Popule Meus

Popule Meus
Graphite pencil on paper
December 2011

I actually finished this several weeks ago. This was a Christmas gift to my Latin tutor.

The words in Latin come from Micah 6:3: My people what have I done to you, how have I offended you answer me! You can see the full text here [link] These are known as the Reproaches (or the Improperia) and are usually part of the Good Friday liturgy, symbolizing Christ speaking to His people who have put Him to death.

Here it is chanted in Latin: [link]



Prayers in honor of the Holy Face of Jesus

O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord,
which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee!
Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee,
in the sight of the sons of men.
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face,
from the disturbance of men.
Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle
from the contradiction of tongues.

' I salute You, I adore You and I love You,
adorable Face of my beloved Jesus,
as the noble stamp of the 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'

Let God arise, and let His Enemies be scattered,
And let them that hate Him flee from before
His face!' (Psalm 67)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Say to Aaron and his sons:
Thus shall you bless the children of Israel, and you shall say to them:

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.
The Lord shew his face to thee, and have mercy on thee.
The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.

And they shall invoke my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. (Numbers 22:27)

O LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. (Psalm 102:2,3)

"Let the soul who is desirous of advancing in perfection hasten to My Sacred Heart ~ but he who yearns to make even greater progress and to mount still higher on the wings of desire, must rise with the swiftness of an eagle and hover about my Sacred Face, supported like a seraph, on the wings of overpowering love."
(Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great)

Almighty and Eternal Father, since it has pleased Our Divine Savior to reveal to mankind in modern times the power residing in His Holy Face, we now avail ourselves of this Treasure in our great need. Since our Savior Himself promised that by offering to You His Holy Face disfigured in the Passion we can procure the settlement of all the affairs of our household, and that nothing whatsoever will be refused to us, we now come before Your throne.
Eternal Father, turn away Your angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Your eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Your Beloved Son; for this is the Face of Him in whom You are well pleased. We now offer You His Holy Face covered with blood, sweat, dust, spittle and shame, in reparation for the worst crimes of our age, which are atheism, blasphemy, and the desecration of Your holy days. We thus hope to appease Your anger justly provoked against us. The All-Merciful Advocate opens His mouth to plead our cause; listen to His cries, behold His tears, O God, and through the merits of His Holy Face hearken to Him when He intercedes for us poor miserable sinners.

From St. Therese of Lisieux

Jesus, Your ineffable image
Is the star which guides my steps.
Ah, You know, Your sweet Face
Is for me Heaven on earth.
My love discovers the charms
Of Your Face adorned with tears.
I smile through my own tears
When I contemplate Your sorrows.

Oh! To console You I want
To live unknown on earth!
Your beauty, which You know how to veil,
Discloses for me all its mystery.
I would like to fly away to You!

Your Face is my only homeland.
It's my Kingdom of love.
It's my cheerful meadow.
Each day, my sweet sun.
It's the Lily of the Valley
Whose mysterious perfume
Consoles my exiled soul,
Making it taste the peace of Heaven.

It's my Rest, my Sweetness
And my melodious Lyre
Your Face, O my Sweet Savior,
Is the Divine Bouquet of Myrrh
I want to keep on my heart!

Your Face is my only wealth.
I ask for nothing more.
Hiding myself in it unceasingly,
I will resemble You, Jesus
Leave in me, the Divine Impress
Of Your features filled with sweetness,
And soon I'll become holy.
I shall draw hearts to You.

So that I may gather
A beautiful golden harvest,
Deign to set me aflame with Your Fire.
With Your adorned mouth,
Give me soon the Eternal Kiss!

O Jesus, Who in Thy bitter Passion didst become "the most abject of men, a man of sorrows," I venerate Thy Sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead ... but now it has become for me as if it were the Face of a leper! Nevertheless, under those disfigured features, I recognize Thy Infinite Love and I am consumed with the desire to love Thee and make Thee loved by all men.

The tears which well up abundantly in Thy Sacred Eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value. O Jesus, Whose adorable Face ravished my heart, I implore Thee to fix deep within me Thy Divine Image and to set me on fire with Thy Love, that I may be found worthy to come to the contemplation of Thy glorious Face in Heaven. Amen.



"Jesus Christ, the human face of God, and the divine face of man." ~ Bl. Pope John Paul the Great