Fr Ben Garren

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?”’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’

                                                            ~Mark 5:25-34

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Amid the Biblical accounts of the life of Jesus this woman’s story is begun and completed in these verses. From the earliest moments in Christian history, however, there was a constant longing to know more about the individuals we encounter in the Gospel narratives. To name the unnamed and imagine what occurred next in their lives. Of these attempts to fill in the gaps, to write holy fan fiction, the story attached to this woman’s life is perhaps the best known. Very quickly the early church gave her the name Veronica and wanted her to be included in the Passion Narrative, the story of Christ’s Crucifixion.

During Christ’s journey with the cross to Golgotha it is said he collapsed under the weight of it several times. Beaten and bloody, the wounds from the crown of thorns still fresh, his face would have been covered in blood. At one of these falls a woman, filled with compassion, placed aside custom and uncovered her hair and used her head scarf to wipe the face of Jesus. This woman was Veronica and her head cloth is the legend behind the Shroud of Turin, said to bear the likeness of Jesus’ face, an imprint of his features made with the blood of the passion. 

The Twelfth of July is the day that many Christians continue to remember this story. For me the critical message of placing the biblical account in relationship with the story of Veronica from the early church is understanding that Jesus connects with us in the midst of our experience of hardship and that we can connect with Jesus by providing care for those we encounter who are in the midst of suffering. That it can be as simple as reaching out to the hem of Jesus cloak or undoing our head cloth to wipe the tears and wounds of another. In these things we can find the connection of love God calls us to. 

Pax,
Ben