When I lived in Rome as a student-priest during the years 2002-2005, I was privileged on many occasions to serve at the altar and distribute Holy Communion at the public Masses of Blessed John Paul II. During those final years of his life, the Pope was very weak and often required a good deal of assistance to offer Mass and preach. It was amazing to see his determination and stamina as the once athletic young man had to summon every ounce of his strength in order to mount the stairs to the altar or to give a homily.
One of the themes that JP2 spoke about frequently in his final years was “contemplating the face of Christ.” He understood this contemplation as the primary vocation of the Church in our time and the place from which all other witness and service to the Kingdom must flow. Here’s another excerpt from his letter on the beginning of the new millennium:
“‘Your face, O Lord, I seek’ (Ps 27:8).
The ancient longing of the Psalmist could receive no fulfilment greater and more surprising than the contemplation of the face of Christ. God has truly blessed us in him and has made “his face to shine upon us” (Ps 67:1).
At the same time, God and man that he is, he reveals to us also the true face of man, ‘fully revealing man to man himself.’” (Novo millenio ineunte, 23)
Guided by the Light of the Holy Spirit, we ask Jesus to show us his face in prayer, where he comes to us in Word and Sacrament, so that then we can then discover his face present each day in the world around us.
The Christian vocation is thus simple yet challenging:
We are called to see the serenity of Christ, the man of abundant trust in the Father’s love, and then show that same trust ourselves to others who are seeking him:
We are called to gaze with wonder on the child born in Bethlehem and then see his face in the wonder of human life:
(This is my new niece, Gemma Rose Auger, born on January 6 - I just met her for the first time yesterday!!
Pretty cute, don’t you think?)
And as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said, we are called to see his face even and especially when he wears the distressing disguise of the sick and poor:
And so, in every place and in every moment, the Church, which is the new Israel, cries out, “Show us your face, O Lord!”
And, if we wait for the Lord with courage, we will discover that Christ is among us.
Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!
Little Gemma Rose is adorable!
I love being able to read your thoughts and prayers. They help me pray so much more deeply. Thank you!!
I think nbmeur 3 is likely.There are other Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon. When I was working at Royal Skousen’s research assistant, he had me look up every instance of the construction “the king [name]“–it apparently isn’t a common English usage, but is common in either Hebrew or Egyptian (I can’t remember which!).