Along with all the usual nonsense the Media serves up at this time of the year we have this good news about the Holy Shroud. I have always believed that the Shroud was genuine, and If I may I will share this story again. When I was a teenager - I suppose no more than 15 - I found a book in the local library by the late Captain Leonard Cheshire ("Pilgrimage to the Shroud" I think). It was a small book and easy to read and it contained the first photos of the Shroud I had seen. I was impressed by both these and the story Cheshire told - so was my father, greatly. My father at that time was a lapsed Catholic. He came back to the Church when my mother was received (I was 16). From then on he had an abiding interest in the Shroud. When he became seriously ill (much later on) one of the things he constantly read was a book of photographs of the Shroud authored by Ian Wilson.
When I was at seminary, one night, being on my own in the TV room (nothing special!) which was also an old library of spiritual reading, I took down an old book about the Shroud and sat there, alone, staring at the face on the photograph. I was deeply convinced that I was looking at the bruised and battered face of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and I am still convinced today that this is the face of the Lord. I will go to my grave believing this and I hope, before I die that, like my father, I will have the chance to study that face again before, hopefully, seeing it in His resurrected flesh.
I wonder, Father, if you or any of your readers have ever visited the museum in Turin dedicated to the Holy Shroud. When my daughter was living in Turin and I visited her last Easter we were privileged enough to visit this amazing museum. Like many, I love museums of all kinds, but this museum made a lasting impression on my soul. Not often do you need a stiff drink (Sambuca) following three hours of edification in a museum! I remember as a child being almost wounded when it was "revealed" that the shroud was a medieval forgery, which for the first time eventually made me question if science is always right. The story of la Sindone is one of the most evocative historical accounts I can think of, which incorporates the death and resurrection of Christ and a fascinating trip through the ups and downs of the early Church and its survival.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Unfortunately the validity of these recent assertions regarding the Shroud has been called into question by none other than the Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud.http://www.shroud.com/pdfs/ENNosiglia_Custode%20su%20Fanti-Gaeta.pdf
ReplyDeleteWhile the 1988 carbon dating may be flawed it was entered upon in the full glare of publicity with official samples. These samples appear to have been acquired in somewhat dubious circumstances.