Exploring Relics by Carson

Hi! Recently, I got the chance to go to a traveling exhibit (issued by the Vatican) that happened to come to a Catholic church in Springfield.The presentation was all about relics, what they are, and what they aren't. 

They had many relics lined up in the gym that we could look at, touch, and learn about different saints they belonged to. Today, I'm going to share a little bit of what I learned at the presentation. I know that this can be kind of a touchy topic to discuss, so I'll do my best. 

First, what is a relic? Here is a little definition I found on the Treasures of the Church website: "Relics are physical objects that have a direct association with the saints or with Our Lord. They are usually broken down into three classes. First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as pieces of bone or flesh. Second class relics are something that a saint personally owned, such as a shirt or book (or fragments of those items). Third class relics are those items that a saint touched or that have been touched to a first, second, or another third class relic of a saint." This is the basic definition and division of relics.

Now, what aren't relics? Relics are NOT magic! It is through the grace of God alone that miracles can happen through relics. To reword this, relics do not have any power on their own, only through God if he decides to make it so. Relics are not frauds, either. Each relic goes through intensive inspection, and is sealed in a container called a theca. If the theca shows any signs of being tampered with, the relic cannot be publicly displayed.

Now for the big question: Are relics biblical? The answer to this question is: Yes, very much so. Another short paragraph from Treasures of the Church: "Scripture teaches that God acts through relics, especially in terms of healing.  In fact, when surveying what Scripture has to say about sacred relics, one is left with the idea that healing is what relics 'do'.”  

• When the corpse of a man was touched to the bones of the prophet Elisha the man came back to life and rose to his feet (2 Kings 13:20-21).
• A woman was healed of her hemorrhage simply by touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak (Matthew 9:20-22).
• The signs and wonders worked by the Apostles were so great that people would line the streets with the sick so that when Peter walked by at least his shadow might ‘touch’ them (Acts 5:12-15).
• When handkerchiefs or aprons that had been touched to Paul were applied to the sick, the people were healed and evil spirits were driven out of them (Acts 19:11-12). 

So, through these scripture passages, we can see that the Bible definitely supports relics! That being said, relics can be abused by those who maybe don't understand them, and treat them as superstitious objects, which they are certainly not. 

The last thing I'm going to touch on is the objection some people make about using saints bones or hair or whatever instead of "respecting" them by keeping that item with the rest of the saint. 

Here's the explanation: First off, first class relics (bones, skin, hair) are super rare. Contrary to the thought that Catholics take apart saints to use their bones and skin as relics, this ain't right. Many of these saints that we have first class relics of were martyrs. This means (sadly) that most of them were brutally executed, and usually mutilated and/or quartered and such. The Church then did a good job by gathering the rest of what they could of the saint to be honored, rather than to be just thrown in the sewers like some others who were executed. 

Another quick fact: The early church - before there were churches to say Mass in, and when Christianity was illegal - always said Mass over the tombs of the martyrs. Weird as this may sound to some, it was to honor the sacrifice they made for the Church. Today, we do  the same, as a relic is placed in each Catholic church altar as a remembrance of the early Church martyrs.

So thus ends my blog post! I hope you learned something and hope that this blog post cleared up some possible misconceptions some people have about relics. By the way, it's definitely a event worth going to if anything like this comes your way, or if there are any reliquaries near you. It was really amazing for me to personally be able to see some objects of my favorite saints, such as part of the cloak of St. Joseph, or the veil of the Virgin Mary. God Bless! 

Relic of St. Patrick (patron saint of Ireland)

Us chillin with St. Philomena (patron saint of children)

St. Benedict (Ole' Benny) the patron saint of students 

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During the presentation, the priest told us about the amazing forgiveness that 11 year old Maria Goretti had for her murderer (she is the patron saint of purity, young women, and victims of assault)