Is there "power" in relics

[cheddarsox]

I don’t understand the place of relics in the practice of faith.

Are they used to remind the faithful of the saints who have gone before and to recall their example?

Do they have some type of inherent power or specialness in themselves?

Are they considered sacramentals or something more?

thanks,

cheddar

 

[Todd_Easton]

First class relics (bones) of the prophet Elisha brought a dead man back to life in 2 Kings 13:21.

Second class relics (handkerchiefs or aprons) of St. Paul healed the sick in Acts 19:12.

 

[Fox]

Jesus’ cloak is also a cloth relic, it healed the hemmoraging woman.

 

[Eden]

I’m posting a secular description of relics:

metmuseum.org/toah/hd/relc/hd_relc.htm

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

cheddarsox:

I don’t understand the place of relics in the practice of faith.

Are they used to remind the faithful of the saints who have gone before and to recall their example?

Yes

cheddarsox:

Do they have some type of inherent power or specialness in themselves?

No, any power they may seem to have is God’s power. They are those who are in the presence of God.

cheddarsox:

Are they considered sacramentals or something more?

They are Sacramentals.

 

[cheddarsox]

I recall growing up that churches have relics in their altars. Is this true of all Catholic churches or only some? Is that why the priest kisses the altar when he first approaches it?

Several years ago I was in a church on good Friday, and after the veneration of the cross they took out a relic of the True Cross that was visiting the church and allowed us to venerate it (in it’s reliquary of course)

Thanks for all the information,

cheddar

 

[deb1]

cheddarsox:

I recall growing up that churches have relics in their altars. Is this true of all Catholic churches or only some? Is that why the priest kisses the altar when he first approaches it?

Several years ago I was in a church on good Friday, and after the veneration of the cross they took out a relic of the True Cross that was visiting the church and allowed us to venerate it (in it’s reliquary of course)

Thanks for all the information,

cheddar

I am in RCIA, so I apologize if any information that I was given is wrong. I am just passing on what my teachers told me.

We did a tour of our church with my RCIA instructers. In our alter is embedded a relic of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. I asked if all churches had this and I was told no. That a church named after the archangel Michael, for example, wouldn’t have any relic of a angel. That churches have relics according to patron saint that they were named after.

 

[Todd_Easton]

cheddarsox:

I recall growing up that churches have relics in their altars. Is this true of all Catholic churches or only some? Is that why the priest kisses the altar when he first approaches it?

In Jimmy Akin’s booklet, Mass Appeal: The ABCs of Worship, it says that the priest kisses the altar “as a sign of reverence to God for the place where Jesus Christ will become present in the Eucharist.”

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

cheddarsox:

I recall growing up that churches have relics in their altars. Is this true of all Catholic churches or only some? Is that why the priest kisses the altar when he first approaches it?

Several years ago I was in a church on good Friday, and after the veneration of the cross they took out a relic of the True Cross that was visiting the church and allowed us to venerate it (in it’s reliquary of course)

Thanks for all the information,

cheddar

Most do. It is recomended in Canon Law that this practice be retained for fixed altars. Part of the problem is many main altars today are not “fixed immovable altars” as required by Canon Law.

I do not believe that the relic was required to be that of the saint that the church was named after.

Part of the reason why the Priests and Deacons venerate the altar is because it represents Christ’s Cross the place where Christ offered His Sacrifice in time and where Christ continues to offer His Sacrifice outside of time. Remember that the Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of the Cross.

 

[Scott_Waddell]

As I understand it, relics (or any sacramental) have no inherent powers, but are instruments of actual grace and encourage the proper disposition to receive said graces.