Becoming Veronica

Today as we near the beginning of Lent, I will wander from the readings. I recently received a call from one of our parishioners asking me to write a reflection of the Devotion to the Holy Face. Frankly, I had never heard of the Devotion of the Holy Face. So the conversation was enlightening. As we hung up the phone, I did as I promised and started learning about the Devotion.  

Briefly, the Devotion to the Holy Face is a devotion honoring the Holy Face of Jesus left on the veil of Veronica when she wiped Jesus’ face on the Road to Calvary.

This Devotion first got me thinking about the woman Veronica. A woman Veronica is never mentioned in Scripture. But the story of Veronica is a legend that grew over time and is a most endearing moment in the treacherous journey of Jesus with the cross.  

The name Veronica means “True Image.” Veronica was given the actual image of Christ. And tradition has held her blessed with a name worthy of her action.

Now theologians and other holy people have tried over the years to figure out who the faithful Veronica was. None of the theories have stuck to the story. So we are left with Veronica, forever memorialized, at the 6th station of the cross, tenderly wiping the battered and beaten face of Jesus. How appropriate is that!

Later tradition explains that the Veil of Veronica was brought to Rome when Emperor Tiberius fell gravely ill with leprosy. Hearing of her miraculous cloth, the emperor summoned Veronica. She carried it to Rome and supposedly used it to cure him. After that, Veronica stayed in Rome and, upon her death, bestowed the veil upon Pope Clement. The Veil of Veronica was eventually placed by Pope Urban VIII in an upper chapel of St. Peter’s Church, where it is still held today.

That is the legend, and I liked learning the tradition and the story. I encourage you to look up the Devotion as well.

Veronica’s lore and veil are convoluted and not based on Scripture. But the idea of a bystander offering kindness to Jesus may well have some basis, in fact. I cannot imagine there wasn’t such a woman who was moved with pity and love who tenderly wiped the face of Jesus with the only thing she had, her veil.

I am taken with the woman — Veronica — as I never have been before. 

Veronica was standing along the road to Calvary. No doubt the whole of Jerusalem flocked the pathway. Most of the crowd was undoubtedly jeering at Jesus and spitting on Him. He was condemned to death as a criminal, a blasphemer, and outed as a lier of the worst sort. He had conned the people into believing He was the Messiah, the Son of God.  

Veronica saw what everyone else saw, a disgraced and broken man. Her story does not reflect that she knew Jesus or followed Him. Her love and pity for this human being, who she may or may not have known, moved her to action. Veronica broke from the crowd, unconcerned with her own safety, and wiped the face of Jesus. In return, her veil maintained the image of Jesus’ face.  

Perhaps that is precisely what Jesus is telling us through Veronica. When we reach out to one another in love and compassion, we become ‘Veronica,’ we become the ‘true image’ of Jesus. We do not carry the image on a piece of cloth. Instead, we take it into our very being so that when anyone looks at us, they see in us the “true image” of Jesus.  

Maybe this Lent, instead of taking on or giving up something, it would be far better to just be Veronica. Each time we look into the eyes of another who is broken or hurting, we become Veronica and reach out in compassion. The more we reflect the ‘true image’ of Jesus’ face, the more powerfully His Face will emerge, through us, from the tomb on Easter.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen