Relics are parts of the body of a canonized saint, or something that was in contact with that holy person who will one day be resurrected from the dead and join their soul which is already in Heaven with Jesus.
The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae, which means “remains”. Relics are holy objects that have been left behind by Jesus or the saints.
First class relics of saints are the body, or parts of the body, of that person. These relics can be their hair, blood, bones, or teeth.
An object that was used by a saint, coming in contact with their body while they were living, is a second class relic. These relics may include clothing, utensils, vessels, and books.
Any object that comes in contact with a first or second class relic is classified as a third class relic.
Relics from Jesus Christ also exist. These include fragments of the Cross, the Crown of Thorns, and the Shroud of Tourin.
The veneration of relics is a practice that started very early in Christianity and Sacred Scripture supports their use. The Bible contains several examples of God working through physical objects.
Catholic altars were once built over the buried remains of martyrs. Today, most altars in Catholic Churches have a stone built into them which contains a relic from a martyr or saint.
Catholics do not adore or worship these holy objects because they have no power of their own. Any work that comes from these sacramentals comes from God in response to their faith.
The remains of a person who is with God:
Keeping close to a body that will one day be raised up:
And so Elisha died and was buried.At that time of year, bands of Moabites used to raid the land. Once some people were burying a man, when suddenly they saw such a raiding band. So they cast the man into the grave of Elisha, and everyone went off. But when the man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and got to his feet.
2 Kings 13: 20-21
Holy reminders of good men and women:
What Jesus and the saints have left behind:
Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church’s sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, etc.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1674
Our faith is not only spiritual but also material:
Miracles result from the holiness of saints:
God works miracles through his saints:
This occasion has been offered to us for the common veneration of the relics of Sts. Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, two Fathers of the Eastern Church, two Holy Patriarchs of Constantinople, two Doctors of the Church who, with St Basil the Great, have always been honoured with a feast day in the Catholic Church. For us, each time that we “meet our Fathers… we are strengthened in faith and encouraged in hope”. And now, some of their relics – remains of those bodies that have followed in the footsteps of Christ, have suffered persecution for his Name and have lived as temples of the Holy Spirit – return to Constantinople..
Pope John Paul II, Letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, 27 November 2004
God uses created things to reveal his glory:
The world maligns and misunderstands this spiritually beneficial practice:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
History ends in Heaven:
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