www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall The Face of Jesus/History Channel

The History Channel will air "The Real Face of Jesus?," a special two-hour event that premieres March 30 (Holy Monday) at 9 p.m. EST. It aims to bring the world as close as it has ever come to seeing what Jesus may have actually looked like.

I caught Father Jonathon, the Fox News Catholic priest, excitedly discussing this...it has been created with 3D computer imagery from the shroud of Turin...

O Jesus, who in Thy bitter Passion didst become "the most abject of men, a man of sorrows", I venerate Thy Sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead; but now it has become for me as if it were the face of a leper! Nevertheless, under those disfigured features, I recognize Thy infinite Love and I am consumed with the desire to love Thee and make Thee loved by all men. The tears which well up abundantly in Thy sacred eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value. O Jesus, whose adorable Face ravishes my heart, I implore Thee to fix deep within me Thy divine image and to set me on fire with Thy Love, that I may be found worthy to come to the contemplation of Thy glorious Face in Heaven.

Amen.

-St. Therese

OOPS, my mistake...March 30th is tomorrow--Tuesday. This will premier *Tuesday* night.

Hope can make it home in time from church.

I'd like to propose that the "real" Face of Jesus is the person standing right next to any one of us--the face of a person who needs something that only you or I can give to him or her. I challenged a prayer group I facilitated some years ago to look into every face they encountered for a week and see Jesus looking back at them. Each one said it changed their lives and how they looked at other people, especially strangers.

Bob

AMEN!

AMEN

I saw the show it was awesome!

Yes, the images were striking. The animator seemed to work reverently and was very meticulous, trying to get everything to look correct.

There are no pictures on the internet to show anyone, but the show will be on later again tonight for you insomniacs.

I can say that the 3d image looks like a cross between Sacha Baron Cohen and the guy in The Mummy movies who played the warrior magi.

All in all, if it is the True Face, I would be very comfortable looking at it for all eternity.

Yes, actually this is more important than what we saw on TV tonight.

I thought it was well done. I was a little skeptical going into it but quite pleased with the way it turned out. It was very compelling. I also thought he looked like a little like the warrior guy from the Mummy, but crossed with Jim Caviezel who played Jesus in the Passion.

Yes, it was amazing and for a pleasant change, History Channel wasn't promoting skepticism about Christianity!! It was a nice gift for this holy season.

The part where the person responsible for the animation realized the amount of blood and suffering that was inflicted on the body, (scourging and crucifixion) saying 'they beat the hell out of him', he had to contain his tears.

What I thought was weird was the Gnostic references to the shroud. What was up with that?

Here it is: "The Real Face Of Jesus" [youtube.com]

Not sure how long this link will work!

Is this my Lord, The Christ?

BTW, if you want to compare the images here is a link to an Icon of Jesus: Jesus [upload.wikimedia.org]

There's a statue in a room off the chapel of a local Catholic college that is covered with a purple cape. The sign outside the room says that one should not enter without being with someone else because the image of Jesus Crucified within can be traumatic. I went on one occasion with a friend of mine and we lifted the cape.

The artist's depiction was absolutely horrifying. Every square inch of the body was torn by the scourges. There were literally "chunks" of flesh either torn out to the very deep layers of flesh or they were torn on three sides and flapped away. It was all anatomically realistic as far as muscle fibers, deep cuts, blood, etc. It truly met the Prophet Isaiah's description of One "having no human form that we would recognise."

I've never been back and that image is burned into my mind. All of the cruelty of mankind, pent up and released on one Man, was there. The horror of sin, that cruelty, was there for anyone to ponder. So as we approach Great and Holy Friday with "The Lord Who is going to His voluntary and ever-memorable Passion for our salvation, Christ, Our True God . . .," let's remember that the cruelty of every person was released on Him--they literally "they beat the hell out of him"/tore Him to pieces. And that's what our many and numerous sins do today; they're part of what HE endured by anticipation.

In Christ,

BOB

Great post Bob!