I have nothing against individual Catholics but I have come to learn there is much about Catholicism I was never even taught. It was an open secret.
Whenever one visits a Roman Catholic Church for a wedding, funeral, or what not, one can ask the priest which relics are contained in the altar. And, if one wants to really appear in the know, one can ask if it's a first-class, second-class, or third-class relic.
What's a relic? Relics are sometimes pieces of clothing, but, in many cases, are the actual body parts of the "saints."
Just what are relics and what meaning do they have for disciples of Jesus Christ?
The word relic comes from the Latin relinquo, literally meaning I leave, or I abandon. A relic is a piece of the body of a saint, an item owned or used by the saint, or an object which has been touched to the tomb of a saint. Traditionally, a piece of the body of a saint, especially that of a martyr, may be with the permission of the local ecclesiastical authority used in solemn processions recalling the specific holy person.
It may seem strange that Christianity, which so adheres to the belief in the resurrected body after the final judgment, should attach veneration to body parts of the faithful departed. But as Dom Bernardo Cignitti, O.S.B., once wrote, In a religion as spiritually centered as Christianity, the remains of certain dead are surrounded with special care and veneration. This is because the mortal remains of the deceased are associated in some manner with the holiness of their souls which await reunion with their bodies in the resurrection.
There's actually Roman Catholic churches which not only supposedly contain the finger of St. Joachim or some other saint in the altar, but are actually constructed almost completely with skeletal remains.
If you've never heard of Sedlec Ossuary, prepare to have your mind blown-
I was born, raised, and educated Roman Catholic.
I have nothing against individual Catholics but I have come to learn there is much about Catholicism I was never even taught. It was an open secret.
Whenever one visits a Roman Catholic Church for a wedding, funeral, or what not, one can ask the priest which relics are contained in the altar. And, if one wants to really appear in the know, one can ask if it's a first-class, second-class, or third-class relic.
What's a relic? Relics are sometimes pieces of clothing, but, in many cases, are the actual body parts of the "saints."
Just what are relics and what meaning do they have for disciples of Jesus Christ?
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/church-teaching-on-relics.html
There's actually Roman Catholic churches which not only supposedly contain the finger of St. Joachim or some other saint in the altar, but are actually constructed almost completely with skeletal remains.
If you've never heard of Sedlec Ossuary, prepare to have your mind blown-
https://unusualplaces.org/sedlec-ossuary-the-gothic-wonder-of-thousands-of-bones/