The Vigil before Easter and the Shroud of Turin

THE CHRISTIAN WORLD IS SILENT, WAITING FOR THE EASTER RESURRECTION. We're coming to the end of Holy Week, and now, Christians all over the world are in quiet reflection in anticipation of Easter. • The Gospel for Saturday of Holy Week is John 18:38-42 -- "After this Joseph of Arimathe'a, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body. Nicode'mus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there." • And, the First Reading for the Good Friday stripping of the altar and removal of all the objects and candles that weren't removed at the end of the Holy Thursday service is from the Old Testament, reminding us of the many allusions and prophecies it contains about the Messiah. Here is part of the Reading at Isaiah 53:1-12 -- "Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." • • • THE SHROUD OF TURIN. The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth 14 feet 5 inches long by 3 feet 7 inches wide, which shows the image of a man tortured and crucified. It is held by many Catholics to be the burial cloth that wrapped the body of Jesus after his death on the cross. The Shroud has been in Turin, Italy since 1578, has been the subject of thousands of scientific investigations from diverse specialties, and more than 32,000 photographs have been taken of it. The Church’s official position on the Shroud is one of neutrality. • The Catholic News Agency (CNA) published an article on April 11 about scientific photos taken of the Shroud. The entire article and links to the photos is available at < https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/scientific-photos-of-Shroud-of-turin-published-80628? utm_source=CNA&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter >. • The new website referenced in the article, according to CNA : "Aims to make available to Catholics and researchers a collection of photographs of the Shroud of Turin by a scientific photographer who was part of a research project that spent more than one hundred hours conducting tests on the Shroud." The site is accessible by anyone, not just Caatholics or researchers. • CNA tell us that : "From 1977 to 1981, a team of physicists, chemists, pathologists, and engineers from universities and US government laboratories conducted the Shroud of Turin Research Project, which concluded that 'the Shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist. The blood stains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. The image is an ongoing mystery and until further chemical studies are made, perhaps by this group of scientists, or perhaps by some scientists in the future, the problem remains unsolved.' The project’s final report added that 'no pigments, paints, dyes or stains' were found on the Shroud’s fibers, adding that 'it is clear that there has been a direct contact of the Shroud with a body, which explains certain features such as scourge marks, as well as the blood. However, while this type of contact might explain some of the features of the torso, it is totally incapable of explaining the image of the face with the high resolution that has been amply demonstrated by photography. The scientific consensus is that the image was produced by something which resulted in oxidation, dehydration and conjugation of the polysaccharide structure of the microfibrils of the linen itself. Such changes can be duplicated in the laboratory by certain chemical and physical processes. A similar type of change in linen can be obtained by sulfuric acid or heat. However, there are no chemical or physical methods known which can account for the totality of the image, nor can any combination of physical, chemical, biological or medical circumstances explain the image adequately.” • Vernon Miller was the official scientific photographer of the Shroud of Turin Research project. CNA states : "His photographs, and magnified micrographs of various aspects of the Shroud, are now freely available to view or download at < Shroudphotos.com >. Photographs taken under ultraviolet light are also available for download. Organizers of the site say that it was Miller's wish that his photograph's be digitized and made available to those who have never seen them. The site is the first place to publish a digitized and organized catalog of Miller's work. Miller recognized the power of images of the Shroud. "Worldwide interest in the Shroud of Turin was stimulated by the first photographs of it in 1898 when photography was in its infancy. Up to that time, people who looked at the cloth found it faint. It took the camera, with its negative image [of the man], to appreciate it,' he said after the research project was completed." • If you go to Vernon Miller’s Photo Collection of the Shroud of Turin < Shroudphotos.com >, you will read that : "The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth approximately three and a half feet by fourteen feet. This cloth displays the blood marked image of a naked man who carries the same wounds of torture and crucifixion as described in the Gospel of John which tells of the passion and death of Jesus. The Shroud was brought to its present location, the Turin Cathedral in Italy, in 1578. It was first photographed in 1898 by Secondo