Wow! I never really looked closely at your avatar before, it is really beautiful. You are obviously a very gifted person but also a modest one. God bless you and your talent and thank you for sharing your story and insights on the shroud.
During our recent on-line Masses, our little parish church has had a copy of Our Lord's face from the shroud on display for all of us to see. Katfall's image is astonishing. Here is Our Lord. It portrays a Man and a Divinity that I will fear to meet face to face-there will be no nonsense with, no hiding from, this Man. Yet, I long for His Love and I hope for His Mercy, as He clearly represented to Saint Faustina. The real image of Our Lord is such a contrast to the many effete, almost effeminate, versions that we often see presented. I think the latter could be due to an unwillingness by some artists to face up to Christ's Justice which accompanies His Mercy. Many of the older paintings from way back in the Middle Ages and further also show this masculine, no-nonsense visage. Postscript: Thank you, Padraig, for that image of the superimposition of the Turin face with the image of Divine Mercy. It is particularly convincing because the match is with the original artist's depiction of Our Divine Mercy Lord, because there is a less impressive version that seems to be more common.
It is an amazing portrait. And yes Our Lord certainly sets wonderful puzzles for our scientists that they can never completely solve. Same with Our Lady's image on the tilma. The enemy must gnash his teeth over it. What a rebuke to the pride of so called enlightened people.
The There is much grace given to a soul that has a devotion to the Holy Face. There is nothing to fear in meeting our kind and gentle savior! If you read about The devotion given to Sister Mary of St.Peter by Jesus, it is the greatest devotion given to mankind. It is called "The Golden Arrow". When you ponder the prayer and really meditate on it, it will knock you off your feet. And the litany that goes with it brings miracles. I had them happen to me. There is a book called "The Golden Arrow" that tells of the whole devotion and how it came about. The devotion was very prominent for many years and faded away after WWl. Jesus is very masculine, a teacher, strong, and yet tender.
Here is a description I found online "the most holy relic in St. Peter's It is kept in a special chapel in one of the four main pillars of St. Peter. In the 19th century, the veneration of the Holy Face was propagated by St. Pope Pius IX and, among others, St. Tse de Lisieux, who took the name "Tsia of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face". This was caused by a miracle. During the revolution of 1849, when the Pope had to flee to Gaeto, St. Pius IX ordered the Holy Veil to be publicly exposed between the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany. On the 3rd day of the exposition, the face of Our Lord on the cloth became clearly visible and appeared to be alive, surrounded by a soft light. The Canons of St. Peter immediately rung the bells, and crowds of people came to watch the 3 hours long manifestation. One of the canons was ordered to draw the face as it appears during the miracle and the Pope later ordered an improved version of this drawing to be imprinted on linen cloths, which, after being touched to the original relic (and tfore becoming 2nd class relics) were distributed among the faithful. This custom was continued for over 50 years. This is one of these rare 2nd class relics of Veronica's Veil, bearing the stamp of St. Peter's Basilica and the Seal of a Cardinal. It´s title states: "Vera Effiges Sacri Vultus Domini Nostri Jesu Christi que, Romae, in Sacrosancta Basilica S. P
If you don't want to wait for the book, there is a website with the Golden Arrow prayer and much history and information on the devotion to the Holy Face. I like to bring the image up on my computer and gaze at it when doing my daily prayers. It's "soul food". http://holyfacedevotion.com/index.htm
I don't know if all know this, but there are actually 2 veils/cloths with the holy face. One is in the Vatican and one is in another church in Italy. The images both line up with each other and the shroud. The thought is one image came from Veronica's veil and other was the face cloth for the burial that was placed over his face with the shroud placed over it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manoppello_Image
On the topic of the Shroud of Turin (in case anyone is interested), I recently read The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by mystic and stigmatist Anne Catherine Emmerich and here is how she described the moment when the Shroud of Turin was imprinted. The Blessed Virgin, the holy women, the men-all were kneeling round the body of Jesus to take their farewell of it, when a most touching miracle took place before them. The sacred body of Jesus, with all its wounds, appeared imprinted upon the cloth which covered it, as though he had been pleased to reward their care and their love, and leave them a portrait of himself through all the veils with which he was enwrapped. With tears they embraced the adorable body, and then reverently kissed the wonderful impression which it had left. Their astonishment increased when, on lifting up the sheet, they saw that all the bands which surrounded the body had remained white as before, and that the upper cloth alone had been marked in this wonderful manner. It was not a mark made by the bleeding wounds, since the whole body was wrapped up and covered with sweet spices, but it was a supernatural portrait, bearing testimony to the divine creative power ever abiding in the body of Jesus. I have seen many things relative to the subsequent history of this piece of linen, but I could not describe them coherently. After the resurrection it remained in the possession of the friends of Jesus, but fell twice into the hands of the Jews, and later was honoured in several different places. I have seen it in a city of Asia, in the possession of some Christians who were not Catholics. I have forgotten the name of the town, which is situated in a province near the country of the Three Kings. https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc65.htm
I watched the Barrie Schortz TED talk from Rome twice previous, Kat, very touching; an agnostic Jew who believes in the Shroud (kind of). Seeing the face of Jesus after we die will be one of the Greatest Treats of Heaven (Unless we get the thumbs down) St Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a beautiful hymn about this, one of my favourites. 1 Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter far Thy face to see, And in Thy presence rest.
There is also Devotion to the Sacred Head from Stigmatic Teresa Higginson (who was also attacked by the devil on an ongoing basis .. though I'm afraid this Devotion never truly took off). THIS IS A REVELATION AND DEVOTION RESERVED FOR THE END TIMES
This largest of pics you offer Padraig is really amazing. Perhaps some have heard of the young girl, at the time, totally uncatechised, being raised by a loving but unbelieving family, off the grid, Akiane, who was given the image of Jesus and told how she would one day paint Him, which she did when she was 8 years old. She waited for subjects who fit the visions that she had for her models. Finally, after waiting a long time for Jesus to bring her the subject for His painting that model just came to her door. He was around 7' tall, and....a carpenter! She knew he was the one and asked him if he would pose for her for this special painting. He said he would have to think about it but finally returned to do just that. Also, supposing that many have heard of the young boy, son of a minister, who "died" during his appendectomy (I think) surgery and was taken to heaven, met Jesus, sat on His lap, etc., saw his sister who was miscarried but about whom he had never been told, etc....Colton Burpo, movie about him, "Heaven is for Real".....well, all during his younger years, after the book about his experiences and movie, he was shown numerous pics of Jesus by many people and he always replied that none of them were Jesus he knew, UNTIL, he was looking through a book and saw Akiane's painting where he suddenly stopped and exclaimed ...."that's Jesus"! Also Dr. Issam Nemeh, "the doctor who prays and things happen", Catholic doctor originally from Syria, who prays over all patients, silently usually and knows without being told just where the problem in need of healing was.....always connected to the Holy Spirit, and has numerous, unbelievable healings, ....who has been taken himself, in his body, 3 times to heaven, and spiritually, numerous times, also said that Akiane's painting was the closest he's seen to the Jesus he met and knows. There was another also who's name now escapes me. Here is that painting by Akiane, "Prince of Peace": Secular report: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/12/13/akiane-kramarik-prince-of-peace/
