Face and Appearance of Jesus
See also: Jesus.
Whether it comes from private Apparitions throughout History, or is passed down by millennial tradition, the Face of the Christ is known in its main features.
It is probably these constant manifestations that give the similarities in the historical portraits of Jesus. Their number indicates that it is difficult to move from the reality of a vision to its representation by a third party. The disappointment of St. Faustina Kowalska is well known when she saw the portrait of Jesus merciful painted under her guidance. Every representation is evocative and approximate because it cannot truly capture what the gaze or gestures convey.
Under these conditions, what can the visions of Maria Valtorta bring? First, to confirm or not the most popular portraits, then to complete them with specific details and, across time and space, lead to the recognition of Jesus.
The Face of Jesus
Restored by the artist
These two drawings were made by Lorenzo Ferri under the direct guidance of Maria Valtorta. She subsequently hung above her bed the one of the living Jesus. These two portraits can therefore be considered similar to the Faces she saw in her visions. What strikes in the portrait of the living Jesus is the emphasis on the gaze. Indeed, in the work, as in the Gospel, this gaze truly reflects the feelings of Jesus.
Later, Lorenzo Ferri represented Christ in a wax high-relief. Lorenzo Ferri's illustrations were published in Valtorta and Ferri, CEV ed., 2012 (334 p.).
| Faces OF Jesus SEEN BY Maria Valtorta | |
|---|---|
| Living Jesus | |
| Dead Jesus | |
The Face from the Shroud of Turin
Maria Valtorta affirms that the Jesus of her visions resembles the one on the Shroud of Turin. In her Autobiography, page 199, she writes after receiving, very early in her youth, the first visions of Jesus:I searched in all art and sacred objects magazines for a Face of Jesus that looked like the one I saw. But I never found it… I always see Jesus with the same Face, the same stature, the same hands… When you gave me, Father[1], this book about the holy shroud, I was shaken because, despite the alteration due to the sufferings endured, I recognized this Face, this stature, these hands…In one of her comments, Jesus confirms the authenticity of the Relics and indicates a way to verify it:
"Veronica's veil is also a stumbling block for your skeptical mind. Rational men, lukewarm, with wavering faith, you who proceed by dry analysis, compare the Face of the Veil to that of the Holy Shroud. One is the face of a living man, the other that of a dead man. But the length, width, somatic features, shape, characteristics are identical. Superimpose the images, you will see that they match. It is I. I wanted to recall how I was and what I became out of love for you. If you were not lost men, Confessiongles, these two Faces should suffice to lead you to love, to repentance, to God."[2]Jean-François Lavère carried out this superposition recommended by Jesus from Veronica's veil[3] or the Holy Face by Domenico Fetti and the Face of the Shroud of Turin.
Veronica's veil or Nikê in the EMVs: She knows Jesus well. She heard about him through his Disciples and then decided to put her life and possessions at the service of Jesus' poor, which he accepted. Nike acquired a house in Jerusalem, to be close to him and host him with his Disciples whenever they came for the Jewish feasts.
At Calvary, she gives the veil to Christ who wipes his Face soaked with sweat and blood.[4]
Later, when she sees by miracle the Face of Jesus appearing on it, she brings it to the Virgin on the night of Good Friday.[5] This will be a tremendous support for Mary during these terrible moments for her, between the death of Jesus on Friday at 3 p.m. and his Resurrection on Sunday morning.
Thirty points were said to be necessary to merge the two portraits. Three were enough. Here is the astonishing result.
| Face RECONSTRUCTED BY J.-F. LAVÈRE |
|---|
The appearance of Jesus
Several descriptions given by Maria Valtorta allow us to make an approximate representation of Jesus:
- during his public life
- after his Resurrection
- during the catecheses given to Maria Valtorta.
- in Glory "seated at the right hand of the Father"
Jesus of the public life
Jesus is tall. He is a head taller than his mother; and "a head and neck" taller than his favorite disciple: John. He must have measured approximately 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in). Among the apostolic group, only Judas has an equivalent height. Lorenzo Ferri, in his life-size reconstruction of the Shroud of Turin, gives 1.87 m (6 ft 1 in) for Jesus' height.
He has long hands. Maria Valtorta, during a vision of the Public Life, is intrigued by the healing power of his hand. Jesus then offers it to her and answers her question:"Master, what is in your hand that everything is repaired, healed or changed in appearance when you touch it?" - "Nothing, my daughter, except the fluid of my immense love. Look at my hand, observe it." I take it with reverence, by the fingertips, on the fingertips. I dare no more because my Heart is about to burst. I have never touched Jesus. I have been touched by him, but I would never have dared. Now, I touch him. I feel the warmth of his fingers. I feel his smooth skin, his very long nails (not that they are badly cut, but their shape on the last phalanx is long). I see his large, slender fingers, his strongly concave palm; I notice that the metacarpal is much shorter than the fingers; I observe the lace of veins at the beginning of the wrist.[6]
Jesus has "long combed hair, blond-red[7]. Ivory white complexion, dark blue eyes, simple but majestic clothing." Judeans and Galileans differ on hairstyle: Long hair for Galileans, short hair for Judeans. Lorenzo Ferri made a portrait of Jesus based on Maria Valtorta's indications (see above).
