Myths and Courage and Compassion

Each year on November 1st, Catholics (Perhaps Anglicans, Orthodox, others) celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. November 2 is All Souls Day.

Our tradition holds that the Saints...these holy people... and all of our deceased relatives and ancestors for that matter, and angels too (all that is seen and unseen) are “with us”, in communion with us, even though we cannot see or necessarily feel their presence. They are praying for us, supporting us, and lovingly holding us in the Holy Spirit.

When Catholics (who are baptized as babies) are later “confirmed” in the church, and also when adults (like me) are baptized and confirmed, we choose a Saint to be confirmed with us as our patron saint. I personally believe the saint actually chooses us, but that is another story.

My patron saint is St. Veronica. I have not seen the movie, but if you saw the movie “the Passion of Christ”, Veronica is a woman who is in the crowd watching Jesus as he carries his cross along the Via Dolorosa, blood, sweat, tears perhaps, running down his face, stinging, blurring in his eyes and mouth...Veronica is the one who braves the Roman guards and runs out and offers him her scarf to wipe his face. He does, he takes it, presses it on his face to absorb it all and hands it back to her and the blood on his face has imprinted his facial features on her scarf.

There is no scriptural references to this event. She is, for all practical purposes, a myth.

At first, I was a little bothered by choosing a Saint that many people would doubt, not believe ever existed. It occurred to me however, a lot of people don’t believe the way I do about most things.. so what?

Veronica represents courage and compassion. I believe her courageous act of compassion, and stories about it, gives us a true image of Jesus and His Ministry, and also one of His Holy Face through the imprint of His Holy Blood. FYI...she is also the Patron Saint of photographers and laundresses.

Peace
Keren
I put the lyrics on a comment below. Beautiful song isn't it?
P.S.S.
This is from Wikidpedia.
Saint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" ((Acts of the Saints) was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back to her, the image of His face miraculously impressed upon it. The name "Veronica" itself is a latinization of Berenice, a Macedonian name, meaning "bearer of victory" (corresponding to Greek: phere-nikē). Folk etymology has attributed its origin to the words for true (Latin: vera) and image (Greek: eikon). The Encyclopaedia Britannica says this about the legend:
Eusebius in his Historia Ecclesiastica (vii 18) tells how at Caesarea Philippi lived the woman whom Christ healed of an issue of blood (Matt ix 20). Legend was not long in providing the woman of the Gospel with a name. In the West she was identified with Martha of Bethany; in the East she was called Berenike, or Beronike, the name appearing in as early a work as the "Acta Pilati," the most ancient form of which goes back to the fourth century. It is interesting to note that the fanciful derivation of the name Veronica from the words Vera Icon (eikon) "true image" dates back to the "Otia Imperialia" (iii 25) of Gervase of Tilbury (fl 1211), who says: "Est ergo Veronica pictura Domini vera."