Sincere question about the holy face

[elohimrules]

Hi I converted from Protestantism several years ago. Since i really haven’t had much education in the faith i have a hard time understanding the holy face. Well lets say believing in it. Veronica who received the image in her veil wasn’t in the Bible. I looked at the image and it looks like an English renaissance man and not a middle eastern man of Jesus time. Any feedback about this? I would love to know if it is true because I would love to know what Jesus looked like. Does it even seem plausible that he would leave us an image of his face when he wants us to have faith?

 

[sealabeag]

Fr. Spitzer is extremely knowledgeable on this topic. Basically, the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo are, separately, the burial cloth of Jesus and a piece of cloth, that was possibly placed over Jesus’ face at burial. They are genuine miraculous images, not paintings, and they match each other perfectly. The veil of veronica, however, is less certain. There appears to be no single, definite veil - only various claims, and most of them dubious.
Google the face from the shroud of Turin. It’s beautiful.
Also, for more info., fr. Spitzer has some great talks on YouTube on the Shroud of Turin.

As for Veronica in the Bible - in Catholicism we have Scripture and Tradition. And that is Biblical.

 

[End_Timer]

Presented here is my Jesus Icon, which is also His Holy Face
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)…Christ

 

[JerryZ]

Well apparently GOD knows us better than ourselves.
How many times has HE used material means to convey HIS graces to us?
If you read the Bible attentively you will notice that HE has and continues to do so. So it does not make one bit of difference to our faith weather the Veronica is or is not the actual face of Jesus same as when we see a statue of Him representing the moment of the crucifixion. But so far after all the back and forth for the real image of Jesus it seems that both the Veronica and the Shroud of Turin bear many similarities.
We are not after all iconoclasts.

Peace!

 

[EugeneCharles]

Hello @elohimrules

Veronica who received the image in her veil wasn’t in the Bible.

We believe in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

Does it even seem plausible that he would leave us an image of his face when he wants us to have faith?

GOD makes this thing to strengthen our faith just like miracles. This thing made clear that Jesus is real and He had existed.

Any feedback about this?

Why don’t you try to be a devotee of the Holy Face to see the results of God’s miracle?

 

[GEddie]

Search for the “Christus Pantocrator.”

This icon, painted around the year 600 in the Greek part of the world, matches the Shroud Face at over 650 data points; suggesting that the painter (around 600) had access to the Shroud Face.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Erundil]

and not a middle eastern man

The racial composition of those areas was completely different in our Lord’s time. There were plenty of Greeks (+Phoenicians) and Romans everywhere and Jews weren’t exactly by today’s standards ‘middle eastern’. What you call ‘middle eastern man’ is rather a modern mixture of races (I do not need to remind you of the Muslim conquest of those areas in 632 - 661 and then by the Abbasids in 750-1258).

We know that He was not pale, but He also wasn’t a black man. We know that He had a beard and slightly long hair. He was not obese and was probably relatively muscular (because he worked as a carpenter in early years). These main characteristics endured the trial of time, probably passed on verbally by the first Apostles and their direct successors (who in human ways had the same question as you and all of us) until, in the early centuries of Christianity, they began to be immortalized on walls/Icons. However, when those who remembered Jesus or remembered-those-who-remembered-Jesus passed away, some deviations from his image could normally begin to appear.

Don’t be afraid of depictions. So what if European art movements (like Renaissance you mentioned) influenced many paintings? In the same way Asians preferred to show His Countenance with —understandably — Asian features, and in Africa, you can find images of black Jesus. Does every (human-made) depiction is true? Probably not. Does this matter for our salvation and our veneration of Lord’s Countenance on those images? Definitely not.

But anyway, you asked about the real/miraculous images:

Does it even seem plausible that he would leave us an image of his face when he wants us to have faith?

The article posted by @(name removed by moderator) gives a fair insight into this question.

I would also add to this list a painting (Divine Mercy Image) which Jesus literally Himself ordered St.Faustina to paint (she asked Eugeniusz Kazimiriowski to paint it exactly as Jesus told her to).
“I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish,” — Jesus told Faustina, according to her diary, which has been studied and authenticated by the Catholic Church over several decades. Although made by human hand, I wouldn’t dare to deny its authenticity and its creation according to will of the Lord and with His help.

I’d say don’t worry and trust the images and Icons you see. Especially those miraculous — since the Holy Tradition of Church tells us about their authenticity.