the Holy Face.
Then, Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother began appearing to Blessed Maria Pierina de Micheli from the age of seven in 1898. When He appeared to her on the first day of Lent in 1938 he repeated the request for a special day of Prayer on Shrove Tuesday each year in remembrance of his Holy Face. So in 1958, Pope Pius XII declared the Feast of the Holy Face be celebrated every Shrove Tuesday.
This little known feast is a timely reminder that we need to counter the cynical doubt about Christianity that is prevalent in our secular society today with prayer. And so, let us celebrate Fat Tuesday by venerating the Holy Face of Jesus with this prayer while we contemplate Jesus wounds in reparation for the multiple sins of Blasphemy. It is an excellent preparation Lent.
“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.”
