In 2011 my husband Stuart and I began working alongside Pam Moon, travelling the country with her Turin Shroud Exhibition. It soon became apparent to us that the Face on the Shroud has a very powerful impact on so many of its visitors. On countless occasions we have seen people of all ages, and from all walks of life have a personal encounter with Jesus. This beautiful, serene image of our Lord’s Face turns lives around for the better. Christians and non- Christians alike, encounter the reality of exactly what He suffered for our sake when they visit Pam’s exhibition, and this is often a life transforming experience.
Many years ago, I searched the Bible for references to the Face of God and was amazed at just how many times it is included, throughout the Bible. A few months ago, I was in conversation with one of our team members and this subject came up in the conversation, which led me to repeat the exercise. Here are a few of my favourite Scriptures about our Lord’s Face. I couldn’t have imagined then where that conversation would lead.
Below you will find a small selection of Biblical references:
1 Chronicles 16 v 11 N.I.V. Bible
Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His Face always.
2 Chronicles 7 v 14 N.I.V. Bible
If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Then that person can pray to God and find favour with Him, they will see God’s Face and shout for joy; He will restore them to full well-being.
Psalm 31 v 20a Passion Bible
So, hide all Your beloved ones in the sheltered, secret place before Your Face.
It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your Right Hand, Your Arm, and the Light of Your Face, for You loved them
2 Corinthians 4 v 6 Passion Bible
For God, who said, “Let brilliant light shine out of darkness, “is the One who has cascaded His Light into us – the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the Face of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 22 v 3 & 4 Passion Bible
And every curse will be broken and no longer exist, for the Throne of God and the Lamb will be there in the city. His loving servants will serve Him; they will always see His Face, and His Name will be on their Foreheads.
Shortly after beginning this search, I had a very fruitful conversation with Luigi Antoniazzi who is a long-time member of the British Society for the Turin Shroud (BSTS). It was through an article I wrote for the newsletter about Pam’s exhibition in the early days of our involvement with the exhibition which led to Luigi contacting me originally. He was keen to get the exhibition into Wales and over the years has been a wonderful contact opening many doors for Pam into that area. During our conversation Luigi mentioned that he has recently been researching the lives of Leo Dupont and Sr. Mary of St. Peter, having known a lot of information about them within the Catholic Church. This conversation took me straight back to an exhibition we were involved in near our home in July 2013.
It was at this exhibition that I met a nun who introduced me to the Golden Arrow prayer. This led us to Cenacle House in Lancashire who supply a vast variety of goods for anything to do with the Holy Face Devotion. It was on our first visit that I purchased two books, ‘The Holy Man of Tours’ and ‘The Golden Arrow, the Revelations of Sr. Mary of St. Peter.’ I found these books fascinating as they describe in detail the visions of Sr. Mary, which for many years were ignored. Sr. Mary lived at the time of the French Revolution and was given this special prayer in 1847 when our Lord told her it would overcome the threat of future communism; she took note of this even though she did not fully understand what it meant at the time.
Leo Dupont worked tirelessly with the Carmelite Nuns in Tours for the acceptance of this prayer after Sr. Mary died on July 8th, 1848. He was a devout man who set up a room in his house where he displayed the image of the Veronica, which depicts the Face of Jesus as we now see it on the Turin Shroud. An oil lamp was burned continuously before the image, and he then used the oil to anoint the people who came to him for healing prayers. The result was that many people were miraculously healed.
After speaking to Luigi, I was led to re-read parts of these books which meant it was all very fresh in my memory when the name of the new pope was announced recently. It took my breath away when I heard that Leo XIIII had been chosen as I had just re-read how it was Leo XIII who sanctioned that Sr. Mary’s visions were validated. On October 1st, 1885, Pope Leo XIII setup the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face which still exists today. One of the very first members to this Archconfraternity was St Therese of Lisieux. (also known within the Catholic Church as St Therese of the Child of Jesus and of the Holy Face).
I first heard of the existence of St. Therese at an exhibition we were involved in at Plymouth Catholic Cathedral in May 2013. This is an extract from my diary at that time.
“I learned something very interesting today when Pam and her sister Kathy noticed a statue of Therese of Lisieux quite near to where we were setting the exhibition up. I had never heard of this saint and was fascinated when they explained that she is known as the Saint of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face. With just a small adjustment and permission from the Dean we were able to place her statue facing the images of the Shroud and this seemed so appropriate. It was almost as though she had been there waiting for this occasion, it was very moving.“
I am not a member of the Catholic Church, so I feel very privileged to be able to write this article and share my experiences with you. I have spent a lot of time in Catholic Churches and the support of my many Catholic and non-Catholic friends has given me insight and encouragement on this journey and I thank the Lord for each one of them.
There are things I wish to add to this short account about what has happened since that recent pivotal conversation, as more information has since been revealed to me. I hope to share these events in the winter edition of the BSTS newsletter in more detail. So, in preparation for that time I now share these powerful prayers given to Sister Mary.
After receiving this prayer, Sister Mary of St. Peter was given a vision in which she saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus delightfully wounded by this “Golden Arrow” as torrents of graces streamed from It for the conversion of sinners.
There is also another powerful prayer of Sister Mary which I would like to include as it seems very appropriate for all that is going on in our world at the moment.
I SALUTE YOU, I ADORE YOU, AND LOVE YOU, OH, ADORABLE FACE OF MY BELOVED JESUS, AS THE NOBLE STAMP OF THY DIVINITY! COMPLETELY SURRENDERING MY SOUL TO YOU, I MOST HUMBLY BEG YOU TO STAMP THIS SEAL UPON US ALL, SO THAT THE IMAGE OF GOD MAY ONCE MORE BE REPRODUCED BY ITS IMPRINT IN OUR SOULS. AMEN.
Our Lord told Sister Mary of St. Peter that the image of His Holy Face is like a Divine Stamp which, if applied to souls, through prayer, has the power of imprinting anew within them the image of God.
I would like to close with the following quote from Michael Kowalski, in his editorial included in the latest summer issue of the BSTS Newsletter, as a final thought from me.
“There is always a significance to the choice of papal name, and it often indicates a desire to continue the legacy of a previous pope. Let us hope that our new pope shares the previous Pope Leo’s views about the Shroud and that he might consider how it could be used to help “stimulate everywhere a revival of the religious spirit.”
So much evil in this world has been committed in the name of ‘religion’ so let us unite and pray that we will experience a religion built on the example of Jesus, His Love, Compassion, and a deep relationship with Him as experienced by Sr. Mary of St. Peter and Leo Dupont!
