Theophilus Monk’s Christian Internet Ministry

  Every Sunday evening at 7 PM a group of us from St. James meet at the Vintage Coffee Bistro in Lambertville, MI. If you live in the area feel free to stop by and join us, the Bistro is located in the Kroger Plaza at Sterns and Secor. We call it Coffee Talk and it is a discussion on what God is doing in our lives. We discuss a variety of topics as they come up and there is no agenda, one thing just leads to another. The conversations are very interesting and enlightening. So in Coffee Talk Redux I will use this as an opportunity to share with you some further reflection on a particular topic that came up the previous night. 

So last night I related a discussion I had with a friend of mine’s 4th grade daughter a while back. I give her guitar lessons each week and a few weeks ago she was all excited and wanted me to help her find on the Internet a picture of Veronica’s veil that her teacher said supposedly exists. The veil presumely holds an image of Christ that was imprinted on a veil that was used by Veronica to wipe the sweat from his face while he was on the way to the Cross. Legend has it that Veronica later traveled to Rome to present the veil to the Roman Emperor Tiberius and that the veil possessed many miraculous properties such as being able to quench thirst, cure blindness, and even raise the dead. So we Googled “Veronica’s Veil” and of course 284,000 references popped up. Veronica’s wiping of the sweat from Jesus’ face is also commemorated in the Stations of the Cross. Legend has it that after Jesus had ascended into heaven, his mother Mary often retraced the steps of her son as he went to the Cross. Mary’s walk to the Cross has been remembered in the Stations of the Cross that are found within every Catholic Church. The Stations of the Cross are fourteen pictures or engravings along the walls and each Station has a Cross and number. These pictures or Stations of the Cross start with Jesus being brought before Pilate and then show Jesus on his way to his crucifixion, his death, and end with his burial in the tomb. For the faithful each station is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the Paschal Mystery. Now the 6th Station is the one that depicts Veronica wiping the face of Jesus with her veil and this event follows the previous Station wherein Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus. There is however no reference to this story about Veronica and her veil in the Gospels. The story itself seems to have its origin in the Middle Ages and reflects the desire of the faithful to be able to see the face of their Redeemer. This continual need to have some physical proof that Christ existed such as in Veronica’s Veil or the Shroud of Turin  or most recently in the James Ossuary undermines our faith in the Gospels and calls into question the resurrection itself. We must always keep in mind that Christ’s resurrection is a real physical event and the definitive historical moment that defines our Christian faith. The New Testament writers are the historical witnesses to Christ’s resurrection and one does not need any more evidence than that. St. Paul said as much in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” But it is in man’s nature to always question and to doubt and this is a direct result of man’s free will and his ability to reason and we must not lose sight of the fact that both of these are gifts from God. Even one of the Apostles was not totally convinced of Christ’s resurrection as we hear in Sunday’s lectionary reading from John 20:19-31. As told in this Gospel when Jesus first appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, Thomas who was one of the twelve, was not with them. Later when these disciples told Thomas what had happened, that, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas did not believe them and said, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” So just like those that now need a Veronica’s Veil or a Shroud of Turin, Thomas could not bring himself to believe that the empty tomb signified that Christ indeed had risen. Eight days later Jesus stopped by again to visit His disciples and this time Thomas was also present. Jesus then said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas then answered Christ by saying to Him, “My Lord and my God!” to which Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Interestingly the Latin word “vera” and the Greek “icona” are conjoined to form the name “Veronica” which means “true icon.” Veronica removed her veil and was wiping the sweat from the face of the “true icon” which is Christ. Christ and His resurrection is the “true icon” not Veronica’s Veil or any other relic from the past. By removing her veil Veronica was able to see Christ and be a witness to His resurrection and much in the same manner for ourselves we are reminded by the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:16 that, “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away,” for the true icon for us today, as it has been since His Passion, is Christ’s gift of Himself in the Eucharist where the spiritual food of the Body and Blood of Christ may be found under the appearances of the Bread and Wine. For as said by St. Thomas, O sacred banquet, in which Christ  is received, a memory of His Passion is recalled, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. So all we need to see Christ is our faith for as said in Hebrews 11:1, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

© Ronald L. Fournier – 2008