Posted on 07/28/2019 6:02:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
In an imaginary “ranking” of Christian topics that elicit the most fervent discussions, Jesus Christ is No. 1. But near the top is the Shroud of Turin — believed by millions of Christians to be the authentic burial cloth of Jesus. This “ranking” was inspired by you — Townhall readers who wrote over 500 impassioned comments in response to my July 21 piece, “Shroud of Turin: New Test Concludes 1988 ‘Medieval Hoax’ Dating Was a Fraud.”
I purposely read all your comments to gain insight into my role as an adviser and fundraiser for a groundbreaking exhibition about the Shroud of Turin at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. This spectacular museum, among the largest and highest rated in the city, is located only three blocks from the Capitol. And just prior to the January 20, 2021, presidential inauguration is when this high-tech Shroud exhibit is scheduled to open.
Threaded throughout hundreds of your responses about all aspects of the Shroud was one overarching theme summarized by these three comments:
“Anyone who requires physical evidence to underpin their faith doesn’t understand the concept of faith.”
“JESUS CHRIST died for all. HE is what is important. Making such a fuss about this piece of cloth is a distraction from HIS work of SALVATION.”
“I respectfully submit that the only ‘relic’ which really matters is the one which was left us on that first Easter morning: The tomb is empty! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!”
Of course, “He is Risen” is also the foundation of my Christian faith, (made slightly more complicated by having been born Jewish). But I feel compelled to discuss and explore the comment that reads in part, “…such a fuss about this piece of cloth...”
And my response is simple: The Shroud of Turin exists because HE exists. An answer that echoes what God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).
Thus, the existence of the Shroud of Turin raises two questions that I will attempt to address: First, what exactly is the Shroud? And second, a deeper dive into “Why does the cloth exist?”
The Shroud of Turin is a 14.5-by-3.5-foot linen cloth with a linear front to back mirror image of a crucified man. The Shroud has the distinction of being the most studied artifact in the world, yet the cloth’s numerous mysteries remained unexplained by modern science.
At this moment the Shroud lies in a fireproof box in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, as it has continuously since 1578. (But secretly relocated between 1939 and 1946 when Italian authorities feared Hitler was seeking possession.)
Dating the Shroud has been controversial and the subject of my July 21 piece.
Among Shroud historians, there is no dispute that in 1352, over 200 years before the Shroud was housed in Turin, Geoffrey DeCharney displayed the cloth in Lirey, France marking the beginning of the Shroud’s documented "modern" dating.
There is also much circumstantial Shroud evidence through art, artifacts, and coins that pre-dates 1352. Moreover, scientifically verified botanical evidence found on the cloth in the form of pollen, dust, flowers, and even the weave and type of linen traces the Shroud back to first-century Jerusalem.
The cloth with its mysterious properties has survived wars, invasions and the ravages of time including numerous fires — most recently in 1997 at its home cathedral in Turin.
Most harrowing was the 1532 fire in Chambéry, France. Miraculously the entire cloth was not destroyed but left those distinctive linear markings along both sides of the Shroud that we see today. Hard to imagine, but the linen cloth was stored in a silver box, folded in 48 layers, when drops of molten silver burned through the cloth’s outer folded edges.
The point is, against all the odds, the Shroud exists. And, as stated earlier, because He exists. There is also a significant Bible-based reason found in the Gospel of John known as “Doubting Thomas” (John 20:24-31).
But first, a “guest” who will explain this passage needs a proper introduction:
It turns out that the many Townhall readers who commented about not needing the Shroud’s “physical evidence to underpin their faith,” represent a large swath of Christian believers. I learned this when asking Russ Breault— my fellow Shroud exhibit team colleague, and a world-renowned Shroud expert and speaker — if he had experienced similar attitudes after over 30 years of hosting his popular “Shroud Encounters” to sell-out crowds.
Breault replied:
“I get that statement all the time! When someone says, ‘I don't need the Shroud for my faith,’ I usually say, ‘That is fantastic! But that doesn't mean the Shroud was not meant for someone else.’ ”
Breault continued: “In the Doubting Thomas story, Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who ‘believe yet have not seen,’ but Jesus did not condemn Thomas for his unbelief. In fact, a week after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared a second time, and the first person he spoke to was Thomas, who was not there to witness Jesus’ first appearance. Jesus then quotes Thomas' words back to him, ‘Thomas, thrust your hand into my side and place your fingers into my nail wounds and be not faithless but believe.’
