By Jacqueline Kelly –
The Holy Lance
The archers appeared doubtful whether Jesus was really dead. There was a second lieutenant officer named Cassius [otherwise known as Longinus]: a young man of about twenty-five years of age whose weak squinting eyes and nervous manner had often been the cause of mockery by his companions.
He was determined to prove beyond doubt that Jesus was really dead. He seized his lance and rode quickly up to the mound on which the cross was planted, stopped just between the cross of the good thief and that of our Lord, and taking his lance in both hands, thrust it so deeply into the right side of Jesus that the point went through the Heart, and appeared on the left side. When Longinus drew his lance out of the wound, some of the blood of Jesus fell upon his eyes and he was healed. He leaped from his horse, went down on his knees, struck his breast, and confessed loudly before all his firm belief in the Divinity of Jesus. He was later baptized and martyred.
Holy Lance also called ‘Spear of Destiny’, ‘Spear of Longinus’, ‘Holy Spear’, ‘Lance of Longinus’ or ‘Spear of Christ’ is a relic discovered in 1098 during the First Crusade by Christian Crusaders at Antioch. It was said to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus at the Crucifixion.
The relic arrived in Rome from Ancona, an Italian city on the Adriatic Sea, delivered by two eminent Cardinals. Pope Benedict XIV, in the 18th century, had many doubts on its authenticity. He asked the King of France to send the Spear’s staff to Rome to verify the authenticity. The two pieces fit together perfectly.
The Holy Lance in Vienna is displayed in the Imperial Treasury or Weltliche Schatzkammer [Worldly Treasure Room] at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. It is a typical winged lance of the Carolingian dynasty.
The Shroud of Christ
Mary knelt down by the Head of Jesus, and placed beneath it a piece of very fine linen which had been given to her by Pilate’s wife. John, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea placed our Divine Lord on a large shroud, six yards in length, which Joseph of Arimathea had bought, and wrapped him in it. The Blessed Virgin, the holy women, the men, all were kneeling round the body of Jesus, 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. With tears they embraced the adorable Body, and then reverently kissed the wonderful impression which it had left.
Until the destruction of Jerusalem, the Shroud remained hidden and with the Christians. No one knows when it was brought to Edessa, Syria [Turkey]. When the King of Edessa abandoned his faith, the Christians hid the Shroud for protection in a niche of the city walls. It was rediscovered in 525. Folded in four, so that only the face was visible, it was venerated and known by the name “Mandylion”.
In 944 it was handed over to the Byzantine Emperor and taken to Constantinople. The Shroud was venerated in the Church of Saint Mary, until 1204. In the same year, a plundering horde of crusaders sacked Constantinople. After changing hands again, the Holy Shroud became the property of the Duke of Savoy. In 1532, a fierce fire scorched the linen. In 1578, it was brought to the new capital of the Savoy dynasty in Turin, where it now remains.
In 1898, a lawyer named Secondo Pia, an amateur photographer, managed to get an imprint. The shadowy imprints were real. The figure appeared to bear marks from the crucifixion as well as various red spots corresponding to the blows on the hands, feet and ribs.
It was the TRUE FACE OF CHRIST. The Savoy family who owned it, gave it to the Vatican in 1983.The Shroud of Turin is at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.
The True Cross
Jesus had proclaimed that He had come to save sinners. And bearing His own Cross, He went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew, Golgotha.
Saint Helena went to Jerusalem in 326 to find the True Cross. Many believed that the True Cross was buried in the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus had been buried. But, when St. Helena arrived, there already existed a temple of Venus built over the Tomb of Christ. She had the temple and a statue of Venus destroyed and engaged some men to dig that place. After much digging, the men found three Crosses in the tomb and there they also found the three Nails, the Crown of Thorns and the Title from the Cross, which proclaimed that Jesus was the King of Jews. Because, nobody knew which one was the True Cross of Christ, Bishop Saint Macarius had each cross touched to a very sick lady of the city. When the True Cross was touched to her, she was completely cured.
The Cross of Jesus weighed 165pounds, 3 or 4 meters high with a cross beam two meters wide.
Saint Helena enclosed the main part of the Cross in a silver reliquary and entrusted it to the care of St. Macarius. She and Constantine had a magnificent Basilica built over the Holy Sepulchre. A piece of the True Cross was put in a silver reliquary and placed in the new Basilica. She sent another piece of the True Cross to Rome and placed it in the new Basilica of the Holy Cross.
Title from the Cross
Pilate wrote the inscription for the Cross “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. The title therefore, many of the Jews did read: because the place where Jesus was crucified was near to the city and it was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.
