Ave Maria Meditations
It is for the third time that our Lord inflicts on His adorable Face this species of suffering and of humiliation. The first fall was occasion by the weight and the shame of our sins, the second was caused by our weakness; in this His third fall, He expiates our discouragement, those cowardly and criminal weaknesses, which ruin souls and lead them little by little into the abyss of despair.
Reaching Calvary and perceiving the place of His punishment, Jesus immediately thinks of the numerable poor sinners who failing in faith and in confidence refuse to have recourse to the Sacraments of His Church and who render His passion and His death useless. They cast themselves in despair into eternal misery. This thought fills Him with profound sorrow and cruel depression. As in His agony in the garden, He falls prostrate on His Face, bathed in sweat, exhausted and almost dying.
Oh Jesus! Thy weakness is my strength and my support. I have recourse to the merits of Thy Holy Face, have pity on me and preserve me from despair. No, whatever may happen to me, I will not be discouraged anymore, I will not despair. The site of Thy adorable Face, the symbol of mercy and of reparation will be my hope forever.
From the Manual of the Holy Face, Stations of the Cross