At this point, Thomas — forever known as "Doubting Thomas" — makes the strongest profession of faith in the New Testament saying, "My Lord and my God." Then Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who can believe without seeing. So we are blessed if we can believe without seeing, but we are not cursed if we can't get there without some additional evidence.
Therefore, perhaps the Shroud is a silent witness to the world offering all of humanity the same opportunity Jesus gave to Thomas. In some proverbial sense by looking at the Shroud, we too can thrust our hand into His side and place our fingers into His nail wound and find our faith in the process.”
Thank you, Russ! And now my final thoughts for Townhall commenters.
If blessed with great faith, you are free to ignore or downplay the image on the Shroud showing Christ’s great suffering and victory over death. Yet, take comfort in knowing that the Shroud is there to supplement or reinforce the faith of others while potentially witnessing to the ever-increasing number of Doubting Thomases found throughout the world.
In the end, I believe that the Shroud exists as proof of God’s greatest gift to mankind —the Lord Jesus Christ — who lives and reigns forever and ever. Alleluia!
(Now, let the comments begin!)
You literally don't know what you're talking about.
The line about a fake savior still dead on a cross, in particular, is blasphemous.
...or I suppose it never occurred to you to be actively grateful for the suffering He endured?
It was more than symbolic. In fact the very way He was tortured to death has become a synonym, thousands of years later, for unendurable pain.
So what's wrong with recalling it to mind and being grateful?
For the beads, back when I was a dratted Prottie, I thought the same thing.
Imagine my surprise when I found out the main thing is mediations upon various things that happened in the Gospels, while you're saying the prayers.
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden
1st Sorrowful Mystery
My Son came with His apostles to the mount of Olives. There was a garden there that He frequently went to pray: He felt a sadness; a deep, deep sadness. He felt lonely: my Son in His humanity felt a deeper sadness than anyone could ever feel because He was pure of heart: He was sinless. He took His closest friends, Peter whom He was to give charge of the Church, James, and John. John was the one who was going to take care of me after Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus said to them: My heart is sorrowful to the point of death: stay here and pray and keep watch while I go and pray by Myself." Jesus went over further to pray: He wanted to pray by Himself. He wanted to pour out His heart to His Father as I often have seen Him do with His prayer. My Son always prayed continuously to His Father: He always looked to the Father for His consolation. During the time He prayed, He saw all the agony He was going to suffer: and the agony was not so much the pain of the crucifixion as the pains of the sins of the world. Every sin, every injustice, every infidelity He saw and felt at that very moment, caused Him to sweat blood. His agony, His sorrow, and so much sinfulness caused the blood to burst from His forehead. It was just another anticipation of when His Precious Blood would be shed on the cross. That Blood that was sweat on Gethsemane blessed that very spot into Jesus' sacred place of prayer.
My children, never seek your comfort in anyone but God. In your times of loneliness, in your times of depression, in your times of doubt, have recourse to prayer. When you go to the Father, offer this mystery for those who are in doubt: those who do not know where to turn to: those who are depressed: the mentally ill: the emotionally ill. Pray that as the Father sent an angel to comfort my Son, the Lord in His mercy will comfort them and enlighten them.
The Scourging at the Pillar
2nd Sorrowful Mystery
My Son was sent to Pilate after being judged by the Jewish authorities, I was there in spirit: I heard Pontius Pilate as he came out to talk to the crowd. He said: "I find no fault in this Man worthy of death: so I will have Him scourged: then I will set Him free." Pilate said this to placate the crowd because he knew my Son was innocent of all the accusations that they were throwing at Him. Pilate sent my Son to be scourged: He was whipped. The normal procedure was to be whipped thirty-nine times. My Son was whipped furiously: the demons took possession of the soldiers. All the anger of hell was vented out on my Son. At that moment, I asked the Father to spare my Son from dying at the scourging and the Father answered my prayer: and still the soldiers that scourged my Son were filled with the very hatred of hell itself. That was the reaction they had to the purity of my Son. When Jesus received all this scourging for the love of you, it was because He loved you that He took all this pain: because He wanted you to be healed of your sins: of all the diseases of the soul, mind, and body that Jesus took all this punishment. Jesus did not take all this punishment to condemn you: He took it all to save you. Behold the love of my Son for you and yet behold His meekness as the Lamb that is brought to the slaughter: my Son was scourged without even opening His mouth.
