THE MERCY APOSTLES OF THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

 

      This is the year of our 20th Anniversary of being Mercy Apostles of the Holy Face of Jesus. That is the religious Order that we started back in 1996, the same time our church jurisdiction began. The Order began with a vision I had back in 1977 when I saw a huge Woman clothed in white with a mantle of Blood red flowing over countless faces of both humans and animals. As I watched I heard a Voice say, "These are the ones I will send you to minister to, the unwanted, the rejected, the ones no one wants. These are your Church."

 

     Our Order walks a path of martial arts discipline and mercy. We take our promises to God seriously and try to honor the Trinity every day through practicing the Five Vows and the 15 Christian Warrior Virtues. Our motto is: "To the Most Desperate in the Most Desperate Times, for Your Mercy Endureth Forever."

 

Uniforms

 

     Our full uniform features blue, red and white for Trinity in Heaven and the Holy Family on earth. Blue is for Mary, who is the Living Icon of the Holy Spirit. Red reminds us of the Blood of Jesus Christ, while White recalls the Pure Heart of Saint Joseph, the mirror of the Heavenly Father. This devotion to the Eternal Trinity and the Holy Family in as a Navy Blue robe with a Reddish Brown and Blue Scapular printed with the Holy Face of Jesus on one side and our individual patron saint(s) on the back. In my case it is the Madonna.

Our choir capes are brownish red.

 

      The celibate women wear blue veils with red and white gimps while the married or those interested in marriage wear simple white, blue and red scarves. The celibate men wear blue and red monk hoods trimmed with white and the married men or those interested in marriage wear dark blue kufis with red and white braiding.

 

Patrons and Mission
      Our patron saints are the Holy Family and all the saints of the Impossible and Desperate. Our mission as an Order is to reach outwith the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy to those who are the most despised,and forgotten modern victims of neglect and cruelty. 

 

Prayer Life and Rule

 

     Our prayer life includes praying the Psalms and the Rosary each day along with readings from the Gospels, Proverbs and the Lives of the Saints three times a day in the morning, at noon and again at night with the reception of Holy Communion each day, except Sundays, when we receive the Sacrament at Liturgy. We also try to observe the Hour of Great Mercy wherever we are at 3:00 in the afternoon in memory of the Saving Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

 

     Our Rule reflects the Rule of Saint Benedict and the Twelve Christian Steps of Recovery. We look towards being as compassionate as Franciscans, as scriptural as Benedictines, as scholarly as Dominicans, as tough as Jesuits, as prayerful as Carmelites-all for the sake of uncovering the Face of Jesus in ourselves and others.

 

How Do I Join?

 

     Anyone who has a calling to proclaim the Gospel of Mercy can join the Order. Celibacy is optional. We only ask that you practice purity in your state of life. That means no sexual contact outside of Christian marriage between one man and one woman.  

 

     You enter as a Postulant to study the Christian Twelve Steps and our Rule with one of us as your spiritual director for six months. If you feel this is something that you feel called to do, then you make the vows as a novice for one year after choosing a patron saint to emulate. You can wear the uniform as you serve in public as a probationary member of the Mercy Apostles. After making a solemn retreat and discerning your calling from there, you can then pledge as a full member of the Order.

 

All members must learn Uzzijah-do, our Christian Martial art for discipline and to maintain good health, along with a healing art. That can be anything from massage work to nursing, as long as you become certified. Why? Because every person in this Order is a warrior healer or healer warrior for the sake of End Times ministry.

 

The Holy Face of Jesus is the Reflection of God's Infinite Mercy

 

     Like the Presence of Christ in Holy Communion, Jesus remains hidden from our Fleshly sight in the people around us. It is easy to forget that He is there with us in our brothers and sisters. But there He is! He loves us enough to become one of us and remain with us through the darkness to come. It is our vocation to serve that holy Presence and never give up on Jesus in Disguise!