Chapter 6
Wednesday, March 24, 8:30 p.m. Passion Ministry
John lay on his bed, relieved that the previous day’s welcome was over and that he was alone.
He caressed the cool metal of an ancient locket, awed by this physical link to his Constantinople vision.
His mind wandered back to his sixteenth birthday. His old man was dying of brain cancer. Though shocked at how small his father looked in the hospital bed, John had ignored the machines and focused on money. In those days, he consumed more than oxygen.
When the old man offered him the locket, John had said, “Could really use cash, Dad.”
That was when Louie Jacobs found the strength to slap him.
“Why’d you do that?”
“Your stupidity,” his father replied, breathing hard. “Listen...this’s serious. Got it?”
John massaged his jaw.
“It’s from France. In the family for generations. Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Sure is.”
“No one, not even your mother must know of this. Ever. Swear to it.”
Eyes wide, John did.
Louie sucked air. “This’s been passed from father to son for centuries. It’s my sacred responsibility to give it to you.” John nodded. “You’re a little young but well, we both know where I’m headed, Johnny.”
Louie slipped the locket into John’s palm.
Shocked by its weight, John held it to the light and could just make out a single word in the ornate scroll: Sindon. “I’ll keep it with me always,” he whispered.
“Don’t understand, boy.” The words slipped out like a sigh. “Not a gift. Burden...open.”
Puzzled, John pried the silver halves open. Inside one lay a small rectangle. “It’s …wax?”
“Our destiny,” Louis wheezed. “Since 1204 AD, males of our family have safeguarded this divine relic.”
“Divine relic?”
“Inside, the...the Sindon of Turin.” He grimaced. “Protect…with your life.”
Now, years later, John stared inside the empty locket. He thought of Jimmy and shuddered, overwhelmed by how much had changed since the Sindon fragment had become his responsibility.
His father’s last whisper echoed in his mind. “And may God have mercy on your soul if you’re the one to use it.”