My children, my Son wishes to heal you by His stripes. By the scourging He received, He wants to set you free of all types of oppression, of all types of bondage. By the stripes of my Son you are healed and set free. My children, pray to the Father that He will heal the wounds of your heart so that you can pray with love. Ask the Father to teach you how to love the way my Son loves. Pray for those who are possessed by hatred: pray for those who have an insatiable need to seek revenge. Pray that they too will be liberated and healed by the stripes of my Son.
Jesus is Crowned with Thorns
3rd Sorrowful Mystery
After the scourging, my Son was led to the praetorium where the soldiers wanted to further amuse themselves. They took some twine filled with thorns and made a skull like cap. They placed the cap on the head of Jesus and pressed causing the thorns to penetrate His scalp until He began to bleed. Then they put a reed in His hand and they knelt before Him and they mocked Him and said to Him, "All Hail, King of the Jews," and they spit in His face, they hit His head with the reed, they slapped His face, and plucked His beard. Jesus continued to say nothing. He received it all.
My children, Jesus still receives a crown of thorns from many. It is normal for Jesus to be mocked by His enemies but it is more painful when Jesus is mocked by His own people. Even today, my children, Christians mock Him by living in mortal sin, by receiving Communion in mortal sin, by not believing the truth contained in the scriptures which is the word of God. My children, Christians mock Jesus and crown Him with thorns when they invent their own doctrines at their convenience: when they use the gospel of my Son, they use it to justify their own teachings, their own doctrine. My children, I call you to make reparation to my Son. Follow Him by leaving all sin behind: by loving Him and revering Him in the Blessed Sacrament. When you receive Him in Holy Communion, tell Him that you love Him for those who will not love Him. Offer this mystery to the Father in reparation for all the blasphemes that were ever said against my Son. Pray for those who take the name of God in vain: pray for those who will not keep Sunday holy. Promise the Father that you will keep Sunday holy by going to Mass and receiving Holy Communion and avoiding all unnecessary work in order to give yourself to prayer and doing the will of God. I am praying for you, my children and I will guide you in loving Jesus for those who will not love Him.
Jesus Carried the Cross
4th Sorrowful Mystery
That Friday, that first Good Friday, Jesus, my Son, after He was scourged and was crowned with thorns, was given a cross to carry through the streets of Jerusalem all the way to Mount Calvary where they had crucified others. He carried the cross through the same streets which He had come triumphantly the Sunday before. The people who cried "Hosanna" now cried "Crucify Him." I was there along the way and I met my Son: His face all beaten, all covered with blood from His bleeding head, tired and dirty, and yet our eyes met. Our eyes filled with love for each other. Both of us knew that it was totally unavoidable that He should go through this agony for the salvation of the world. The weight of the cross on Jesus' body was not as heavy as the weight of the sins of the world on His soul. Out of obedience to His Father, Jesus continued the journey until He reached Calvary. He met a group of women who were weeping and He said to them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for yourselves and your children."
My children, pray for the gift of tears, that through that gift the Lord will cleanse your souls of sin and the effects of sin. My children, pray for the gift of obedience: that each one of you will be obedient to the call that the Father has given to you. Pray for those who have burdens on their hearts and the weight of their trials seems more than they can bear, pray to the Father that these people will have the strength to carry their crosses following Jesus. Finally, ask the Father for the gift of being true disciples of Jesus: ask the Father that you will always say yes to Jesus and to His way even though it may mean suffering and sorrow. Pray to the Father that you will have the grace to take all out of love for Him.
The Crucifixion of our Lord
5th Sorrowful Mystery
When we had finally reached Mount Calvary, my Son was thrown on the cross after being stripped naked in front of the crowd. They drove spikes through His hands and feet and yet the Lord gave me the strength to withstand the sight of my Son being nailed on the cross and literally butchered by the soldiers. They lifted the cross to its place, and then my Son hung there for three hours. I heard my Son say, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing." Jesus prayed for His enemies and pleaded for their ignorance: He also pleaded for your ignorance. There were two thieves crucified with Jesus, one on His right and the other on His left, and to the repentant thief He promised paradise. Finally He looked at me and at John: He told me, "Woman, behold your Son" and to John, "Behold your mother." My spiritual motherhood is Jesus' gift to you: Jesus gave me to His disciples and to the whole Church to be mother and intercessor for everyone who calls himself a Christian. When the third hour came, the sky became dark and Jesus cried out, "Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit."
