Bible Verses on Relics:

In Exodus 13:19 we read that Moses carried out the bones of Joseph whilst leaving Egypt "And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.”

In 2 Kings 13:20-21 “So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. As a man was being buried, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha; as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he came to life and stood on his feet.”

Again in 2 Kings Chapter 2 we read that the same Elisha asked for a double share of Elijah’s spirit before he departed and it was granted to him when he picked the mantle used by Elijah and used it. In verse 2 Kings 2:13-14 we read “He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.”

In the Gospel of Matthew 9:20-22 we read about a sick woman who believed that she would be healed by touching the fringe of the Jesus’s cloak “Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well."

In Acts 5: 14-15 we see that God performed great miracles of healing when the shadow of St. Peter fell on the sick “Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.“

Again Scripture bears witness to the extraordinary miracles that God performed through St. Paul in Acts 19: 11-12 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.”

Veneration of Relics of Saints

28 April 2019

"Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? "(1 Corinthians 3:16)

Relics are physical remains or things that were used or owned or can be directly associated with a particular saint. The word relic comes from the Latin word ‘relinquo’, meaning ‘I leave’, or ‘I abandon’. It means “a fragment” or “remnant of a thing that once was but now is no longer.”

Relics are categorised into three classes namely:

First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as incorrupt bodies, pieces of bone or flesh.

Second class relics are something that a saint personally owned, such as a book, rosary, or any item (or fragments of those items).

Third class relics are those items that a saint touched or that have been touched to a first class relic of a saint.

The Catholic Church follows a tradition of venerating the relics of Saints as another way of honouring holy lives and seeking their intercession in our needs. The origin of the tradition can be traced back to the Scriptures where we read about incidents of miracles and healings that came to be through the bodily touch, body remains or things used by holy people both during their life on earth and after their death. Such instances can be seen both in the Old and the New Testament of the Bible. However, it is important to note that the relic as such does not have any powers of its own. It is the grace of God that continues to exist and flow through the relic as it did when the saint was alive. Hence to consider this as a good luck charm or magical piece to be held for personal gains is a wrong perception of the tradition.

As taught in Para 828 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church “By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e. by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic virtues and lived in fidelity to God’s grace, the Church recognises the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors.” This Spirit of holiness that was in them when they were alive continues to reside in their relics too and God continues to perform miracles through them to draw attention to these holy lives so that the faithful may look upon them as “models and intercessors”.Accordingly, the relics are not meant for adoration or worship as such but only as a means of worshipping God by seeking the intercession of the Saints in our needs and imitating their holy lives.

This tradition also draws its roots from and in turn upholds several doctrines of the Catholic faith such as:

Temple of the Holy Spirit - The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Though the saints have died, their bodies continue to be instruments of the Holy Spirit through which miracles are performed to build faith.

Resurrection - In the day of the Resurrection our bodies will be united with our souls. The body and the soul are connected forever. Though the souls of these saints have departed, they are still connected to their bodies through which they continue to intercede for us. "We believe that the souls of all who die in Christ's grace...are the People of God beyond death. On the day of resurrection, death will be definitively conquered, when these souls will be reunited with their bodies" Paul VI, CPG 28

Everlasting life – Saints are individuals who lived a life pleasing to God and through their virtues and holiness have merited eternal life in heaven.

Intercession of Saints - Saints intercede for us in heaven because of their proximity and closeness to God.

Communion of Saints – The Church is the Body of Christ, bound by the Holy Spirit who lives in each member of the Church. "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27. The Church can then be said to be an assembly of saints both living and dead. The collective union of all its members also grants us the grace to partake in the collective good of its members. “We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is always attentive to our prayers.” Paul VI, CPG 30.

The identification and gathering of relics takes place when the Church recognises the holiness of the individual. Before the Beatification takes place, there is a formal rite whereby the relics are identified and transferred into a Church, chapel or oratory. This process is called ‘translation’. Only the Church has the juridical power to recognise the holiness of an individual and through the beatification and canonisation process, the relics receive the canonical recognition as being ‘Sacred relics’. Relics are ideally kept in a Church or a chapel where they can be made available for public adoration. It is also a common practice to place relics within an altar where the Holy Mass is celebrated. This practice dates back to early years of the Church when the sepulchres of the martyrs were the most honoured altars for celebrating Holy Mass. It was also a common practice to build Churches over the tomb of Saints eg. The Basilica of St. Peter is built on the tomb of St. Peter.

Brief history:

The tradition of venerating relics of saints in the Catholic Church can be traced back to its very early days. The first documented evidence of this is a letter written by the faithful of the Church in Smyrna in the year AD 156 giving an account of the death of St. Polycarp, their Bishop who was burned at the stake. The letter reads, “We took up the bones, which are more valuable than precious stones and finer gold and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy and to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom.” It was a practice in the early Church to gather near the tombs and burial places of saints and martyrs to pray.

In 787, the Second Council of Nicaea decreed that all new churches were required to be mandatorily built with the relics of saints placed inside their altars. This law was strictly adhered to until the institution of the second edition of the Roman Missal following the Second Vatican Council on 06 April 1969 wherein the placement of relics in the altar was made non mandatory.

In the Middle Ages, the Council of Trent in 1563 strongly upheld the Church’ practice of invoking the prayers of saints and the veneration of their relics and burial places “The sacred bodies of the holy martyrs and of the other saints living with Christ, which have been living members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit, and which are destined to be raised and glorified by Him unto life eternal, should also be venerated by the faithful. Through them many benefits are granted to men by God.”

Though the practice of venerating relics grew, alongwith it abuses were also widely reported. In response to this, the Church took strict measures to ensure proper preservation and veneration of relics. The Code of Canon Law in Para 1190 strictly forbids the selling of sacred relics and they cannot be validly alienated or perpetually transferred without the permission of the Holy See. Also, any relic today should have proper documentation attesting to its authenticity.
The Code also defines the proper place for relics in Para 1237 “the ancient tradition of keeping the relics of martyrs and other saints under the fixed altar is to be preserved according to the norms given in the liturgical books.”