Pia and then again in 1931 by Guiseppe Enrie. In 1978 it was photographed by Vernon D. Miller. This website introduces his work to the world via the internet, providing access to all who want to conduct research on the cloth’s mysterious image, explore its genesis and meaning, contemplate its beauty and reflect upon it. As you study the astonishing image of the Man of the Shroud, keep in mind that it tells us much more than what is written here; the image itself expresses its own unique visual story." • In another article titled "New research: Shroud of Turin bears blood of a torture victim," CNA reports about more secent analysis of the Shroud : "New research indicates that the Shroud of Turin shows signs of blood from a torture victim, and undermines arguments that the reputed burial Shroud of Jesus Christ was painted. Very small particles attached to the linen fibers of the Shroud 'have recorded a scenario of great suffering, whose victim was wrapped up in the funeral cloth,' said Elvio Carlino, a researcher at the Institute of Crystallography. These particles, called 'nanoparticles,' had a 'peculiar structure, size and distribution,' said University of Padua professor Giulio Fanti. And the nanoparticles are not typical of the blood of a healthy person. Rather, they show high levels of substances called creatinine and ferritin, found in patients who suffer forceful multiple traumas like torture. 'Hence, the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud,' Fanti said. The Shroud’s latest researchers published their findings and measurements in the US open- access peer-reviewed journal PlosOne, in an article titled 'New Biological Evidence from Atomic Resolution Studies on the Turin Shroud,' the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa’s Vatican Insider reports. The findings contradict claims that the Shroud is a painted object -- claims which are common among those who suggest it is a medieval forgery. The characteristics of these particles 'cannot be artifacts made over the centuries on the fabric of the Shroud,' Fanti said. Among the most well-known relics believed to be connected with Jesus Christ’s Passion, the Shroud of Turin has been venerated for centuries by Christians as the burial Shroud of Jesus. It has been subject to intense scientific study to ascertain its authenticity, and the origins of the image. Appearing on the 14-foot long, three-and-a-half foot wide cloth a faintly stained postmortem image of a man -- front and back -- who has been brutally tortured and crucified. The image becomes clear in a haunting photo negative. The study of particles took place on the nanoscale –-- ranging from one to 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth the length of a meter. 'These findings could only be revealed by the methods recently developed in the field of electron microscopy,' said Carlino. He said the research marked the first study of 'the nanoscale properties of a pristine fiber taken from the Turin Shroud.' Researchers drew on experimental evidence of atomic resolution studies and recent medical studies on patients who suffered multiple acts of trauma and torture. The research was carried out by the Instituo Officia dei Materiali in Trieste and the Institute of Crystallography in Bari, both under Italy’s National Research Council, as well as the University of Padua’s Department of Industrial Engineering. A Vatican Insider said the research confirms the hypotheses of previous investigations, like that of biochemist Alan Adler in the 1990s. The Catholic Church has not taken an official position on the relic’s authenticity. The Shroud is presently housed at Turin’s St. John the Baptist Cathedral. During his June 21, 2015 visit to the cathedral, Pope Francis prayed before it. 'The Shroud attracts (us) toward the martyred face and body of Jesus,' he said in a noontime Angelus address at a Turin plaza. 'At the same time, it pushes (us) toward the face of every suffering and unjustly persecuted person. It pushes us in the same direction as the gift of Jesus’ love.” The article is available at < https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/new-research-Shroud-of-turin-bears-blood-of-a-torture-victim-60579 >. • • • DEAR READERS, there is no obligation to believe or disbelieve in the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. However, in August, 2105, CNA published an article about how one skeptical scientist came to believe the Shroud of Turin. The entire article is available at < https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/how-one-skeptical-scientist-came-to-believe-the-Shroud-of-turin-19617 >. • Ann Schneible writes in this article that : "The Shroud of Turin has different meanings for many people: some see it as an object of veneration, others a forgery, still others a medieval curiosity. For one Jewish scientist, however, the evidence has led him to see it as a meeting point between science and faith. 