The Shroud shows that Jesus had long hair, which is a sign that He was a man dedicated to prayer. The Bible often makes reference to this custom. Jesus in the last 15 hours of His earthly life had His hands tied behind His back as a prisoner who was moved from one tribunal to another, and finally with the cross tied on His shoulders He climbed Calvary and there He was nailed to the Cross. In looking at this particular of His hair it is surprising to see that it is well combed, well composed, while it should have been in a messy array since He had no way of even pushing it away from His face. This means that someone at the sepulcher, at the very last moment, must have tenderly combed His hair.

We can guess who was responsible for such an act of tenderness. His Mother, Mary, before the shroud was folded over His body, must have embraced her Son, caressed Him, removed any thorn left around the head and lovingly composed His hair. Michelangelo with the statue of the 'Pieta' (Left) seems to bring out those feelings. In holding Jesus on her lap her tenderness must have brought back those strokes of love that she so lovingly must have given Him as an infant, as a child, even as a man. Now for the last time, before His body is covered by the shroud she tries to make her Son look somewhat lovely even after such a cruel death. She wanted those present there to see how beautiful her Son is. What a gift to us! We too now can look upon that Holy Face and see in it the loving tenderness of Mary, the maidservant of the Lord, who, with her soul pierced by the sword, could still make Her Son look lovely for all the generations to come.