Tired of people taking you to task for daring to speak up about the teachings of Christ and His Church? Feeling overwhelmed by overly zealous secularists insisting that you should be silent in the public square? Tempted to respond to insulting remarks and absurd accusations with a few angry retorts of your own? Then this prayer by Jim Pinto, Jr., is for you. And for me.
The Face Prayer
Heavenly Father, I embrace your grace this day,
So that I might not:
Think of another,
Speak to another or
Touch another,
without first looking for
Your Face in the other.
I ask all this through
Jesus Christ:
God Incarnate,
God with Skin,
God made Poor,
God with a Face. Amen!
Jim Pinto, Jr.
Jim (of At Home with Jim and Joy on EWTN Radio) is a Pastoral Associate with Priests for Life and National Coordinator for the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life Lay Associates. I see Jim and Joy at almost every pro-life event I attend (and saw them at the Cathedral when Fr. Robert Barron spoke there about his new series Catholicism). The more I get to know them, the more I am drawn to their warmth and their obvious love for Christ and His Church. I’m also drawn to their pro-life spirituality. The Face Prayer was written by Jim. You can read more about the Theology of the Face and sign up for a free prayer card at their site.
Catholic Heart and Mind 
fantastic Sr. may God ever bless. the prayer so small, almost insignificant yet so menaingful… thanks for reminding me of the importance of Xt’s face in others’ face.
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You’re welcome, Gabb. :) I need prayers like this one to help me, too. It’s so easy to slip and I do slip — a thousand times a day. Especially these days dealing with my aging father who has dementia. I am so not a patient person and this situation is really making me face myself, and face the fact that discipleship is really hard work and I have not been working as hard at it as I should be. I am also not relying on the Lord the way I should be either. Oy, but the Lord is teaching me, hard-headed stubborn old fool that I am, that I am to do more than pray this prayer with my lips. I am to learn to actually really see the face of Christ in the faces around me. Even (and especially) in my father’s face.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Gabb. Peace be with you. :)
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OH SUCH A WONDERFUL AND HEARTFELT REPLY. AS FAR AS “DISCOVERING AND REDISCOVERING” I AM ON THAT MISSION WITH YOU. I HOPE AFTER LENT THERE WILL BE NO MORE RE-DISCOVERING.
YES GOD IS SO VERY GOOD, VERY LOVING AND VERY MERCIFUL. TRULY WE NEED ONLY TO TRUST HIM.
I AM SO GLAD ASH WEDNESDAY AND 40 DAYS OF LIFE WAS/HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL FOR YOU. YOU HAVE MANY SPECIAL GRACES FROM GOD, NEVER CEASE TO USE THEM. GOD BLESS, SR
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I’m pretty sure there will be re-discovering until the day I die, SR. Thank goodness, because that means there’s hope! There’s no way I’ll ever be able to remember everything all the time; I’ll always be re-discovering something. Thank God for His goodness and mercy and for giving us reason to hope! I do indeed receive many graces from our Lord. Would that I made good use of even a fraction of them. Ah, well, as the antiphons at Mass have been reminding us: Throw all your cares on the Lord, and He will support you. My life goes so much better when I remember to do that. :)
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THIS IS GOOD AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING. I AM GOING TO PRINT THIS OFF AND KEEP. I NEED THIS A WHOLE LOT IN MY LIFE. “DANG THAT 1% BUTTON IN MY LIFE:>)” HAVE A GOOD ASH WEDNESDAY. GOD BLESS, SR
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It’s a wonderful prayer, isn’t it? I think about it all the time. It’s become part of my daily prayer routine. And something I am trying to develop a habit of actually doing: remembering to look for Christ in the other before I say or do anything. This is something I discover, then forget about, then rediscover. But I need to make it part of me so I don’t forget again!
My Ash Wednesday was wonderful. And 40 Days for Life has been wonderful, too. Filled with spiritual combat and filled with beauty. God is so good, SR, so very good! Peace be with you and God bless you, too!
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