Why Were They Kissing a Relic?

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I got to mass a little early today and they were doing some prayers to Mary and Saint Anne.

Then at some point, they had a veneration of a relic.

People stood in line and kissed something. I couldn’t see what it was, but it was a relic of a Saint. I couldn’t quite hear which one.

Is this a common practice?
 
Not as common as it used to be, but my parish has relics of St Bernadette we venerate. Same way, line up to kiss the reliquary holding the relics.

Welcome to the dark side 🙂
 
Went to my first Good Friday mass this year and was surprised to see people lined up and kissing a wooden cross. I didn’t feel entirely comfortable about it so I didn’t go up. But I don’t think it’s that common b/c I attended Catholic Mass every Sunday as a kid and never saw anything like that before.
 
It is quite common in my parish.

Our parish has a novena to St. Jude every Thursday evening. St. Jude was Jesus’ cousin, an Apostle, and the patron of lost causes and hopeless situations. During the novena, the deacon will raise the relic encased in a small cross, and making the sign of the cross with it, will bless those present. We will then be invited to come forward to pray over the relic, asking God to answer our prayers and asking St. Jude to unite our prayers with his on our behalf. Many, including myself, will venerate the relic with a kiss and we usually have between 20 and 30 people present.

One a side note, the novena has a bennediction of the Blessed Sacrament so the evening is almost like a family reunion - St. Jude and his cousin Jesus - but only Jesus is really present of course. 🙂 To me this is one of the holiest things I have ever done, not so much because of the rituals but because so many people come to pray fervently out of a deep faith for God’s help in their worst times.

If you are interested, the text of the prayers from our novena can be downloaded from timhollingworth.webs.com/docs/catholic/novena.to.st.jude.doc

Veneration of relics is a contentious subject for many non-Catholics and can be a little unsettling for Catholics who are not familiar with the difference between Latria (adoration and worship) and Dulia (veneration and honor). The intercessoin of the saints is a poweful weapon however and I think Catholicism has gotten away from it a little.

-Tim-
 
Link0126 said:
Went to my first Good Friday mass this year and was surprised to see people lined up and kissing a wooden cross. I didn’t feel entirely comfortable about it so I didn’t go up. But I don’t think it’s that common b/c I attended Catholic Mass every Sunday as a kid and never saw anything like that before.
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  1. Mass is not said on Good Friday. St John’s passion is read. Communion is distributed that was consecrated on Holy Thursday and the cross is venerated. This practice is usually reserved for Good Friday so that is why you haven’t seen on a Sunday.
 
Link0126 said:
Went to my first Good Friday mass this year and was surprised to see people lined up and kissing a wooden cross. I didn’t feel entirely comfortable about it so I didn’t go up. But I don’t think it’s that common b/c I attended Catholic Mass every Sunday as a kid and never saw anything like that before.
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I experienced that for the first time this past good Friday. I decided to go ahead and do it although I had never kissed or cross or statue.

It was actually a beautiful experience to watch all those people line up in two columns and solemnly kiss the two crosses.

We genuflected as the persons in front of us kissed the cross and then it was our turns.

I thought it was awesome although my mom would have a heart attack if she saw me venerating a cross.
 
At_Trent said:
Not as common as it used to be, but my parish has relics of St Bernadette we venerate. Same way, line up to kiss the reliquary holding the relics.

Welcome to the dark side 🙂
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Ha ha.

I am a dark, gothic type of person anyway. 🙂
 
TimothyH said:
It is quite common in my parish.

If you are interested, the text of the prayers from our novena can be downloaded from timhollingworth.webs.com/docs/catholic/novena.to.st.jude.doc
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That is a beautiful novena.
Veneration of relics is a contentious subject for many non-Catholics and can be a little unsettling for Catholics who are not familiar with the difference between Latria (adoration and worship) and Dulia (veneration and honor). The intercessoin of the saints is a poweful weapon however and I think Catholicism has gotten away from it a little.
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Well this sort of unsettled me. I noticed two ladies after mass waiting for the priest.
They had two stacks of sheets in their hands and they asked the priest to bless them. He did. Then as they walked out of the church they handed those sheets out.

