the First Linen Used for Mass?
In this reality, science has also discovered that while the Shroud dates back to Jesus’ time, it is NOT a burial cloth of 1st-century Israel. And so, the latest intriguing question regarding the Shroud is, if it is not a burial cloth, what was its true purpose? This gave rise to the theory that the Shroud, Jesus’ burial linen, could very well have been the kosher Tablecloth used for His Last Supper.
If this theory proves to be correct through future tests — tests which the Church has not given permission to conduct as of yet — this could prove the Shroud is the original linen used when Christ said the first Mass and instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist!
We, however, believe that Jesus is such an incredible God of faith, that while He has given us many clues, symbols and facts that point to the Shroud as the Tablecloth to His Last Supper, our Lord will never let the world prove this Truth “scientifically.”
For Jesus, it will be — as we see it — always a test of one’s faith to accept this theory as a reality.
But while Jesus may never let science prove this theory beyond a shadow of a doubt, He has — as He loves to do — left so many symbolic clues, it’s hard NOT to believe the Shroud is the Tablecloth: the very expensive linen used when our Savior uttered those immortal Words, “This IS My Body!”
Words He spoke to His Apostles as He held the afikomen aloft — the special matzo hidden in a cloth, just as the Host is hidden, at the beginning of the Passover seder. This the last piece of food permissible to eat at the end of this sacred meal. The afikomen is a symbolic gift that commemorates the manna that came down from Heaven that fed the Israelites before their journey ended; a journey that took them home to their Promised Land.
The eating of this unleavened bread commemorates the quick departure of God’s Chosen People who were saved because — in obedience — they covered their doorposts with the blood of the lamb on the evening when the Lord Himself passed over the houses of the faithful as He smote the Egyptians for their disobedience to Him and their belief in false gods.
And so it was extremely symbolic when Jesus held the afikomen aloft and compared it to His Holy Body which was about to be broken as He gave birth to the Eucharist on the next day. Holding the afikomen aloft is a spiritual act Jesus commanded His followers to “do this in memory of Me.”
The Apostles did follow Jesus’ commands and began, as recorded in the early Church, commemorating Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
A Mass which used an Altar linen on a stone slab to remind believers of the empty Tomb and the burial cloth John and Peter found on that first Easter Sunday.
Where is all this leading?
As it is documented in the book, History, Science, Theology and the Shroud, “As early as 325 [A.D.], Pope [Saint] Sylvester, with the Emperor Constantine and 327 bishops at the local council at Rome's Baths of Trajan, established that ‘the holy Sacrifice of the Mass be celebrated on a cloth of linen consecrated by the Bishop, as if it were the clean Shroud of Christ.’ ”
Why is this important?
* The linen Altar cloth of the true Catholic Mass is 14x3-feet long.
* The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth just over 14x3-feet long.
* The Purificator, the linen cloth used for cleaning and drying the Chalice that holds the wine that is consecrated into the Blood of the Savior is 14 inches long.
* The Purificator is folded three times turning its original 14x9-inch dimensions into approximately 14x3-inches.
* Once again, not only is the Shroud of Turin approximately 14x3 feet, but originally it was kept folded three times!
Coincidence?
We don’t think so.
We believe it is apparent that our God — who does nothing by accident — has shown the world the reality that not only do the linen cloths used in the Mass symbolically represent Jesus’ burial Shroud, but they are also to remind us what our Savior did on this cloth.
First, He instituted the Eucharist, and then, second, He left the evidence of His Passion proving that in His broken Body He is the Eucharist!
For the Image of the Lamb of God on the Shroud is right smack dab in the middle of the very cloth we believe Jesus used to first say the words, “This is My Body which will be given up for you.”
Unfortunately, in our world, which is now almost two millennia from the actual event, it is virtually impossible for spiritual Truths such as this to be accepted anymore. These subtle, yet significant, hidden, yet obvious, symbolic, yet necessary accouterments of the Mass are lost in today's fast-paced, here-today, gone-tomorrow world.
And that is the reason our Church continues to find itself in more and more trouble as time goes on. It has forgotten its past and wishes to rewrite its future.
But if there is anything certain about anything at all anymore, it is the fact that the size of the linen cloths used for the true Mass were first used by Christ during His Last Supper. Linens that are the same size as the Shroud, a cloth that irrefutably proves He who once was dead rises to die no more.
In this reality, we can be guaranteed that one day He will return and their will be a reckoning for those who have destroyed that which He instituted — whether or not that reckoning is here on this planet or when, as we all must do, take our leave to personally meet the Just Judge!
© 2003 Agnus Dei Presents!