'The Shroud challenges (many people's core beliefs) because there's a strong implication that there is something beyond the basic science going on here,' Barrie Schwortz, one of the leading scientific experts on the Shroud of Turin, told CNA. Admitting that he did not know whether there was something beyond science at play, he added : 'That's not what convinced me : it was the science that convinced me.' The Shroud of Turin is among the most well-known relics believed to be connected with Christ's Passion. Venerated for centuries by Christians as the burial Shroud of Jesus, it has been subject to intense scientific study to ascertain its authenticity, and the origins of the image....Schwortz, now a retired technical photographer and frequent lecturer on the Shroud, was a member of the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project which brought prestigious scientists together to examine the ancient artifact. As a non-practicing Jew at the time, he was hesitant to be part of the team and skeptical as to the Shroud's authenticity -- presuming it was nothing more than an elaborate painting. Nonetheless, he was intrigued by the scientific questions raised by the image. Despite his reservations, Schwortz recounts being persuaded to remain on the project by a fellow scientist on the team -- a NASA imaging specialist..." • Here is Schwortz' story : " '[I] soon encountered one of the great mysteries of the image that still entrances its examiners to this day.' He explained that a specific instrument used for the project was designed for evaluating x-rays, which allowed the lights and darks of an image to be vertically stretched into space, based on the lights and darks proportionately. For a normal photograph, the result would be a distorted image : with the Shroud, however, the natural, 3-D relief of a human form came through. This means 'there’s a correlation between image density -- lights and darks on the image -- and cloth to body distance. The only way that can happen is by some interaction between cloth and body,' he said. 'It can’t be projected. It’s not a photograph -- photographs don’t have that kind of information, artworks don’t.' This evidence led him to believe that the image on the Shroud was produced in a way that exceeds the capacities even of modern technology. 'There's no way a medieval forger would have had the knowledge to create something like this, and to do so with a method that we can't figure out today -- the most image-oriented era of human history. Think about it : in your pocket, you have a camera, and a computer, connected to each other in one little device,' he said. 'The Shroud has become one of the most studied artifacts in human history itself, and modern science doesn’t have an explanation for how those chemical and physical properties can be made.' While the image on the Shroud of Turin was the most convincing evidence for him, he said it was only a fraction of all the scientific data which points to it being real. 'Really, it's an accumulation of thousands of little tiny bits of evidence that, when put together, are overwhelming in favor of its authenticity.' Despite the evidence, many skeptics question the evidence without having seen the facts. For this reason, Schwortz launched the website < www.Shroud.com >, which serves as a resource for the scientific data on the Shroud. Nonetheless, he said, there are many who still question the evidence, many believing it is nothing more than an elaborate medieval painting. 'I think the reason skeptics deny the science is, if they accept any of that, their core beliefs have been dramatically challenged, and they would have to go back and reconfigure who they are and what they believe in....It’s much easier to reject it out of hand, and not worry about it. That way they don’t have to confront their own beliefs. I think some people would rather ignore it than be challenged.' " • Schwortz emphasized that "the science points to the Shroud being the burial cloth belonging to a man, buried according to the Jewish tradition after having been crucified in a way consistent with the Gospel. However, he said it is not proof of the resurrection -- and this is where faith comes in. 'It’s a pre-resurrection image, because if it were a post-resurrection image, it would be a living man -- not a dead man,' he said, adding that science is unable to test for the sort of images that would be produced by a human body rising from the dead. 'The Shroud is a test of faith, not a test of science. There comes a point with the Shroud where the science stops, and people have to decide for themselves. The answer to faith isn’t going to be a piece of cloth. But, perhaps, the answer to faith is in the eyes and hearts of those who look upon it.' ” • Barrie Schwortz has never converted to Christianity, but remains a practicing Jew. And this, he says, makes his witness as a scientist all the more credible : “I think I serve God better this way, in my involvement in the Shroud, by being the last person in the world people would expect to be lecturing on what is, effectively, the ultimate Christian relic. I think God in his infinite wisdom knew better than I did, and he put me there for a reason.” • In fact, dear readers, while a 2009 Pew Research Center survey found that American scientists are about half as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher, universal power, the survey found that the percentage of scientists that believe in some form of a deity or power was greater than you may think -- 51 percent.