Earthquake Felt in Marinduque; Turin Shroud Authentic

By coincidence, an earthquake rocked Metro Manila and environs on April 30th at 12:46 a.m., exactly 30 hours to the minute after I posted that CNN Newsbreak Video on a possible earthquake hitting Manila (but this isn't yet the big one, of course).

The said tremor was also felt in Marinduque and in the following places in the metro: Valenzuela, Sucat, Pasay, Ermita, Manila, Makati, Cainta, Lucban (Quezon), Daet, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur. Read Marinduque Quake History

Also by coincidence, it was interesting to watch the news last night that said "Pope all but endorses the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin".

As our community theater group, Teatro Balangaw, successfuly mounted "Ang Kristo: Pasyon-dula (Passion Play)" in Tagalog last Holy Week in Marinduque in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Provincial Government of Marinduque, I was naturally interested as a Catholic (albeit not devout), on the Life of Christ, and chanced upon a Youtube video, "Shroud - new evidence - BBC Special".

Dated Sept. 6, 2009, I also posted that video here on April 15, 2010, as my "Postscript to Easter". This blogger wrote and directed the said Passion Play with a cast and staff of 120.

Today's Christian Science Monitor website reported thus:

"Pope Benedict says Shroud of Turin authentic burial robe of Jesus. Dismissing skeptics on Sunday when he visited the Shroud of Turin, Pope Benedict XVI said the burial cloth was none other than the same robe that once 'wrapped the remains' of Jesus Christ."

Item by AP said: "During a visit to the Shroud in the northern Italian city of Turin, Benedict didn't raise the scientific questions that surround the linen and whether it might be a medieval forgery. Instead, he delivered a powerful meditation on the faith that holds that the Shroud is indeed Christ's burial cloth.

"This is a burial cloth that wrapped the remains of a crucified man in full correspondence with what the Gospels tell us of Jesus," Benedict said. He said the relic — one of the most important in Christianity — should be seen as a photographic document of the "darkest mystery of faith" — that of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

"The 14-foot-long, 3.5-foot-wide (4.3-meter-long, 1 meter-wide) cloth has gone on public display for the first time since the 2000 Millennium celebrations and a subsequent 2002 restoration. Kept in a bulletproof, climate-controlled case in Turin's cathedral, it has drawn nearly 2 million reservations from pilgrims and tourists eager to spend three to five minutes viewing it.

"The Shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping from his hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen's fibers at the time of his resurrection."

I love coincidences...for

"Nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. Therefore take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him shall more be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him." - Jesus (Luke 8:17,18)