THE RULE OF THE ORDER OF THE MERCY APOSTLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS
FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY October 8th
In the Name that is above every other name, Jesus Christ, the Lord we undertake to set forth the Rule of
Life for the Mercy Apostles of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Face of Jesus
THE NAME OF THE ORDER
Apostles
We are sent by God to be messengers of the Lord's Merciful Heart. As outlined by Apostle Sister Faustina of Poland in the 1930's, the Mercy of God is the greatest of the Lord's attributes to the world. Isn't the most famous passage from the Bible one that speaks of God's mercy?
"FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLYBEGOTTEN SON THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHALL NOT
PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE" John 3:16
As taken from the Greek word for "one who is sent," an apostle is one who is sent by God on a mission to a people. Members must have a call that is in their hearts compelling them to go out with the Good News of the Lord's Mercy.
Mercy
What is the Mercy of God? In Hebrew the word for Mercy is Rahameem, or "womb pity." That means to have the same love for someone as a mother has for the child in her womb.
This is a supernatural tenderness for someone, regardless of how nice they are to you or anybody else.
Mercy does not exclude correction in the Lord or firmness. Nor does it mean you allow yourself to become
co-dependent to another person's whims. What is does mean is compassion; allowing oneself to feel another person's pains and needs as if they were your own without judgment or harshness.
Of the Holy Spirit
Such identification can only come from the Presence and Power of God within us. We can try to get ourselves to feel badly about someone else's needs and sufferings. But, such feelings are fleeting. The only way we will ever become vessels for God's power is by allowing ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting that the Hebrew Word for Mercy is one that refers to motherhood-Womb Pity. It is also
interesting that the Power Who fuels the efforts of the Apostle is the member of the Godhead Who is most
identified with the Feminine as Holy Wisdom, (Sophia) and the Breath of God's Creative Love, (Ruah Ha Kodesh).
The message is that we are to respond to the needs and pains of others as mothers who lead children to what they need to be healthy and strong. Mothers have to get close to their children to help them. They have to be willing to give of themselves and not flinch when their children get them dirty by splashing them with food or even feces in the process of learning how to live as grown ups in our world.
It is not natural to love this way.
Mothers get the ability to love this way through an infusion of hormones when their children are born. Christians get this love from the Holy Spirit inside of our hearts:
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN SHED ABROAD IN OUR HEARTS
BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
Romans 5:10
This gives us the ability to love God and to love each other and ourselves. Whenever we are lacking in
Love we should run to the Holy Spirit, in faith with this Scripture and then believe that we can draw on
this love from the reality of God in our lives as needed.
And Of the Holy Face of Jesus
The Face of Jesus from the Veil of Veronica is a sign of God's Mercy. It reminds us that the Word became
Flesh and dwelled among us, even to death on a Cross.
The Face of Jesus on the Veil calls us to love the suffering and rejected of God to Whom the Gospel was
preached. It reminds us of our own souls marred by sin and covered with dirt and mire from life. The Mercy of God wipes away this filth with the Precious Blood, poured out in the twin streams of Baptism and Holy Communion. But this Mercy was made flesh in Christ and as Elisha raised the child from the dead by covering him with his own body, so too the Face of Jesus and His torn body and blood covers and cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness.
THE SYMBOLS
The Dove of the Holy Spirit on a White and Red Host, surrounded by Twelve Rays of Light and Twelve Flames of Fire on a Blue Background and White Cross with the words, "Praise the Lord" in Blood Red below the Cross
This refers to the reliance that we have on the Holy Spirit working through us in power with the discipline
of the Christian Twelve Steps to produce the Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Theological Gifts of
Faith, Hope and Charity.
This all stems from the Cross working through our life through Baptism in water and the Holy Spirit and the Gift of Holy Communion.
Why "Praise the Lord?" Because of our other motto: We Just Work Here! Therefore, to God be the Glory. We are just doing our jobs for Jesus. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The Scapular Apron of the Holy Face of Jesus
The Scapular of the Holy Face is given to those who have made the Five Vows. It is a sign of commitment to reach out to the rejected in Christ in faith, trust, and charity as living Eucharist without hurt or harm to
any living creature. The original religious scapulars were working aprons signed with a symbol of the Incarnate Lord in His
Suffering. The aprons remind us that we are here to work as servants for Christ to His Body; not in the
spectacular, but in the ways that involve needing aprons. Aprons are not the most glamorous garments.
They are for service and so are we.
But, just as aprons keep us from getting dirty, so too the scapular aprons teach us that it is only the
Presence of Christ in our hearts that keeps us from being muddied by resentment, bitterness, anger, greed, and laziness in the service of the Body of Christ.
People do not appreciate servants. People will not appreciate us. That's okay, since it's not all about us
anyway. We Just Work Here. Praise the Lord.