Of the many insignia we encounter during our daily existence, an ever-present symbol, seemingly inescapable, is the Christian Cross. Focusing our attention upon it and considering its antiquity we perceive a twofold aspect: an ancient one of extreme horror, the other of loving veneration and heavenly glory.
Reflecting on the former concept, history tells us that during the ancient conquests in the Near East, the most dreaded and deeply humiliating deterrent to serious transgression was the crucifixion. Important roadways were often lined with tall wooden posts; some fixed with cross bars from which were suspended already blackened and rotting corpses, others still bearing living victims writhing in agony. It can safely be assumed that during the Roman military occupation of Palestine, men, women, even children, witnessed with horror such scenes. People from Galilee must have witnessed such horror on their seasonal journeys to and from the Holy City Jerusalem. Eventually, such was the tragic fate that befell our Blessed Lord and Savior on Mount Calvary.
Today we glory in the Cross of Christ. We give it places of honor and expose it to public view, be it atop a prominent mountain, church spire, over an altar, or in a humble dwelling. In many Christian localities one will see alongside some roads an occasional niche with a crucifix for passers-by to pause for a moment of prayer - a peaceful sight indeed and quite in contrast to the tragic crosses of antiquity. Not to be overlooked are devout individuals who proudly wear the cross on gold chains around their necks.
We should recognize that the cross is for us, today, a sign of faith in Christ, a sign of hope. We will be saved because of Christ's Passion and Death, the high price He paid for our redemption. We learn that down through the centuries this very concept has inspired men and women to reshape their daily lives in a similar pattern of applied suffering. Fortunately we have never seen a man crucified. We have never seen even an animal suspended by nails on a tree. Because of that we have lost, today, the horror for the cross. With the horror we have also lost the appreciation of the price Jesus has paid for our Redemption; we may have also lost the appreciation and the value of the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist, which is a sacramental repetition of the sacrifice of the Cross. Yes, we glory in the Cross of Christ, but we have lost much of the appreciation of the price of our Redemption. St. Paul wrote that whatever was written in the past was written for our edification. Quoting an expression used by Pope Paul VI that "the Holy Shroud is an autograph of Christ written in His own blood," we could dare to say that by the grace of God, the HOLY SHROUD is that graphic description of the Passion and Death of Christ written in His own blood.
The HOLY SHROUD is the linen used two thousand years ago in wrapping the body of Christ and preparing it to be laid in the sepulcher. Those who are fortunate enough to take a trip to Europe and stop over in Turin (or Torino), Italy, and visit the Cathedral, will be told that in the chapel directly behind the main Altar, the linen cloth used at the burial of Christ, called the Holy Shroud, is preserved in a silver reliquary. Adjacent to the Chapel there is a large room with many photographs of the impression which the body of Christ left on the linen.
As one sees such an enormous revelation of the particulars of the Passion and Death of Jesus, one begins to realize what the crucifixion really is. Along with the stark revelation of the sufferings of Christ appears the beauty of the Son of God. How beautiful a man Jesus was. His Face reveals His divine nature. The FACE of Jesus, reproduced by the photographic camera, as the camera captures the details hidden in the "autograph of Christ written by His own blood" makes the Holy Shroud truly a "Fifth Gospel' telling the final story of Him who for our love even left us a perfect picture of Himself as He lay in the tomb.
