His Beautiful Face

September twenty-third was the day a young woman taught me how Jesus truly wants us to love and treat one another. She made me realize I should treat and love everyone as if they were Jesus. So instead of seeing my brothers and sisters in Christ as just normal human beings, I should be really seeing Jesus himself in their place.

This young woman is one of the young adults living at Daya Dan. She is quite disabled, so I have been doing therapy with her for the past four weeks now. On that particular day, I was giving her juice but it kept flowing out of her mouth since she wouldn't swallow it. She also started crying at that point and I thought she was just uncomfortable, so I gently repositioned her and attempted again but she just kept crying. I had no way of knowing what was really bothering her because she is not able to communicate verbally. It could have been the many cavities in her mouth that was troubling her or something else entirely different. My frustration level was getting rather high because I knew she needed the liquid to keep herself hydrated due to the heat here and I couldn’t do anything to ease her discomfort.

It was during her agony that I suddenly pictured her as Jesus. That unexpected insight totally took me by surprise and made me realize I haven’t been loving my neighbors the exact way Jesus would like me to love them. I should have been more compassionate and more patient with her. I should have made a better effort to control my frustration as well. I know physical pain is part of life and sometimes all we can really do is just be there for them and hold their hands. 

I have tried my very best to keep God's commandments, but regrettably I have failed many times to follow His laws; which by the way is very logical and is a sure way to keep us holy in His sight. I haven't committed murder, but by His standards any sin no matter how great or small breaks His heart nonetheless. I know I am certainly not a flawless human being, but I thought I was doing a pretty decent job of obeying his commandments until that enlightening day. This young lady has truly changed my perspective on how I should really love and treat every human being that God has created to love and to be loved. All I am saying is if we sincerely love Jesus we need to start treating everyone the way we would treat Jesus. Most of us have heard that we should love everyone just as Christ loved us or treat each other the way we would like to be treated. Take the following verse for example.

‘For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, a stranger and you welcomed Me, naked and you clothed Me, ill and you cared for Me, in prison and you visited Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? ‘When did we see You ill or in prison, and visit You?” And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Matthew 25:35

So with that verse in mind, wouldn't it be very difficult to see Jesus begging in the streets for food and just walking pass Him without helping in any way? I don't know why I have never thought of it like that before. I have heard and read this particular verse many times in my life, and the meaning of that message is rather self-explanatory. But I guess I didn’t entirely grasp the full meaning of that verse until now. Before that day, I didn’t see or treat everyone as if they were Jesus. I know Jesus resides in every one of us, but seeing His beautiful face in place of our brothers and sisters is very different than knowing He is in them. That knowledge has already made me a better servant and I am eternally grateful to our amazing God for revealing this truth to me. 

Our Lady of China

The Virgin Mary appeared as a beautiful lady in the skies when Catholics implored her to save them from their enemies and their city from destruction during the Boxer Rebellion. In thanksgiving for Our Lady’s protection over the city of Dong Lu (Tong Lu), a beautiful church was built in her honor. It was meant to serve as a constant reminder to the people of Mary’s loving and motherly protection.

When the Boxer Rebellion broke out, nearly 10,000 hostile soldiers attacked the small impoverished mission village of Dong Lu (near Peiping), home of 700 - 1,000 Christians and founded by Vicentian fathers. The Virgin Mary appeared as a beautiful lady in white in the sky surrounded by light. The soldiers, in senseless rage, started to shoot into the sky. Then suddenly they fled, frightened, and never came back again when a fiery horseman - perhaps St. Michael - chased the attackers out of the village. The Chinese pastor of the village, Father Wu, had prayed for Our Lady's intercession.

The pastor secured a painting of the Dowager Empress Ci Xi, the long time ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, dressed in imperial robes. He commissioned an artist to use it as the background for the image of Our Lady holding the Christ Child. The picture was hung above the altar in the Church of Dong Lu, which eventually became a famous place of pilgrimage starting in 1924.

 

On May 23, 1995, over 30,000 Catholics from the unofficial Church had gathered for Mass at the Dong Lu shrine on the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady, Mary Help of Christians. There were four bishops of the unofficial Church concelebrating the Mass and nearly 100 unofficial priests standing in the open field. Suddenly, during the opening prayer and again during the consecration, the people observed the sun spinning from right to left. Light rays of various colors emanated from the sky. People saw Our Lady of China and the Child Jesus in the sky and also the Holy Family, the Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit. The phenomenon lasted approximately twenty minutes.

After this vision the Public Security barred all pilgrims from joining anyone on the hill. The police forced people back into buses and trains without offering any explanation. Still, as many as 100,000 successfully reached the area by finding alternative ways to get there to celebrate the Feast of Mary Help of Christians.

In April 1996, an official government announcement forbade anyone from going to the Dong Lu shrine. The Chinese government mobilized 5000 troops, supported by dozens of armored cars and helicopters, destroyed and leveled that Marian shrine, confiscated the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and arrested many priests

The picture of Our Lady of China remains intact because only a copy of the picture was used in the church. The original was hidden in the wall behind the copy, and this was recovered and found intact. It is now in possession of Chinese priests who carry out their activities in disguise.