Holy Father meditates on 'face of Jesus'

BY STAFF REPORTER
ALL CHRISTIANS should be on a never-ending search for Christ who can be seen in the faces of all people, especially the poor and needy, Pope Benedict XVI has said.
To be drawn and transformed by the splendour of Jesus's face. is to live in God's presence on earth, the Pope said during a brief visit last week to the Sanctuary of the Holy Face some 120 miles east of Rome.
Some scholars believe the sanctuary houses "Veronica's Veil", the cloth used by Veronica to wipe Christ's face prior to his crucifixion and which, according to tradition, now contains the image of Christ's face.
"We will be filled with the presence of God" by imitating the lives of the saints who lovingly recognised the face of Jesus in their brothers and sisters, "especially the poorest and those most in need", Pope Benedict said.
The Pope flew by helicopter early in the morning from his summer home at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo to visit the church that houses the 7in by 9.5in transparent veil that portrays the image of a male face with long hair and a beard.
Studies have found no pigments or paints were used to create the image. The two-hour. stopover marked the first time a pope visited the small city of 6,000 people and its sanctuary.
In a speech to priests, religious and pilgrims who packed the long, narrow church, the Pope quoted Jesus: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."
In order to recognise Christ, especially in other people or in one's daily life, people must have "innocent hands and pure hearts", Pope Benedict said.
Having innocent hands means living one's existence "enlightened by the truth of love that conquers indifference, doubt, lies and selfishness", he said. A pure heart, he added, is a heart that has been "captured by divine beauty" and houses Christ's very image.
It was only after Jesus' Passion and Resurrection that the disciples recognised him as the true Son of God, "the Messiah promised for the redemption of the world", said the Pope.
"Looking for Jesus's face must be the yearning of all of us Christians," the Pope said. For those who persevere in that search, he said, Jesus "will be there at the end of our earthly pilgrimage".