We Catholics honour and respect the relics of the saints. The word ‘relic’ comes from the Latin ‘reliquiae’ meaning ‘remains’. Relics remind us that the saints were not mere spiritual beings or figures from past history. They were real men and women like us. A first class relic is part of the body of a saint. A second class relic is something which belonged to a saint or which they used during life, such as clothing, a book or a crucifix. A third class relic is a piece of cloth or something that has merely touched the body of a saint. To have a piece or a part of a holy person or place has been part of the Church’s practice from the very beginning. The Christians honoured the bodies of the martyrs and celebrated Mass over their tombs. We see this reverence for the remains and possessions of holy people in Scripture: “And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul; so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them” (Acts 19:12). These objects had merely touched the body of St Paul, and yet God worked miracles through them.

Instruments of torture or martyrdom are also relics, for example the Crown of Thorns and the chains of St Peter, both of which you will find in Rome. Many churches have a relic of the True Cross on which Christ was crucified. And this shouldn’t surprise us because Christianity is an incarnational religion, where the Son of God didn’t merely appear to be human. He truly became man and took on human flesh. He saved us through His Precious Blood which was real human blood. The Seven Sacraments themselves are where physical things such as bread, wine, water and oil become a means of grace. So we respect and reverence material things.

It is a natural human instinct to want something of those we love or admire. A son or daughter will treasure a lock of hair, a ring or a watch of his late mother or father. Many people like to have things that belonged to their favourite footballer or singer or to have the autograph of someone famous. Similarly the Church allows us to have belongings of the saints, so that through them we can be in closer contact with Our Lord and the court of Heaven, so that we may desire to imitate them and long to be with them one day. The bodies of the saints in this life were Temples of the Holy Spirit, and it was in their bodies that they worked out their salvation. Their bodies shared in their holiness and in many cases in their martyrdom, and one day will share in their glory at the end of time. For hundreds of years people have made pilgrimages to the tombs of the saints because they desired to venerate their relics and also to ask for blessings, healings and even miracles.

It has to be mentioned that there were occasions in history where certain people used fake relics as a source of raising money. To guard against this historical abuse, the Church instituted certification of the relics to guarantee their authenticity.

It’s important to understand we do not worship the relics of the saints. We worship God alone. We give a relative veneration or honour to the relics of the saints. Neither do we pray to the relics, because they can neither see nor hear us. But we can pray before a relic, asking the saint whose relic it is to intercede for us or to obtain some favour for us from God, or ask their help to practice a virtue that he or she practised.

We are fortunate to have relics of the saints in our church. The altars in St Mary’s contain the relics of saints, including martyrs, and there is something very fitting about this. Upon the altar, Christ makes present His one Sacrifice, and inside the altar are the relics of those who gave their lives in imitation of that one Sacrifice. And we believe in the resurrection of the body. Though their bodies now lie in tombs or are preserved as relics, one day they will be raised and glorified. Their relics, therefore, point us to Christ, and the hope of our resurrection to bodily glory at the end of time.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC