What are relics and do Catholics actually worship them?
What are relics? Are we, as Catholics, expected to worship a bunch of bones of some saint? The simple answer is no. We only worship our Lord. But before we get into that, let’s start off with what relics are.
Relics can range from the personal possessions of saints, apostles or other holy people to their actual ashes or bones.
A common misconception about relics held by non-Catholics and Catholics is that those items possess mystical powers. This idea actually goes against church teaching. Relics are not magical. In an article dealing with relics, Catholic.com it states that “…any effects (obtained as a result of venerating relics) are divine, not natural in their origin.” As such, we venerate relics, we do not worship them. By venerating we are honoring those saints and holy people whose lives and devotion to God we admire and seek to duplicate.
Although relics can be found the world over, Americans got a chance to venerate the relics of six Knights of Columbus when a reliquary containing those six made its tour of over a dozen cities in the U.S.
Martyred for their faith in the 1920s the priests, Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero, Miguel de la Mora de la Mora, Jose Maria Robles Hurtado, Luis Batis Sainz, Rodrigo Aguilar Aleman, and Mateo Correa Magallanes, were canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000.
“This pilgrimage seeks to promote knowledge of and devotion to the Knights of Columbus priest martyrs of Mexico and all those who sacrificed their lives for their faith during the Mexican persecution,” said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson.
Viewing and/or venerating relics is a great opportunity for the devout and the curious to witness one of the grand traditions of the church.
