THE VOW SISTER MARY OF ST PETER HAD TO TAKE BEFORE SHE COULD SPREAD DEVOTION TO THE HOLY FACE

Sister Mary of St Peter was in quite a bind. It was the 25th of March, the Feast of the Annunciation and she had not completed a crucial mission that the Christ Child had solemnly sought of her. For some time, Our Lord had asked that she seek and be granted permission from her Reverend Mother to make a a Perfect Act of Abandonment, essentially to make a total donation of herself to Him. Sister Mary of St Peter had not been able to take this vow because her Reverend Mother had refused her permission. 

But Jesus encouraged her to petition her superior again and again 'til she was given the go-ahead, as Sister Mary of St Peter wrote in her account, "The Holy Infant Jesus made me understand that if I really wanted my soul to belong entirely to Him, in order that He could operate all that He wished within me, it was absolutely necessary for me to ask again and obtain full and explicit consent". This was in France, March 1843 and you may ask as to why Our Lord wanted St Mary of St Peter as His instrument and why He needed her to make a full pledge of herself to Him - but only with her superior's assent. Our Lord's goal was to give Sister Mary of St Peter the devotion to His Holy Face, which she would then promote, and He first sought her to give herself entirely to Him with the backing of her superiors who were to have an integral role in bringing the devotion to His Holy Face to the masses.   

On the Feast of the Annunciation, Sister Mary of St Peter used a backchannel to get permission. Another Sister, a nun who shared the convent with Sister Mary wanted to consecrate herself to the Divine Child, and Sister Mary said she would join her. Sister Mary of St Peter had this other nun ask for permission, which was granted. This shows that Sister Mary of St Peter did not wield much influence in her convent, but that she was clever, yet she failed Our Lord because he had wanted her to ask for permission and not use a surrogate. 

This act of consecration that she made with the other sister did not satisfy Our Lord who was not pleased with her trickery, as she "the Divine Infant Jesus does not like guile...in consequence of this the Divine Child now told me that I must expressly ask for this permission from my superiors anew". Now just her way of getting permission had displeased Him, but the Act of Consecration she used had been inadequate, because it was just an "ordinary act of consecration" and not a total abandonment of self, "the Holy Infant made me understand that if I really wanted my soul to belong entirely to Him, in order that He could operate all that He wished within me, it was absolutely necessary for me to ask again and to obtain the full and explicit consent of my superiors to make this Perfect Act of Self-Sacrifice."

As you can see, she was being refused repeatedly and yet Our Lord still asked her for it repeatedly, but He did not assure her that she would be given the necessary endorsement, only that it was absolutely crucial because as He explained to her, He needed her superiors' support because "They were to have a large share in the Work which the Divine Saviour wanted to guild on the poor ground of my soul." A full offering of herself needed full permission from her superior. 

It took from March 25 of 1843 'til Christmas Day for Sr Mary of St Peter to obtain permission for the Act of Perfect Abandonment. The time it took for her to get their approval mirrored the same time that Jesus was in Mary's womb. Interestingly, Sister obtained her superiors' consent after she put the matter into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It had taken 9 full months of petitioning the nuns to whom she had pledged obedience. 

She made the Act (you may find the exact text below) and Our Lord assured her that she belonged totally to Him, "Having made this Act to Our Lord in spite of my unworthiness, He now regarded me entirely as His own, and He went on to build in my soul His edifice to the glory of the Holy Name of God."

Our Lord then moved Sister Mary of St Peter to petition her superiors to have the devotion to His Holy Face propagated and for the prayers to be publicized. Our Lord dictated the prayers to Sister, but when they were shared among her fellow sisters in the convent at Tours, her name was not on them and the other nuns who lived with her did not know she had written them down, that she had been Jesus's stylo. Miracles abounded, even among the few sisters in Sister's Carmelite convent, and one sister who had been severely ill recovered after only three days of offering the prayers of reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus.

If I may suggest that you consider doing as Sister Mary of St Peter and make the Act of Perfect Abandonment that having done so, Our Lord will bless your efforts to be devoted to His Face and your pains to introduce others to this pre-eminent devotion of our times. If you and I wish to propagate it, we might offer the exact same prayer that Sister Mary of St Peter did (see the text below the picture of Our Lord's Face) which Our Lord assured her had met with His favor. 

ACT OF PERFECT OBLATION TO THE MOST HOLY CHILD JESUS, ACCORDING TO HIS WILL IN MY REGARD, FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HIS DESIGNS TO THE GLORY OF THE HOLY NAME OF GOD

Oh, Most Holy and most amiable Child Jesus, behold the day which I have so much desired has at last arrived. Now, without fear of failing in obedience, I can with all freedom offer myself entirely to You for the accomplishment of Your designs, to whatever extent You may desire to exercise Your will and Your power over my soul. I am very unworthy, it is true, to make You this offering, but Oh Divine Child, since it seems to me that You desire this, deign to purify me, Your victim by the tears of Your Holy Infancy and by Your Most Precious Blood. 

Yes, on this ever memorable night of Your august birth, my Divine Spouse, bending low before You in Your crib, I freely offer my entire being to You, through the blessed hands of Mary and of Joseph on the altar of Your heart inflamed with love, and it is there that under the protection of the angels and the saints, I make You an act of entire abandonment of myself, and I resign to You also whatever meager merits I have acquired since the day of my birth, and also of all those merits which I may acquire until the day of my dear through Your holy grace, all for the accomplishment of Your designs and for the glory of the Holy Name of God. 

Oh, Divine child, You Who did say to Your holy mother when she found You in the temple of Jerusalem: "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" deign to receive me as Your disciple. Grant that from now on, I may, in union with You, be occupied only with those things that appertain to the service of Your Eternal Father, for the glory of His Holy Name. 

Oh, Most Holy Child, God and man, I renounce myself, and I give myself entirely to You. Do with me and in me all that will please You for the accomplishment of Your designs. I am Your property, therefore take possession of me completely. Yes, Oh, Divine Child, with all my heart and most affectionately for Your sake doI divest myself of evertyign to the end of my life. Deign, therefore, in your great mercy, to clothe me with the robe of Your sacred merits which is perfumed with the sweet odor of Your virtues, so that on the day of judgment, I may receive the blessing of Your Heavenly Father. 

I take as notary of this contract made with the Holy Child Jesus, our blessed father Peter of Berulle, Apostle fo the Incarnate Word, and for witnesses and protectors I take all the angels and saints of Heaven. Sister Mary of St Peter and the Holy Family, Unworthy Carmelite. 

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This post was informed by The Golden Arrow, the essential text for cultivating a devotion to the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  You may purchase your copy here.