The Eternal Search For God’s Holy Face

Now that the masses have been shut out from all churches, it is more important than ever to pray. Praying is really the only way to stay in touch with the Creator. It’s dispiriting and depressing that after three long months of shuttered churches to have authorities re-opening them to only 30% of their original congregational capacity--a move destined to make those wanting to return to church service feeling guilty of queue-jumping. But in this sad time of massive human longing, the Almighty still lives in the hearts of the faithful. During this long lasting church shutdown, brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, I keep traveling back in memory to Christmas Eve, 2019. It was just a few minutes before Midnight, Rome time, on Christmas Eve when I emailed historian, journalist and ‘Face of God’ author Paul Badde, before traveling to Midnight Mass in another town, the only one available within driving distance from the small town where I live :