Editor’s Note: In the most recent Issue of The Fatima Crusader (#135), several writers explored how Catholics can best live the Fatima Message. Al Smith authored the article, “Making Reparation to the Holy Face,” and the article below provides further insight into that theme.
Stabat Mater
The Gospels tell us, “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His Mother, and His Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene” (John 19:25). At the most excruciating moment in human history, when the weight of the world’s sins bore down upon the Savior, Mary did not turn away.
She stood. She remained. She endured. She prayed. She forgave.
And She offered Her sacrifice to the Eternal Father in union with Her Son.
This standing was no passive stance. It was the posture of unwavering fidelity, of full union with the redemptive suffering of Her Son. She was not merely present as an onlooker – Mary was actively participating in the offering of Christ to the Father. Every mother suffers when her child suffers; yet Mary’s suffering was unique because She consented, with the deepest act of Her sinless will, to the sacrifice unfolding before Her.
Mary, Co-Redemptrix
Pope John Paul II described Mary as “co-suffering” with Christ. This does not diminish the unique role of Jesus as mankind’s Redeemer – rather, it shows the depth of Mary’s maternal and supernatural union with Him. She accepted in advance the piercing of Her own soul, prophesied by Simeon, and when it came, She embraced it as Her role in the redemption of all mankind.
Our Lord actually suffered much more than we can fathom by having His Mother standing at His Cross. Yet He would not have His sacrifice be any less than it could. The Blessed Mother likewise suffered more than any of us can ever comprehend by standing at the Sacrifice of Her Son. The offering of this Sacrifice by Jesus and Mary, Two Hearts mystically united, gave it the greater value eternally willed by the Blessed Trinity.
We do well to reflect upon this, especially in light of the Vatican’s recent doctrinal note, which mistakenly states it is inappropriate to call Our Lady the Co-Redemptrix.
Mother of the Redeemer
Archbishop Fulton Sheen would often say that Mary’s greatest title is not merely “Mother of God,” but “Mother of the Redeemer.” The difference is subtle yet profound. As “Mother of God,” She gave Jesus His humanity. As “Mother of the Redeemer,” She joined Herself to His mission, offering Her will, Her love, and Her suffering in complete harmony with His.
In the mystery of reparation, Mary becomes our teacher. She shows us that reparation is not simply saying prayers of apology for sin – it is uniting ourselves to Christ’s Sacrifice in such a way that our lives become an offering of love to the Father. This means standing with Jesus in the moments of darkness, humiliation, and abandonment, and choosing not to run from the Cross.
In our own lives, this can take many forms: standing by a suffering family member, refusing to abandon our faith in moments of trial, or offering our hidden sufferings in silence for souls in need. When we do so with Mary at our side, we share in Her steadfast love and unshakable fidelity.
The Christian Mission of Reparation
At Calvary, Mary became the spiritual mother of all who would follow Her Son. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted Her to John – and through John, to us. We who take Her into our hearts are invited to share in Her mission of bringing souls to Christ through the power of reparation.
But the journey does not end at the feet of Christ – it begins there. Having contemplated His Holy Face, having walked the path of silence, suffering, and surrender, we now rise to carry that Divine Face into the world.
Reparation is not only a devotion; it is a mission. The bruises we have kissed in Adoration now appear on the faces of the forgotten. The silence we have kept with Christ is now needed in a world drowning in noise.
St. Thérèse once said, “I would spend my Heaven doing good on earth.” Her Little Way did not end in the cloister; it radiated outward. It became a light for missionaries, parents, priests, and ordinary souls who long to love heroically in hidden ways.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen challenged every Christian to be an apostle of the Holy Hour, a consoler of Christ, and a mirror of His mercy. He believed reparation would renew the Church – not through programs or platforms, but through saints who kneel, adore, and offer.
You are part of this mission now. Your glance, your silence, your hidden act of love – these are not forgotten. They rise like incense before the throne of God. They wipe the Face of Christ in places where His Name is ignored, and His love refused.
To live this mission is not to do more – it is to love more. To be available to grace. To be faithful in small things. To adore, to suffer, to rejoice – with Christ, for souls, in secret.
The Holy Face is not just a devotion to admire. It is a calling to answer. It is Christ, looking at you with eyes that ask, ‘Will you stay with Me?’
Let your answer be the life you live. Let your ‘yes’ be daily. And let your heart, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, like St. Thérèse and Fulton Sheen, become a living veil – a place where the Holy Face finds rest, and the world finds hope.
Our Lady, Co-Redemptrix, pray for us!
____________________
For more information on the Holy Face Devotion, the author of this article invites you to visit his Holy Face Miracle website.