My Son bowed His head, the symbol of obedience to the Father, and then the earth began to quake. There was a great storm in Heaven, the whole of creation was reacting at man's crime, the killing of their God, the killing of their Savior. After it was calm, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimethea, and John took my Son down and then placed Him in my arms. I remembered while I was holding Him the prophecy of Simeon, "The sword of sorrow will pierce your soul." That prophecy was coming true: but just as I was holding my Son in my arms, I remembered His words that He would rise, again. All that I needed to do was to wait until that prophecy was fulfilled. My children, ask the Father to extend His salvation and forgiveness to your enemies. Pray for those who abuse you: pray for those who hurt you in any form. Ask the Father that they will also be cleansed by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. Come, my children, to the foot of the cross and there I will pray with you and for you that your sins will be blotted out: that you will experience the redeeming power of my Son. Pray before the crucifix and I will pray with you. Ask the Father that you will constantly remember the death of my Son and be ever grateful for the salvation He has obtained for you.
All satan has to do is toss a touch of truth in to get folks like you to swallow his poison. The Fatima event was not from or of God. Do aa little research and you will see, but because you already have swallowed the lies you will not believe whom is the source of the deception. Don’t take the mark.
LOL, conversions to catholiciism are not conversions to Christianity. But you works based religionist must keep up the ruse, eh? LOL Seen any apparitions lately? Wearing you magic medal or the scampular?
Typical of your ilk ... I did not even write that the UFO told the lies, that was the apparition’s work, and you believe it all! LOL Don’t take the mark.
You lost even the faintest hint of a shred of credibility when you said "eyewitnesses" claimed the Fatima event was really a UFO.
Laugh it up fuzzball, you will swallow the signs and lying wonders eagerly, and probably be eager to accept the MArk when one of your dead soul priests offers. The eyewitnesses did not use the term UFO, they called it a silver disc. The sad thing about swallowing the lies of an apparition is that you won’t even look up the PUBLISHED eyewitness reports speaking of a silver disc. You just want to believe lies, so you ignore what does not feed the power of the lies.
No ruse. I'm not works based.
You are not striving for eternal life? ... Oh that’s right, you RC’s believe you can eat eternal life in the altar wafer your dead soul priests feed to you.
And now you're calling me an idiot for taking you seriously.
(Nods.)
Well, there's an obvious solution implicit in that datum.
I'll stop listening to you.
See, the problem is, even fully acknowledged as Biblical miracles, weren't even accepted, even by eyewitnesses or those one-level-away (the Resurrection wasn't even accepted by one of the *Apostles*, so it wasn't a hardened heart due to sin).
And at Pentecost, where 3,000 were added to the faith, even some of the people who heard it said the Apostles where just drunk ("they are filled with new wine.")
So, it's possible even for sola scriptura accredited phenomenon, to be ignored or explained away.
Therefore, the explaining away, is not sufficient grounds to discredit it.
Based on verses in John 6. They were discussed and hand-waved away by a protty earlier in the thread.
The term UFO was written by me to identify the silver disc the eyewitnesses reported buzzing the crowd.
Ridicule all you need to, but don't take the mark of the beast when it is offered/commanded to you, regardless of what fancy signs and lying wonders accompany the command. You might be of the 3/4 of humanity that are alive after the Rapture and subsequent catastrophies that follow. In that case do not take the mark.
Do you even know what Jesus told Bicodemus in John 3? Know anything about that snake on the pole, way back during the wilderness trek?
Jesus speaking to Nicodemus, to introduce the Gospel of the Grace of God in Christ Jesus:
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus speaking to a crowd of unbelievers seeking signs and more bread:
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Many are called but few are chosen.
So of the many who are called why are so few chosen? ... Because so few will let HIM DO IT, they swallow apparitional lies and Catholic sacramental striving believing they can earn or merit what ONLY Jesus can do.
I already discussed John 3 and why "born again" seems to have become a cliched catch phrase, and why I think current faddish Evangelical teaching on it is unconvincing, upthread. As far as the snake on the pole, "When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me. He said this to indicate the death He was to die." So yeah, I know that one too.
Did you notice John 6 upthread about when Jesus said "Unless _______, you have not life within you?"
And when people got all huffy over it, he doubled down by predicting his Ascension too?
The only mystery here is WHY you've not presented your evidence to the jury yet.
It works both ways.
And a lot of centuries go by before you'll ever find it in Catholicism; too!
Except when ROME says so; Right?
HMMMmmm…
I; for one; would like to see the charges (and evidence) against this man Francis and those who elected him.
(Is any one besides me getting tired of all this IMPEACH HIM!! talk directed against the pope?
Either do something or come out of the bathroom.)
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