Nativity Relics Displayed

[HagiaSophia]

I wondered if anyone here had the oportunity to see these?

LA CROSSE, Wis. – A rare public display of relics of the first Christmas will be held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse on December 18 and 19, 2004. This is the only American venue at which the relics will be shown.

The relics include a piece of Christ’s manger, as well as snippets of clothing from his mother Mary, and Joseph, her husband. Also on display are tiny bone fragments of the three Magi – who are buried in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany.

“It’s a nativity scene with artifacts from the actual Christmas story,” said Andrew Walther, Vice President of the Apostolate for Holy Relics (AHR), who brought the relics on display from the AHR’s collection in Los Angeles.

catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=1254

 

[serendipity]

That’s amazing! What did Wisconsin do o deseve that honor? I would think a one-and only showing would be in a more well known city, like Illinois, New York, Washington DC, LA…

The catherdral in Cologne is absolutely enthralling.There was a great documentary ont he three Wise Men two years ago, but I can’t remember if it was the dicovery channel or A&E. I wish I could recall the title and purchase a copy.

 

[Pinklady]

And I’ll bet they charge admission.

Do you know that there enough relics of “The True Cross” to make a redwood forest?

 

[serendipity]

Yeah, I don’t get how clothing lasted all this time either, but I like the idea. Right, everything is possible through God and I should not sound so cynical.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

I have no problems with relics of relatively recent saints (Saint Therese for example, even those from long ago like Saint Francis, when the Church had already established a tradition of relics), but I have trouble (I don’t deny it categorically) with the notion that anyone would have saved any part of Our Lord’s manger crib, or thought to have saved the Sacred Prepuce, which I heard was venerated at some cathedral in Europe. And most scholars believe that the upright part of the Cross was probably left there and used repeatedly, don’t they? I don’t think anyone would have thought to retain the crossbeam, though they might have.

 

[Irish_Melkite]

JKirkLVNV:

I have trouble (I don’t deny it categorically) with the notion that anyone would have saved any part of Our Lord’s manger crib, or thought to have saved the Sacred Prepuce, which I heard was venerated at some cathedral in Europe.

 

[Irish_Melkite]

serendipity:

.There was a great documentary ont he three Wise Men two years ago, but I can’t remember if it was the dicovery channel or A&E. I wish I could recall the title and purchase a copy.

Serendipity,

It was just repeated. I believe it was on Discovery. Check their website.

Many years,

Neil

 

[MrS]

Pinklady:

And I’ll bet they charge admission.

Do you know that there enough relics of “The True Cross” to make a redwood forest?

So you bought into that silly story too, huh… Usually I will ask one who says this if they know of any? And they don’t.

 

[Brendan]

JKirkLVNV:

I And most scholars believe that the upright part of the Cross was probably left there and used repeatedly, don’t they? I don’t think anyone would have thought to retain the crossbeam, though they might have.

The crossbeam was discovered in a dry well on Calvary by the Helena, the Mother of Constantine.

It is more that reasonable that this cross beam, among all the others be hurridly dumped nearby. Remember what happend at the moment of Christ’s death?

Shortly after the Cruxification, the Romans build a temple on Gogatha, in good part to prevent Christians from coming there.

Constantine ordered destroyed, along with others build over Christian holy sites (such as the site of the manger in Bethlehem) and send the Empress Dowager to supervise.

The wood of 3 crosses were discovered in the well, The question arose, ‘Which one is True’. A woman, sick with hemoraging was found and asked to touch each cross. Upon touching the 3rd cross, she was cured.

The titulus was also found in that well and now resides in a Church in Rome.

Pieces were sent to Rome, Constantinople and Antioch. A large piece still remains in the Church

At Trent, the Council requried that all pieces of the True Cross be traced to the piece currently in Rome, and henceforth all of these relics would be sealed in their reliquary with the seal of an ArchBishop. If the seal should be in danger of breakage, the seal should be reset by an ArchBishop and the documentation be made.

Only such documented relics of the True Cross are permitted for public veneration.

 

[serendipity]

Thanks for the discovery channel info! I will check it out.

As for paying admission, I suppose it will have to be a “suggested donation.”

Regardless of the veracity, I still like the idea and would love to be there. I hope people whom can visit will and let us know about it.

I have always wanted to have a peak inside Rome’s vault. Although I don’t like the ideas of bones making the rounds so much, and I am sure there are a few in there. I think it is disrespectful fo the dead to send their body parts on tour, but maybe this apprehension is only a modern biased.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Brendan:

The crossbeam was discovered in a dry well on Calvary by the Helena, the Mother of Constantine.

It is more that reasonable that this cross beam, among all the others be hurridly dumped nearby. Remember what happend at the moment of Christ’s death?

Shortly after the Cruxification, the Romans build a temple on Gogatha, in good part to prevent Christians from coming there.

Constantine ordered destroyed, along with others build over Christian holy sites (such as the site of the manger in Bethlehem) and send the Empress Dowager to supervise.

The wood of 3 crosses were discovered in the well, The question arose, ‘Which one is True’. A woman, sick with hemoraging was found and asked to touch each cross. Upon touching the 3rd cross, she was cured.

The titulus was also found in that well and now resides in a Church in Rome.

Pieces were sent to Rome, Constantinople and Antioch. A large piece still remains in the Church

At Trent, the Council requried that all pieces of the True Cross be traced to the piece currently in Rome, and henceforth all of these relics would be sealed in their reliquary with the seal of an ArchBishop. If the seal should be in danger of breakage, the seal should be reset by an ArchBishop and the documentation be made.

Only such documented relics of the True Cross are permitted for public veneration.

Thanks for the info., Brendan! I recently watched a program on the History Channel that said that with new findings relating to the location of the walls of old Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sep. might well be the actual location of both Golgotha and the Tomb.

 

[Paul_W]

MrS:

Do you know that there enough relics of “The True Cross” to make a redwood forest?

So you bought into that silly story too, huh… Usually I will ask one who says this if they know of any? And they don’t.

If they don’t know of a relic of the true cross, they haven’t looked very hard.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has one; Archbishop Bevilaqua often took it on his visits to school children.

A quick GOOGLE search revealed several:

ichrusa.com/saintsalive/ghent.htm

frtommylane.com/homilies/pilgrimage/santo_toribio.htm

chapelpoint.org/relic.html

metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusb/ho_17.190.715ab.htm

. . . and this is just on the first two of 895 pages!

The story is told that after St. Helena discovered the true cross in Jerusalem, it was, as you’d expect, highly venerated. On a subsequent Turkish invasion, the cross was captured. When the Christians recovered it, it was decided that it would be safer if broken into smaller pieces.