When I looked at them they had a picture of Jesus and one of Mary side by side.

Underneath were printed “Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart” and “Family Consecration to the Imaculate Heart of Mary.”

I am not ready for all that.

-Tim-
 
TrueLight said:
Not at all.

More like a Faith and the Muse fan (In Dreams of mine). But we digress…
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I’m not either really, just a couple of their songs.

I’ll have to look for Faith and the Muse on youtube. Not familiar with them.
 
TrueLight said:
Well this sort of unsettled me. I noticed two ladies after mass waiting for the priest.
They had two stacks of sheets in their hands and they asked the priest to bless them. He did. Then as they walked out of the church they handed those sheets out.

When I looked at them they had a picture of Jesus and one of Mary side by side.

Underneath were printed “Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart” and “Family Consecration to the Imaculate Heart of Mary.”

I am not ready for all that.
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What in particular unsettled you? Just that you’re not ready for it? You don’t have to be. Your faith will be a growing experience. And not every devotion is for everybody. So no need to freak out about anything. =)
 
TrueLight said:
That is a beautiful novena.
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It was taken from the novena service at the National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago. With the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, singing of the Tantem Ergo and O Salutaris in Latin and Holy God We Priase Thy Name, it is truly a sublime and holy experience.
TrueLight said:
Well this sort of unsettled me. I noticed two ladies after mass waiting for the priest.

They had two stacks of sheets in their hands and they asked the priest to bless them. He did. Then as they walked out of the church they handed those sheets out.

When I looked at them they had a picture of Jesus and one of Mary side by side.

Underneath were printed “Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart” and “Family Consecration to the Imaculate Heart of Mary.”

I am not ready for all that.
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May I ask what unsettles you? The blessing and subsequent handing out of the blessed items? Or is it consecration?

Consecration is simply an “act by which a thing is separated from a common and profane to a sacred use, or by which a person or thing is dedicated to the service and worship of God.” A good basic explanation of “Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” is in the first couple of paragrahps at rosary-center.org/consecrt.htm

I sometimes consecrate individual days to Mary, promising to pray to and with her and giving up any right to any merit I may have earned through the practice of virtue to Her, for her to distribute to others as she sees fit and according to Gods will (although I do confess to strongly hinting at those who I think could use what little I have to offer). I’ve consecrated a small sofa table in my home to holding nothing but holy books… the Bible, Christian Prayer and such.

Nothing to be afraid of. 😉

Our faith is so rich. There is just so much to take in. It is like a buffet that you know you will never get to taste it all.

-Tim-
 
Link0126 said:
Went to my first Good Friday mass this year and was surprised to see people lined up and kissing a wooden cross. I didn’t feel entirely comfortable about it so I didn’t go up. But I don’t think it’s that common b/c I attended Catholic Mass every Sunday as a kid and never saw anything like that before.
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Its very common among Eastern Christians (Catholic and Orthodox) as there are icons on a table in front called the Tetrapod and people would come up and reverence the icons by kissing them. Usually the icons are that of Christ and the Theotokos. There would also be icons of Feasts as well as saints.

I’ve seen people kiss the chalice after receiving Communion as well (in the Byzantine Rite). In the Assyrian Church of the East, people would receive Communion CITH and then kiss the hand of the priest. In the Byzantine Rite you would also kiss the hand of the priest and bishop after you ask for a blessing.

Yes, we Catholics love kissing as a sign of reverence!
 
jja619 said:
What in particular unsettled you? Just that you’re not ready for it? You don’t have to be. Your faith will be a growing experience. And not every devotion is for everybody. So no need to freak out about anything. =)
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It seemed almost cultish to me.

Couple that with the earlier relic kissing…
 
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