1st class relics gross me out

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LennyFL

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A friend was telling me that her church has skin and the blood of St. Therese. This really irks me. I love the Church and it’s teachings but this is a new concept for me. I use to be a Jehovah’s Witness and we had nothing to do with blood. Keeping the blood of a saint or even the skin just chills me. And I thought that the body was suppose to be burried. I need help understanding this concept. How can pieces of a human being have any special powers. Couldn’t someone just have a special madalian or just think about the Saint for the Saints intercession? Why would the Saint’s soul want to stick around a piece of her skin? Is there any scriptural basis at all for this? Now I could understand keeping pieces of Saints clothing to remeber them, like I have my grandmothers clothing and things she owns to remeber her, but I would never want to keep a piece of her skin or a toe nail or her blood.
 
LennyFL said:
A friend was telling me that her church has skin and the blood of St. Therese. This really irks me. I love the Church and it’s teachings but this is a new concept for me. I use to be a Jehovah’s Witness and we had nothing to do with blood. Keeping the blood of a saint or even the skin just chills me. And I thought that the body was suppose to be burried. I need help understanding this concept. How can pieces of a human being have any special powers. Couldn’t someone just have a special madalian or just think about the Saint for the Saints intercession? Why would the Saint’s soul want to stick around a piece of her skin? Is there any scriptural basis at all for this? Now I could understand keeping pieces of Saints clothing to remeber them, like I have my grandmothers clothing and things she owns to remeber her, but I would never want to keep a piece of her skin or a toe nail or her blood.
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I can understand it is pretty creepy at first but it is not required for faith. In the Old Testament a dead man fell into Elisha’s grave he came back to life by touching his bones 2 Kings 13:21. It is because the body in a way is made holy and has the power of God in it. God can choose to work through anything and one thing he works through is body part living and deceased. First class relic are meant to be kept in a Church.
 
  1. You don’t have to venerate relics (of any class) or have any or view any as a Catholic. So, if it freaks you out, avoid them.
  2. Not everything has to have a specific scriptural basis to be a valid and worthy practice. This is the error of sola scirptura which itself has no scriptural basis.
  3. That being said, the practice of relics does have a scriptural basis. The bones of the prophet Elisha bring a dead man back to life in 2 Kings 13, a woman is cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe in Matthew 9, the sick are cured when the shadow of Peter passes over them in Acts 5, and handkerchiefs that were touched to Paul’s body both heal the sick and drive out demons in Acts 19.
  4. Remember Catholicism is an incarnational religion - we worship the God who became flesh, i.e. took on matter. Gnosticism (which is present in much Protestant thinking) says that matter is evil and spirit is good. Many today at least believe that matter is indifferent to spiritual things. This isn’t a Christian worldview. God created matter (cf. Gen 1), God loves matter. God uses matter to convey spiritual grace. The prime example of this is the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, but other “sacramentals” including relics are based on the same reality.
  5. Lastly, remember - a relic (or any sacramental) has no power of its own - that is magic and superstition and is clearly taught against by scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God chooses to work miracles through matter, including through the relics of the saints, but the relics themselves can do nothing apart from the will of God. They merely are the instruments through which God freely chooses to convey His grace.
God bless and Welcome Home to the Catholic Faith!! 👍
 
The soul of the saint does not hover over the piece of flesh nor does it have special powers. Perhaps in order to better understand relics you should investigate the history of the Early Church and its relations to catacombs and martyria.
 
PietroPaolo said:
  1. You don’t have to venerate relics (of any class) or have any or view any as a Catholic. So, if it freaks you out, avoid them.
  2. Not everything has to have a specific scriptural basis to be a valid and worthy practice. This is the error of sola scirptura which itself has no scriptural basis.
  3. That being said, the practice of relics does have a scriptural basis. The bones of the prophet Elisha bring a dead man back to life in 2 Kings 13, a woman is cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe in Matthew 9, the sick are cured when the shadow of Peter passes over them in Acts 5, and handkerchiefs that were touched to Paul’s body both heal the sick and drive out demons in Acts 19.
  4. Remember Catholicism is an incarnational religion - we worship the God who became flesh, i.e. took on matter. Gnosticism (which is present in much Protestant thinking) says that matter is evil and spirit is good. Many today at least believe that matter is indifferent to spiritual things. This isn’t a Christian worldview. God created matter (cf. Gen 1), God loves matter. God uses matter to convey spiritual grace. The prime example of this is the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, but other “sacramentals” including relics are based on the same reality.
  5. Lastly, remember - a relic (or any sacramental) has no power of its own - that is magic and superstition and is clearly taught against by scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God chooses to work miracles through matter, including through the relics of the saints, but the relics themselves can do nothing apart from the will of God. They merely are the instruments through which God freely chooses to convey His grace.
God bless and Welcome Home to the Catholic Faith!! 👍
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Well put. 👍 That’s what I was going to say. And since you already said it, I can now pretend that I would have said it just as well. 😛 (But probably not .:o)
 
