| Station VI – A Woman Wipes The Face of Jesus Artist – Marie Schoeff - Pastel Of all the fourteen stations this is the only in which comfort is freely offered to Jesus. The story of station six does not originate from Biblical text and the details vary somewhat throughout history. The most familiar version tells of a woman, Veronica, on the road to Calvary who offered Jesus a cloth to wipe his brow. On receiving it back she discovers his features are imprinted upon it. This cloth came to be called The Veronica. The word 'Veronica' can be read as 'vera icon' which means 'true image'. The Veronica was perhaps the most famous relic in medieval Rome as well as the most popular image in Christendom then. The cloth as a physical object and the imprinted image of Christ are the usual points of emphasis in art depicting The Veronica. My interest is not in the relic itself nor in a literal reading, but rather with the exchange between Veronica and Jesus as seen figuratively. In their interaction we are shown the cyclic and transforming nature of love and compassion. We can see that our acts of love and compassion are a projection of Christ's image. |