Last week one of the St. Michael Society editors had the privilege to see the Shroud of Turin, arguably the Church’s most holy relic. The shroud is controversial but I will leave that discussion to the scientists. I believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus but if you want a good review of the science and history of the shroud I suggest these two books:
Stained with blood, sweat and tears as well as the remnants of an unknown “radiation” the shroud allows us to meditate about our faith as no other relic. The face, clearly visible, calls to mind the humanity of Jesus. The blood, dispersed in a pattern consistent with a man that has been scourged, crowned with a head dress of thorns and crucified with nails, is a lasting reminder of the suffering our Lord endured for our sake. The illumination markings on the cloth, impossible to reproduce and unexplained to this day, are signs of His resurrection; the most important miracle of Jesus.
All four Gospels mention the shroud. The garment left behind by Jesus as he broke open the gates to our salvation offers us a physical sign of the incarnation, passion and resurrection. Meditating on the shroud allows us to reflect on the greatest events in the history of mankind.
After Pope Benedict XVI prayed before the shroud he spoke eloquently about Holy Saturday, “the day a great silence was upon the earth. Great silence because the King sleeps.”
The most obscure mystery of faith is at the same time the most luminous sign of a hope without limits. Holy Saturday is the “no man’s land” between death and resurrection, but into this “no man’s land” has entered the One, the Only One, who has crossed it with the signs of his passion for man: “Passio Christi. Passio hominis.” And the Shroud speaks to us precisely of that moment; it witnesses precisely to the unique and unrepeatable interval in the history of humanity and the universe, in which God, in Jesus Christ, shared not only our dying, but also our remaining in death. The most radical solidarity. In that “time-beyond-time” Jesus Christ “descended into hell” (“agli inferi”) What does this expression mean? It means that God, made man, went to the point of entering into the extreme and absolute solitude of man, where no ray of love enters, where there is total abandonment without any word of comfort: “hell” (“gli inferi”). Jesus Christ, remaining in death, has gone beyond the gates of this ultimate solitude to lead us too to go beyond it with him.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Turin said more than 1.7 million people had made reservations to view the shroud up close and countless more without reservations will view the shroud from a distance in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It is unknown when the shroud will be on display again.
The same day that we visited the Shroud our group joined seminarians from Washington, DC in mass celebrated by Father Carter Griffin. During his homily he encouraged us to allow our time with the cloth that is renowned for touching Jesus to renew our devotion to the Eucharist.
The mystery represented by the shroud; the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection, should be a source of great hope to us all. God with love so complete enters history, shares in our pain and suffering, defeats death and invites us to join Him in everlasting life. I pray that the Face on the Shroud inspires you to draw closer to Jesus Christ.