The text below was part of the old 1985 edition, but no longer part of the 2017 edition. It is indeed included in the "Notebooks 1944" on the date of April 7: Details of Jesus' physique:"And I lost myself in contemplation of his Face, observing the smallest details. And I repeat it once more. The hair parted in the middle of the head and falling in long locks on the shoulders, curled over the length of a palm, then ending in true curls. Shining, fine, well combed, of a vivid blond color which, especially at the tips of the curls, has a clear copper tone. A very high, very white, smooth forehead, slightly hollow temples on which azure veins cast a slight shadow of indigo that shows through the very white skin, that particular white of some individuals with red blond hair: a milk-white shade tending somewhat towards ivory but with a trace of azure, a very delicate skin that seems that of a white camellia petal, so fine that the faintest vein shows through and so sensitive that every emotion expresses itself by a more intense paleness or a more vivid redness.Details on Jesus' appearance abound throughout the work, but he is described more extensively here:But I have always seen Jesus pale, only slightly sun-colored when observing him at any time during his travels in Palestine. Mary, on the contrary, is whiter because she lived more secluded at home and her white is more rosy. Jesus is ivory white with azure reflections. The nose is long and straight, slightly curved toward the eyes, a very fine and well-shaped white nose. The eyes are deep, very blue, the color I have often described as very dark sapphire. Thick but not overly so eyebrows and eyelashes, long, blue, light brown but with a golden sparkle at the tip of each hair. Mary's are, on the contrary, very light brown, finer and less thick. Maybe they appear so because they are much lighter, so light they are almost blond. Jesus has a regular mouth, rather small, well-shaped, very similar to that of the Mother, with lips of decent thickness, neither too thin to avoid seeming serpentine, nor too protruding. In the middle, they are round and form a beautiful curve; the edges almost disappear, making the beautiful mouth seem smaller, with a healthy red that opens on a regular, strong dentition, with rather long and very white teeth (...)
Cheeks are thin but not emaciated. The oval is very narrow and elongated but very white, with cheekbones neither too prominent nor too recessed. The beard, thick on the chin and splitting into two curly points, surrounds without covering the mouth down to the lower lip and goes up, getting shorter, towards the cheeks where, at the corners of the mouth, it becomes extremely short, merely leaving a shadow recalling copper dust on the pallor of the cheeks. Where it is thick, it is a dark copper color: a dark red blond. Likewise, the mustache is not too thick and kept short, barely covering the upper lip between the nose and the lips and stopping at the corners of the mouth. The ears are small, well-formed and close to the head, not at all protruding."[8]
"Jesus is never frowning, but always perfectly dignified. He has neither excessive gaiety nor a gloomy demeanor. He sometimes bursts out in a hearty laugh but immediately regains his serenity. His smile is inimitable. Sadness and fatigue do not erase his inner Peace, even at the moment of the Passion. Whether he speaks or moves, he never does anything hastily. His voice is between tenor and baritone. His tones vary according to the situation."[9]
Walking and preaching by day, often praying much of the night, Jesus does not seem affected by hunger, thirst, heat, cold, or harsh seasons.[10]
The Resurrected Jesus
According to Maria Valtorta, the resurrected Jesus is both the same and different. This may explain some difficulties his close ones had in recognizing him in his glorified body. The description is mainly made in[11].
Jesus of the Catecheses
Maria Valtorta does not only have the historical vision of Jesus. She sees and observes him when he appears to speak with her and dictate catecheses."Jesus is here, with his usual garment of white wool, an ivory-tinged white, so different in weight and hue from the dazzling garment that seems to be made of immaterial linen, so white that one would say it is woven of threads of light, which covers him in Heaven. He is here with his beautiful, long, slender hands, old ivory white, with his pale, elongated Face where his dominant and gentle dark sapphire eyes shine between thick eyelashes of a chestnut shining with red blond. He is here with his long, soft blond hair, a more vivid reddish blond on the highlighted parts and darker in the depths of the folds."[12]
The Glorious Jesus of Paradise
In a vision of January 10, 1944, Maria Valtorta describes the glorious Jesus—not the Jesus-Master she usually sees in her historical visions or the one who speaks with her, but the majesty of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity:"I saw Jesus. Not the Jesus-Master I usually see. But Jesus as king. He was dressed in white, but his garment was luminous and extremely white, like that of Mary. This garment seemed made of light. He was extraordinarily white, vigorous, imposing, perfect, radiant. In his right hand—he was standing—he held his scepter, which is also his banner."[13]
Notes and references
- ↑ Father Romualdo Migliorini, her confessor.
- ↑ EMV 637.7
- ↑ Veronica's veil (Nikê in the work) is honored in the 6th station of the Way of the Cross even if the Gospel does not mention it. Out of pity, the disciple wipes the Face of Jesus carrying his cross. The cloth miraculously preserves the portrait of the wiped Face. The certain history of Veronica's veil begins during the pontificate of John VII in 705. On November 23, 1011, Pope Sergius consecrated an altar and a reliquary for it in the Vatican. From the 13th century until the 18th century, the veil's exhibitions were continuous, then the image became practically invisible. Fortunately, around 1615 Domenico Fetti made a painting which is certainly one of the most faithful reproductions of the veil as it could be seen four centuries ago. The veil is kept at Saint Peter's in Rome in the loggia of the Saint Veronica pillar. It should not be confused with the Manoppello veil.
- ↑ EMV 608.9
- ↑ EMV 612.19-20
- ↑ EMV 396.8
- ↑ Maria Valtorta speaks of coppery blond, darker for Jesus and lighter for the Virgin Mary. David, ancestor of Jesus through his mother, was redhead or blond, as the word ‘admoni’ in Hebrew can mean either. The fact that the Bible notes David "had beautiful eyes" (1 Samuel 16:12) may also mean his eyes were blue, an uncommon color, like his Hair.
- ↑ EMV 607.6
- ↑ EMV 243.2
- ↑ EMV 579.1-10
- ↑ EMV 630.2
- ↑ Notebooks 1944, notes of June 7
- ↑ Catechesis of January 10, 1944
