Studies Have Shown

 

Studies have shown that the Shroud of Turin has the image of Jesus' Resurrection.

Jesus appears to "stand" before us next to the tabernacle as evidence of the Resurrection.  So-called “evidence” must be assessed with thoughtful discernment free of confirmation bias (not easy).  Is the Shroud direct evidence of the resurrection or is it serious and relevant food for thought and discussion? Is the Shroud authentic and the actual burial shroud? Are we critical thinkers as well as open-minded? Shouldn’t we be encouraged to strengthen our faith through prayer and practice, live with doubts, and not look for and insist on direct evidence, i.e., proof?

I’m not a believer in the Shroud of Turin being literal, historical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. I simply rely on my faith. I do not share many peoples’ belief using the Shroud as the way to defend and prove their faith in Jesus and his resurrection. It’s a poor way to defend and distracts from what is important, e.g., the Eucharist, in my opinion.

On entering the tomb did John see on the burial cloth the image of the raised crucified body of his Lord.  Did he spread out the 14’5” by 3’7” cloth for viewing?  Why would he have bothered?  Even if he did, let’s remember that it was just a negative image of a man.  Also, there would have been no way for John to assume the image was of a “raised” or “lifted” man.  The cloth was laid upon a supine man, or the man was tightly bound with a shroud – or separate wrappings.  Moreover, let’s not forget, according to the Gospel of John, there was a separate head “napkin.”  [“When Simon arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered his head not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.”] How do we reconcile that napkin with a lengthy shroud covering the entire body?

The claim of some that “an intense burst of vacuum ultraviolet radiation produced a discoloration on the uppermost surface of the Shroud’s fibrils (without scorching it), thereby giving rise to a perfect three-dimensional negative image of both the frontal and dorsal parts of the body wrapped in it,” (not the top of head or sides) is phantastical. 

We will never conclusively know how and when the image was created [I have my suspicions]. Even so, faith should not demand or expect proof.  Do we demand such proof for what is placed in the tabernacle or what happens when priests say the Eucharistic prayers (consecration)?  Perhaps the Shroud image is the sought after “proof” that what priests say is effective and real?  I surely hope we don’t need such proof.  Needing proof undercuts our faith in things not seen.

The Church has a position on the Shroud that likely is unchangeable. We should be satisfied with what Pope Francis said.  He invited us “to contemplate Jesus of Nazareth with the image speaking to our heart and moving us to climb the hill of Calvary, to look upon the wood of the Cross, and to immerse ourselves in the eloquent silence of love.”

By the way, an empty space (no image) is found on the entire displayed shroud (continuous front and back) separating the front from the back of the head. That space would not be present either on a wrapped man or on one draped with a cloth.  The front and back of the head should not be separated.  This seems to be an important but completely ignored common-sense observation.

When I see the figure's head and shoulders in our Chruch, I see the face of a man head and shoulders above all scientists, inventors, and artists of his time - Leonardo da Vinci,

Deacon David Pierce