Category: Devotions

As I had stated before, relics play a central role in this Museum, and I want to continue this.  Over the years it has become more difficult to attain relics, and I attribute this largely to the misunderstanding and abuse of them.  They are bought and sold on websites like eBay, which is extremely scandalous.  Many good Catholics buy them attempting to “rescue” the relics – but this only exacerbates the issue because it creates and solidifies the demand.  Sellers take advantage of buyers who will do anything to “rescue” them.  And many of these relics are counterfeit to begin with anyway.  True relics are authenticated by Postulators and Bishops in charge of the distribution of them, and they cannot be sold.  They are given.  And they are not owned either. Those who posses relics are the stewards of them. Relics are meant for public veneration by the faithful.  They are meant to be exposed and venerated, not horded away for private devotion.  Therefore, Bishops now are cracking down on even sending relics out for legitimate use.  I encourage people to NOT buy them online, no matter your intentions.  Pray, and let it go.  That’s all you can do.   But in the mean-time.  I also encourage people to learn about relics.  They are an extraordinary gift to us.  They are a testament to the fact that our Saints aren’t just legend or myth.  They are true.  These were real people who truly lived on earth.  They ate, slept, suffered, had fun, smiled – they were human! 

You know, we don’t get grossed out or even question when a famous basketball player gives a fan their shoes or jersey, or when fans risk life and limb to catch a foul ball or hockey puck.  We don’t seem to be phased when a famous actor’s clothes are sold at auction for millions, or when fans fight over the pick tossed into he crowd by a famous singer.  It’s human nature to want some token or memento of someone who we look up to or admire.   We all have special sentimental attachments to things passed down to us from past generations in our families.  It’s natural to want this connection to the past, to stay close physically to our loved ones.  We visit graves for the same reason. Even in biblical times, the tombs of the kings were well known, and the bones of relatives were always buried close so that their memories wouldn’t perish with them. 

Relics are sacramentals, because they have their end goal in leading us to a greater faith.  They bring us closer to the Sacraments. It is by venerating relics, the Saints they represent, where we receive devotion and inspiration in our faith – to live heroic lives just as they did!  This is really what faith is all about – faith is the substance of things unseen as St. Paul teaches us.  And it doesn’t get more substantial than a physical part of the saint!