https://holyfaceleague.com/holy-face-novena-day-1
https://holyfaceleague.com/day-1/
Lord, I desire to seek thy Face; do not Thou repel me far from it on account of my sins; do not remove Thy Holy Spirit from me. Let the light of Thy Face shine upon me; teach me in the way of Thy commandments.
Enter into the grotto at Bethlehem, consider the newborn Child, laid in the cradle, wrapped in poor swaddling clothes. Mary and Joseph stand before him and contemplate him. You also gaze upon his sweet and radiant Face. It is the Face of the Emmanuel, of the Son of God with us; of the most beautiful of the children of men. During four thousand years the patriarchs and prophets had desired to see it; they earnestly entreated for it as the salvation promised to the world.
Lord, they unceasingly exclaimed, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved. Behold it here! It shows itself at last! See how ravishing and amiable it is; how it already hastens to give you all the most precious things that it possesses.
I. It gives you its first prayer.
For already in its cradle, it turns towards Heaven; towards the sovereign Father of angels and of men; the author of all things. It adores him in your name, it prays for you. Behold me, it says, oh my Father, I come to fulfil Thy will. Now, this will is to deliver you from eternal death and to accomplish your salvation. When allowing itself to be seen for the first time, the face of Jesus is humble and suppliant; associate yourself with his prayer; determine to labour efficaciously for the great affair of your salvation, which is the object of his coming.
II. It gives you its first tears.
Behold the innocent and delicate cheeks of the newborn infant benumbed with cold, bathed with the tears which are caused less by the sufferings of the body, than by the grief excited in his soul by the sight of the world. The sweet Face of the little child Jesus is already the victim of reparation, of justice and of expiation; it suffers, it weeps, it satisfies for your sins. Gather up with reverence these holy tears, one alone of which possesses infinite value; offer them to the Eternal Father for the payment of your debts towards him.
III. It gives you also one of its first smiles.
It has already smiled on Mary, it has smiled on Joseph; now from out the midst of its swaddling clothes, from out its tears, it turns towards you, it becomes sweetly radiant whilst looking at you, it gives you its infantine smile; a smile of peace and love, a smile of heaven, which invites you, which calls you, which seems to say to you: The face which smiles on you is that of a friend, of a brother, of a Saviour. Draw near, have confidence, I love you.
If the child Jesus loves you if his Holy Face gives you the proof of it, what is it that holds you back? Render to him love for love.
Detach yourself, at least in heart, from all earthly things; let Jesus be your treasure!
Dry that first tear; carry away with you that first kind smile of the Holy Face, lay it in the deepest part of your soul, as a ray of hope, as a spark of love, and say with the prophet: The light of Thy Face has been shed upon us, oh Lord; Thou hast given joy to our heart. Petitions: I have called upon thy Face with my whole heart; have pity on me according to Thy promises. Let the light of Thy Face shine upon me. Save me in thy mercy; Lord, I shall not be confounded because I have called upon Thee. Closing Prayer: God all-powerful and merciful, grant we entreat Thee, that, venerating the Face of Thy Christ, disfigured in his Passion because of our sins, we may deserve to contemplate it eternally in the splendour of the glory of Heaven. Through the same Jesus Christ.
