The Veil of Veronica.
While the procession was passing through a long street, an incident
took place which made a strong impression upon Simon. Numbers of
respectable persons were hurrying towards the Temple, of whom many got
out of the way when they saw Jesus, from a Pharisaical fear of
defilement, while others, on the contrary, stopped and expressed pity
for his sufferings. But when the procession had advanced about two
hundred steps from the spot where Simon began to assist our Lord in
carrying his cross, the door of a beautiful house on the left opened,
and a woman of majestic appearance, holding a young girl by the hand,
came out, and walked up to the very head of the procession. Seraphia
was the name of the brave woman who thus dared to confront the enraged
multitude; she was the wife of Sirach, one of the councillors belonging
to the Temple, and was afterwards known by the name of Veronica, which
name was given from the words vera icon (true portrait), to commemorate
her brave conduct on this day.
Seraphia had prepared some excellent aromatic wine, which she
piously intended to present to our Lord to refresh him on his dolorous
way to Calvary. She had been standing in the street for some time, and
at last went back into the house to wait. She was, when I first saw
her, enveloped in a long veil, and holding a little girl of nine years
of age, whom she had adopted, by the hand; a large veil was likewise
hanging on her arm, and the little girl endeavoured to hide the jar of
wine when the procession approached. Those who were marching at the
head of the procession tried to push her back; but she made her way
through the mob, the soldiers, and the archers, reached Jesus, fell on
her knees before him, and presented the veil, saying at the same time,
'Permit me to wipe the face of my Lord.' Jesus took the veil in his left
hand, wiped his bleeding face, and returned it with thanks. Seraphia
kissed it, and put it under her cloak. The girl then timidly offered
the wine, but the brutal soldiers would not allow Jesus to drink it.
The suddenness of this courageous act of Seraphia had surprised the
guards, and caused a momentary although unintentional halt, of which
she had taken advantage to present the veil to her Divine Master. Both
the Pharisees and the guards were greatly exasperated, not only by the
sudden halt, but much more by the public testimony of veneration which
was thus paid to Jesus, and they revenged themselves by striking and
abusing him, while Seraphia returned in haste to her house.
No sooner did she reach her room than she placed the woollen veil on
a table, and fell almost senseless on her knees. A friend who entered
the room a short time after, found her thus kneeling, with the child
weeping by her side, and saw, to his astonishment, the bloody
countenance of our Lord imprinted upon the veil, a perfect likeness,
although heartrending and painful to look upon. He roused Seraphia, and
pointed to the veil. She again knelt down before it, and exclaimed
through her tears, 'Now I shall indeed leave all with a happy heart, for
my Lord has given me a remembrance of himself.' The texture of this veil
was a species of very fine wool; it was three times the length of its
width, and was generally worn on the shoulders. It was customary to
present these veil to persons who were in affliction, or overfatigued,
or ill, that they might wipe their faces with them, and it was done in
order to express sympathy or compassion. Veronica kept this veil until
her death, and hung it at the head of her bed; it was then given to the
Blessed Virgin, who left it to the Apostles and they afterwards passed
it on to the Church.
Seraphis and John the Baptist were cousins, her father and Zacharias
being brothers. When Joachim and Anna brought the Blessed Virgin, who
was then only four years old, up to Jerusalem, to place her among the
virgins in the Temple, they lodged in the house of Zacharias, which was
situated near the fish-market. Seraphia was at least five years older
than the Blessed Virgin, was present at her marriage with St. Joseph,
and was likewise related to the aged Simeon, who prophesied when the
Child Jesus was put into his arms. She was brought up with his sons,
both of whom, as well as Seraphia, he imbued with his ardent desire of
seeing our Lord. When Jesus was twelve years old, and remained teaching
in the Temple, Seraphia, who was not then married, sent food for him
every day to a little inn, a quarter of a mile from Jerusalem, where he
dwelt when he was not in the Temple. Mary wet there for two days, when
on her way from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to offer her Child in the
Temple. The two old men who kept this inn were Essenians, and well
acquainted with the Holy Family; it contained a kind of foundation for
the poor, and Jesus and his disciples often went there for a night's
lodging.
Seraphia married rather late in life; her husband, Sirach, was
descended from the chaste Susannah, and was a member of the Sanhedrin.
He was at first greatly opposed to our Lord, and his wife suffered much
on account of her attachment to Jesus, and to the holy women, but
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought him to a better state of
feeling, and he allowed Seraphia to follow our Lord. When Jesus was
unjustly accused in the court of Caiphas, the husband of Seraphia
joined with Joseph and Nicodemus in attempts to obtain the liberation
of our Lord, and all three resigned their seats in the Council.
Seraphia was about fifty at the time of the triumphant procession of
our Lord when he entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and I then saw
her take off her veil and spread it on the ground for him to walk upon.
It was this same veil, which she presented to Jesus, at this his second
procession, a procession which outwardly appeared to be far less
glorious, but was in fact much more so. This veil obtained for her the
name of Veronica, and it is still shown for the veneration of the
faithful.