Essay about Saint Veronica

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Book of Psalms. 27:8-9). The Lord appears in all sorts of arcane ways, and this story is only one of the millions of examples. Many discern her as Saint Veronica, but they do not understand her full story. Saint Veronica, also recognized as Berenice of Caesarea Philippi, was born during the 1st century, in Judea, Jerusalem. She is known for her dangerous, but extraordinary act of benignity towards Jesus Christ. What is this surreal act of hospitality many may query? Well, Saint Veronica was of the many people who accompanied Jesus as he was carrying his cross to his crucifixion. During the walk up to his crucifixion, Saint Veronica willingly threatened her own life, hoping to offer a bit of comfort to Jesus by giving her vail for him to wipe the dirt, sweat, and blood from his face. This act of purity caused God to reward Saint Veronica with an imprint of His Son's face. The reason for emphasizing ‘dangerous’ is because it was forbidden to assist someone whom the ruling empire fancied death upon. In this scenario, Saint Veronica could have been legally murdered for helping Jesus. To continue, the exact date of death is unknown, but studies have proven she passed away sometime during the 1st century in Jerusalem. Saint Veronica altogether played with fire when performing her act of kindness, but set a beautiful example of how the Lord is always watching you and will reward you with his love.

To begin with, there are many dedications to Saint Veronica for her kindness and love. As an example, she has a few prayers in her name; Prayer to the Holy Face and Prayer to Saint Veronica. She also has a feast day in her name which is on July 12. Not to mention, her dedicated symbol is a vail with an imprint of Jesus Christ’s face. This may also explain why she is a patron saint of photography and laundry workers. It is more than reasonable for someone like Saint Veronica to have so many things devoted to her because of the many people she helped including the Lord’s Son.

Moreover, Saint Veronica holds many mysteries within her and what she did. Some mysteries still lie unsolved while others have answers. To begin with, Saint Veronica’s name itself has meaning and mystery to it. An interesting fact is that she got her title from the Greek and Latin word vera icon (Latin) or vera eikōn (Greek) which both translate to “true image.” I found this interesting because her name is exactly what she is known for, which is having an image of Jesus’s face. Another neat fact about Saint Veronica is about her vail. It is said that the vail was used to cure many people who had terrible illnesses and injuries. I found this fact fascinating because it shows how not only did Saint Veronica help Jesus, but she also wanted to spread her love to the rest of the world and aid others. Lastly, I found out that Saint Veronica was a part of the Sixth Station of the Cross. At first I didn’t understand what this meant, but after research, I figured out that she has an extremely special place in our religion. What I mean by this is that she is considered extremely holy because of how she was one of the last people to be a part of Jesus’s journey back to Heaven. There are many mysteries to each specific Saint, and it shows Saint Veronica had many interesting facts about herself.

Furthermore, I wanted Saint Veronica to be my Confirmation Saint for copious reasons. She is a flair to me and our Catholic community and is such a mellow and modest person. Saint Veronica went out of her way, knowing she could get herself executed by soldiers, just to succor Jesus by wiping his face. To add on, there are other reasons for me wanting her to be my Saint; I admire so many of her ethics in which she stands by. To specify, they include charity and courage. I idolize these because people could be humorous and lively, but to actually live to its fullest capacity, people must retain courage and value charity towards others. Saint Veronica believed that giving to others along with having the courage to do it is the way of the Lord.

As stated before, I picked my Saint for a variety of reasons and some of them revolve around my sponsor, Victoria Byra. In the beginning of the year, I had absolutely no idea who I wanted to sponsor me along with which Saint I will pick. I came to the conclusion that both of them absolutely need to be someone I can relate with and look up to. After wondering for a few weeks, I felt ignorant because the answer was actually living with me, my sister! I picked Victoria since she is always there for me and always wants the absolute best for me. Now, I was stuck picking my Saint. I had no idea who to pick, so obviously I did my research, but I still didn’t  know. An odd fact is that the name Veronica actually popped in my head from a dream. I looked up to see if there was a Saint named Veronica, and now here I am writing about her. Both my sponsor and Saint have the values I believe are as important as life itself and that is kindness and love. 

In conclusion, Saint Veronica has an amazing story in our religion and will always stay like that within our community. She has helped Jesus without hesitation to what may happen to her for wiping his face. Saint Veronica is devoted to helping others no matter what the outcome may result. She believes in many of the ethics I live by and that is why I picked her to guide me towards the Lord.