Are Saints Relics Morbid?
The reliquary and skull of Saint Ivo of Kermartin (St. Yves or St. Ives) (1253–1303), in Tréguier, Brittany, France. (Photo: Wikipedia)
By Father Kenneth Doyle –
Question: I am a Catholic convert and support all the dogmas of the church. But there is one practice that I must admit gives me pause – the use of relics, preserving the body parts of deceased saints. I could see honouring robes or rings, but teeth or fingers seems a bit too much, bordering on the macabre. We never covered this in our RCIA program, and I’m hoping that you can explain.
Answer: The veneration of the relics of saintly individuals has a long history – dating back to pre-Christian times. The bones of the Old Testament prophet Elisha once brought a dead man to life (2 Kgs 13:20-21).
Then, when St. Polycarp was martyred in the middle of the second century, a contemporary account stated: “We took up his bones, which are more valuable than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together as we are able, in gladness and joy, and to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom.”
In venerating relics, the church is not ascribing to them any magical powers, although they may sometimes serve as occasions of God’s miracles. More often, they simply dispose those who view them to strive to live the virtues of that particular saint.
Perhaps St. Jerome, who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, gave the clearest explanation of relics when he wrote in “Ad Riparium”: “We do not worship (relics), we do not adore (them), for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator. But we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order to better adore him whose martyrs they are.”
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