The High Priests were extremely dissatisfied at the words of the sentence, which they said were not true; and they angrily surrounded the tribunal to persuade him to alter the inscription, and not to put “King of the Jews”, but “He said, I am the King of the Jews”. Pilate was annoyed, and answered impatiently, “What I have written, I have written!” [John 19:16-22]
The inscription mentioned by St John are the famous letters “INRI”, depicted above the crucified Jesus. The acronym which stands for the Latin “Jesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”, means “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”.
St. Helena divided the Title from the Cross into three pieces. She gave one piece to her son, Constantine, one piece was sent to the Holy Cross Basilica in Rome and the third piece was given to a Church in Jerusalem. In 455, the clergy hid the Title piece in the Holy Cross Basilica in Rome from enemies of the Catholic Church. It was forgotten and some workmen found it later in 1492.
The Veil of Veronica
Seraphia was the name of the brave woman who dared to confront the enraged multitude. She was the wife of Sirach, one of the Councillors belonging to the Temple. She was later known by the name of Veronica, which was given from the words ‘vera’ ‘icona’ [true portrait], to commemorate her brave conduct on the day of the Lord’s Crucifixion. She made her way through the mob, reached Jesus, fell on her knees before Him, and presented the veil, saying at the same time, “Permit me to wipe the face of my Lord.” Jesus took the veil in His left Hand, wiped His bleeding Face, and returned it with thanks. Seraphia kissed it, put it under her cloak, and returned to her house.
A friend who entered the room, found her kneeling, and to his astonishment, saw the bloody Countenance of our Lord imprinted upon the veil, a perfect likeness, although painful to look at. He roused Seraphia and pointed to the veil. She again knelt down before it, and exclaimed through her tears, “Now I shall indeed leave all with a happy heart, for my Lord has given me a remembrance of Himself”. Veronica kept this veil until her death, and hung it at the head of her bed. It was then given to the Blessed Virgin, who left it to the Apostles, and later, they passed it on to the Church.
Holy Blood
The Basilica of the Holy Blood [Basiliek Van Het Heilig Bloed] is a 12th century Chapel, in the medieval town of Bruges, Belgium, which houses a revered vial containing cloth stained with the actual Blood of Christ.
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is the Chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper before His death. It is said to have miraculous powers. Along with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela, the Vatican has designated Valencia as one of the World’s ‘Eight Holy Cities’ and as a ‘City of the Holy Grail’. Two Popes, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have held Mass in Valencia with the Chalice.
Holy Tunic
It is known as the Seamless Robe of Christ, The Holy Robe, Holy Coat of Trier. Saint Helena acquired the Holy Tunic on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier. The Cathedral of Trier is the oldest German Church, built under the order of Constantine, the Roman Emperor.
The Scourging Whip
The Scourging Whip was made of leather. The Roman Scourge, also called the “flagrum” or “flagellum” was a short whip made of two or three leather [ox-hide] thongs or ropes connected to a handle. The leather thongs were knotted with a number of small pieces of metal, usually zinc or iron or heavy indented pieces of bronze or bones.
Sometimes, the Roman Scourge contained a hook at the end and was given the name “Scorpion”.
Rope
The Rope was found in Cyprus by Saint Helena. It is held at the Stavrovouni Monastery founded by her.
The Sudarium of Ovieda
At the Cathedral of San Salvador in Spain rests a bloody cloth said to have been wrapped around the Head of Jesus after He died. It is a linen cloth measuring 84 x 53 centimeters with traces of Blood. There are traces of myrrh and aloe too.
The Relics of Aachen
Emperor Charlemagne collected several relics of Christ’s Passion, including many burial clothes donated to him in 799 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Relics were stored in Aachen, Germany in the local Cathedral of Saint Mary. The restoration made at the end of the past century, revealed that all of them originated in the Middle East during the age of the Roman Empire.
Scala Sancta [Holy Stairs]
According to Christian tradition, the Holy Stairs are the steps that led up to the Praetorium of Pilate in Jerusalem, where Christ stood on during His Passion on His way to trial. The stairs were brought to Rome by Saint Helena in the 4th century. It consists of 28 white marble steps, now encased by wooden steps. The stairs lead to the Sancta Sanctorum [Holy of Holies], the personal Chapel of the early Popes in the Lateran Palace, known as the Chapel of Saint Lawrence.
Saint Ambrose informs us that Amalric I, the Christian King of Jerusalem [1162-1174] wrote of the finds in the Holy Land. The relics included the most precious evidence of the Passion of our Lord.
They are the Signs of His Resurrection, which proclaims the Divinity of Christ and the Eternal Destiny of Man.