Relic of true Cross

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I’m not sure if this is the right forum to post this but does anyone know how to tell if one posseses a relic of the true cross. An elderly women passed away and her Catholic belonging where given away at our church. There was a relic there that I grabbed and I looked it up on line and it seems to be a relic of the true cross. There is a wax seal inside the reliquery. Any Info would help. Thanks
 
How could anyone know if a particular piece of wood was from the true cross?
 
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richiejm3:
I’m not sure if this is the right forum to post this but does anyone know how to tell if one possesses a relic of the true cross. An elderly women passed away and her Catholic belonging where given away at our church. There was a relic there that I grabbed and I looked it up on line and it seems to be a relic of the true cross. There is a wax seal inside the reliquary. Any Info would help. Thanks
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I have a relic of the true cross, I received it from my father several years ago, he received it as a gift from his parish Priest. Here are some pictures of a similar cross. I wear mine nearly every day and feel very blessed to have a piece of the true cross in my home.
Peace,
David

rosaryworkshop.com/ROME-Pilgrimage-Crx.html

http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PHOTO-Rome-Crx-smreliquary-a.jpg
http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PHOTO-Rome-Crx-smreliquary-b.jpg
http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PHOTO-Rome-Crx-smreliquary-c.jpg
 
David Puthoff:
I have a relic of the true cross, I received it from my father several years ago, he received it as a gift from his parish Priest. Here are some pictures of a similar cross. I wear mine nearly every day and feel very blessed to have a piece of the true cross in my home.
Peace,
David

rosaryworkshop.com/ROME-Pilgrimage-Crx.html

http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PHOTO-Rome-Crx-smreliquary-a.jpg
http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PHOTO-Rome-Crx-smreliquary-b.jpg
http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PHOTO-Rome-Crx-smreliquary-c.jpg
Click to expand...
How do you know this is from the true cross?
The reading I have done about all the pieces of the true cross would make up several real crosses.
Nobody can say they have a piece of the true cross without evidence. It not just a matter of faith. In the Middle Ages fake pieces of the cross and other relics were common place in Europe.
 
the basis for judging the authenticity of any ancient artifact is provenance. The person who possesses the artifact or makes claims about it must be able to trace it back through history, establishing its existence and origin, and account for its whereabouts throughout history. An example is the Shroud of Turin. The basis for much of the debate about its authenticity is provenance, which apparently cannot be attested earlier than the middle ages. So any conclusion one draws about the Shroud must rely at least partly on faith.

Since St. Helena discovered the True Cross some 300 years after the death of Christ its provenance for the first 3 centuries is in doubt, and the means she used to establish its authenticity (miracles) was a matter of faith. To determine if the relic you possess did indeed come from this Cross, you would have to provide provenance, trace it through history from this source.
 
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patrick456:
Actually, in 1870 a man named Rohault de Fleury calculated the existing relics of the cross and estimated the volume of the missing ones. he concluded that all the relics would not make 1/3 of the whole cross.

here’s a link:
newadvent.org/cathen/04529a.htm

this one can help too…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Cross
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I was talking about all the forgeries in total.
Like the other poster said you have to be able to trace your piece all the way back otherwise all you have is a piece of wood.
 
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thistle:
I was talking about all the forgeries in total.
Like the other poster said you have to be able to trace your piece all the way back otherwise all you have is a piece of wood.
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Are you an engineer? My brother in law is and we had this same discussion. He is. We discussed many things about a small sliver of wood, and if it were on the ground it would be mulch etc. but this one is in a reliquary and we came up to the same conclusion. Does it really matter if it is or isn’t a piece of the true cross, in my heart is what matters. If I believe the Church and the sliver of wood in the reliquary is a small piece of the true cross, and show additional devotion to the passion of Christ because of it, what has been lost? But if we go around doubting everything what has been gained?
Code: 
 Peace,
David
 
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thistle:
I was talking about all the forgeries in total.
Like the other poster said you have to be able to trace your piece all the way back otherwise all you have is a piece of wood.
Click to expand...
Are you an engineer? My brother in law is and we had this same discussion. We discussed many things about a small sliver of wood, and if it were on the ground it would be mulch etc. but this one is in a reliquary and given to my father by a preist who got it from the Catholic Church and we came up to the same conclusion. Does it really matter if it is or isn’t a piece of the true cross, in our heart is what matters. If I believe the Church and the sliver of wood in the reliquary is a small piece of the true cross, and show additional devotion to the passion of Christ because of it, what has been lost? But if we go around doubting everything what has been gained?
Code: 
 Peace,
David
 
David Puthoff:
Are you an engineer? My brother in law is and we had this same discussion. We discussed many things about a small sliver of wood, and if it were on the ground it would be mulch etc. but this one is in a reliquary and given to my father by a preist who got it from the Catholic Church and we came up to the same conclusion. Does it really matter if it is or isn’t a piece of the true cross, in our heart is what matters. If I believe the Church and the sliver of wood in the reliquary is a small piece of the true cross, and show additional devotion to the passion of Christ because of it, what has been lost? But if we go around doubting everything what has been gained?
Code: 
 Peace,
David
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The original poster gives no history and the history of yours is very little. You cannot say that because a priest gave it to your father that means the Church says it is a true relic. The Church would say so if it can trace it right back to St Helena. What is the history of your wood? Do you have something from the Church documenting its history or a statement from the Church saying it is genuine.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying it is not a relic. I tend to believe in the bones of St Peter and the Shroud.
It just appears you are accepting it at face value.
I hope yours is genuine.
Whether it is a piece of the true cross or not at least the age of the wood could be dated by carbon dating. If its around 2000 years old you would be more inclined to believe it is true.
By the way I’m not an engineer but have no clue how that is relevant to the discussion.
 
a piece of wood as small as the sample pictured would probably be destroyed by carbon dating or some other tests. in any case the circumstances that led to the True Cross being broken into bits–I am guessing it had something to do with the Moslem takeover of the eastern empire and destruction of Christian holy places and artifacts–would itself destroy the provenance of the Cross itself and any particles of it. There is probably plenty of wood, or other materials, floating around that can be dated to 2000 years ago, but even proof of that would not be proof that an individual piece is indeed a relic of the True Cross. My suggestion would be to honor the relic on the chance that it may be authentic, and base your faith on the sacrfice Jesus made on the Cross, not upon any material object.
 
Puzzleannie said:
base your faith on the sacrfice Jesus made on the Cross, not upon any material object.
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I think that it was St. Augustine who observed that there were so many fragments of the True Cross in the world that there was enough to build a quite substantial Basilica!
 
Are there as many true cross pieces around as there are true crucifixion of Jesus nails?

In Medieval France alone there were well over a dozen “true” nails honored in the churches.
 
I seem to remember that Mark Twain had a lot to say about relics in one of his travel books, and he, I think, said something similar about the number of relics of the true cross, etc. Not a particularly reliable source, considering he was a nihilist. The Vatican website may have something about how to interpret any seals, etc. on the relic, and if they prove it is genuine. Also, there is an organization which purports to be dedicated to preserving relics and protecting people from forgeries, and they have some information on how to determine if a relic is genuine. Try Googling to find it.

Congratulations, and cherish it!
 
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