An energy passed through the shroud

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter 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. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. (JN 20:1A AND 2-8)

Saint Peter and Saint John believed not because they saw just an empty tomb, but because they were able to attest that the burial garments were intact even though they no longer contained the Lord’s body. Apparently he passed through the material of the burial wrappings. The Holy Shroud confirms this fact: it holds the image of Christ impressed upon it as if an energy had passed through the sheet (sindon in Greek). When they had seen the Shroud, they believed in the reality of the Resurrection, recalling His Word. And so let us commit ourselves to our ongoing formation by reading books and apologetic materials so that we will be able to give a rational explanation for our Faith to those who do not have faith.