AFTERWORD

The aim of this book is to revive devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus as a means of Reparation to God for the crimes committed against His Divine Majesty. The question may be asked, was not this Devotion of Reparation universally practiced in the Church some years ago? The answer is, yes, it was widespread for many years after the Brief of Pope Leo XIII canonically established the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face in 1885. Unfortunately, however, it was neglected and forgotten in the years immediately prior to the First World War in 1914. Was it not perhaps due to our failure to continue this Reparation, as demanded by Our Divine Lord in His revelations to the holy Carmelite of Tours, that God allowed the "malice of wicked men" to precipitate us into two world conflicts, with all their indescribable horrors?

And now, when we live daily on the verge of a Third World War, which threatens total destruction because of atomic weapons presently in the hands of our enemies, shall we at last embrace this reparation demanded by Our Lord? The "revolutionary men," designated by Our Lord Himself as Communists, have so engulfed the world in turmoil that humanity itself faces destruction. This is the consensus of opinion from all unimpeachable sources, including Pope Pius XII, who warned that there persists a general world condition which "may explode at any moment."

Addressing Himself mystically to the pious Carmelite nun, Our Lord told her that especially to His priests He promises that He will defend them before His Father in Heaven and give them His kingdom if they, through words, prayers or writings, defend His cause in this work of "reparation." Pastors, therefore, and priests who desire to answer this call should endeavor, through regular procedure, to establish the Confraternity of the Holy Face in their parishes.