PietroPaolo said:
  1. You don’t have to venerate relics (of any class) or have any or view any as a Catholic. So, if it freaks you out, avoid them.
  2. Not everything has to have a specific scriptural basis to be a valid and worthy practice. This is the error of sola scirptura which itself has no scriptural basis.
  3. That being said, the practice of relics does have a scriptural basis. The bones of the prophet Elisha bring a dead man back to life in 2 Kings 13, a woman is cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe in Matthew 9, the sick are cured when the shadow of Peter passes over them in Acts 5, and handkerchiefs that were touched to Paul’s body both heal the sick and drive out demons in Acts 19.
  4. Remember Catholicism is an incarnational religion - we worship the God who became flesh, i.e. took on matter. Gnosticism (which is present in much Protestant thinking) says that matter is evil and spirit is good. Many today at least believe that matter is indifferent to spiritual things. This isn’t a Christian worldview. God created matter (cf. Gen 1), God loves matter. God uses matter to convey spiritual grace. The prime example of this is the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, but other “sacramentals” including relics are based on the same reality.
  5. Lastly, remember - a relic (or any sacramental) has no power of its own - that is magic and superstition and is clearly taught against by scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God chooses to work miracles through matter, including through the relics of the saints, but the relics themselves can do nothing apart from the will of God. They merely are the instruments through which God freely chooses to convey His grace.
God bless and Welcome Home to the Catholic Faith!! 👍
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Oh thank you, this puts in a better perspective. I probably will avoid 1st class relics still but I am happy understanding it. My disgust for it is a lot lower now but I still do not believe that this would be a good way for me to get closer to God. Especially the blood part. Being a Jehovah’s Witness for 3 years pretty much turned me off of blood being used for anything outside of the body. I really appreciate the new knowledge and it will alow me to defend the Church if this ever comes up in conversation. God bless you all!
 
LennyFL said:
…I still do not believe that this would be a good way for me to get closer to God.
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Ahh… but it is a relic that you only heard about that caused you to post your question and now you have a better understanding - and so do many other people. Great post!
 
A really interesting discussion on the origin of relics, tombs, and their use in early Christianity can be found in Peter Brown’s The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity.

Pertaining to this topic, contrary to what Protestants think where honoring dead martyrs’ tombs and relics is not a pagan invention into the Christian world, but rather a practice wholly new and downright disgusting and counter-cultural to the general pagan Empire.
 
PietroPaolo said:
  1. You don’t have to venerate relics (of any class) or have any or view any as a Catholic. So, if it freaks you out, avoid them.
  2. Not everything has to have a specific scriptural basis to be a valid and worthy practice. This is the error of sola scirptura which itself has no scriptural basis.
  3. That being said, the practice of relics does have a scriptural basis. The bones of the prophet Elisha bring a dead man back to life in 2 Kings 13, a woman is cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe in Matthew 9, the sick are cured when the shadow of Peter passes over them in Acts 5, and handkerchiefs that were touched to Paul’s body both heal the sick and drive out demons in Acts 19.
  4. Remember Catholicism is an incarnational religion - we worship the God who became flesh, i.e. took on matter. Gnosticism (which is present in much Protestant thinking) says that matter is evil and spirit is good. Many today at least believe that matter is indifferent to spiritual things. This isn’t a Christian worldview. God created matter (cf. Gen 1), God loves matter. God uses matter to convey spiritual grace. The prime example of this is the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, but other “sacramentals” including relics are based on the same reality.
  5. Lastly, remember - a relic (or any sacramental) has no power of its own - that is magic and superstition and is clearly taught against by scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God chooses to work miracles through matter, including through the relics of the saints, but the relics themselves can do nothing apart from the will of God. They merely are the instruments through which God freely chooses to convey His grace.
God bless and Welcome Home to the Catholic Faith!! 👍
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Off the subject somewhat. My grandmother’s baby sister died in 1886 when she was 18 months old. I have in my possession a treasured family heirloom - a tatted ring of her hair. I never thought of it in this way before but it is a first class relic and it seems strange to me how much I love it.
 
LennyFL said:
Umm. This was necessary (;
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Sorry if you are offended, I was just trying to lighten the mood 🙂

Actually, kissing reliquaries that contain relics is a practice that can still be found in some parishes today. On Saturdays a local parish allows the veneration of the relics of St Bernadette in this manner after noon Mass. Most approach the reliquary that is held by the priest and kiss it. The priest then wipes it with a cloth and the next person approaches. Not everyone kisses it. Some simply bow, some touch it with their hand/fingers, some may touch a Holy Card with an image of St Bernadette to it.

Some leave after Mass and don’t stay to venerate the relics. That’s ok, no one takes issue with that.
 
PietroPaolo said:
  1. You don’t have to venerate relics (of any class) or have any or view any as a Catholic. So, if it freaks you out, avoid them.
  2. Not everything has to have a specific scriptural basis to be a valid and worthy practice. This is the error of sola scirptura which itself has no scriptural basis.
  3. That being said, the practice of relics does have a scriptural basis. The bones of the prophet Elisha bring a dead man back to life in 2 Kings 13, a woman is cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe in Matthew 9, the sick are cured when the shadow of Peter passes over them in Acts 5, and handkerchiefs that were touched to Paul’s body both heal the sick and drive out demons in Acts 19.
  4. Remember Catholicism is an incarnational religion - we worship the God who became flesh, i.e. took on matter. Gnosticism (which is present in much Protestant thinking) says that matter is evil and spirit is good. Many today at least believe that matter is indifferent to spiritual things. This isn’t a Christian worldview. God created matter (cf. Gen 1), God loves matter. God uses matter to convey spiritual grace. The prime example of this is the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, but other “sacramentals” including relics are based on the same reality.
  5. Lastly, remember - a relic (or any sacramental) has no power of its own - that is magic and superstition and is clearly taught against by scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God chooses to work miracles through matter, including through the relics of the saints, but the relics themselves can do nothing apart from the will of God. They merely are the instruments through which God freely chooses to convey His grace.
God bless and Welcome Home to the Catholic Faith!!
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One of the best posts I’ve read so far
Thanks:thumbsup:
 
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