by Fr. John Martin Shimkus, O.S.B.

     In recent decades there has been great deal of interest in the so-called "Shroud of Turin".  In fact, several of our monks have been involved in promoting devotion to this mysterious relic; it is believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus.

    If this assertion is true, than we have been blest not only with a perfect image of our Lord and Savior, but also with a vivid testimony to the power of his Resurrection.  For science has demonstrated that the image of the crucified man on the shroud was not transferred to the cloth by any ordinary means - not by pigment or burning or etching.  Rather the figure of this crucified One has become part of the fibers of the cloth itself, the cloth transformed by an energy that burst forth from the person who had been wrapped within it.

     In fact, the shroud testifies to the same phenomenon we see at work in the lives of the "witnesses" to Jesus' Resurrection.  Consider Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John, not to mention "Doubting" Thomas and the troubled disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  Their contact with the Lord transformed them, like the power of his Resurrection transformed the cloth in which he was wrapped.  It replaced their pain, ignorance, weakness and doubt with the healing, enlightenment, courage and faith which flowed from his risen life.

     As Christians we are meant to bear the image of the Risen Lord.  We are meant to be transformed through our contact with him.  We believe that this is possible if we hold fast to our profession of faith.  We believe that it will happen if we allow ourselves to be touched by his living Presence - in the sacraments, in prayer, and in the poor who need to hear the Good News.  So we pray that through our Easter faith may we be counted among the Resurrection "witnesses".  Through our faith may we come in contact with the power which can truly transform our lives.

Lord Jesus, I believe in the power which flows from your Resurrection.

---