What Are Relics And What Do I Do With Them?

What Are Relics And What Do I Do With Them?

What Are Relics And What Do I Do With Them?
Fr. Luke Hoyt, O.P.

As Catholics, we have a great love for embodied spiritual realities. This is why there has always been a place in the Faith for relics –parts of a saint’s body or objects which touched a saint’s body. Because of this, the Rosary Shrine of St. Jude likes to spread devotion to St. Jude by giving away relics of this Saint. You yourself may have received one of these relics in the mail! And, if you have, you may have wondered: What am I to do with a relic? So here are a few pointers:

✠ Each relic is a holy thing since it is connected in some way to a saint who is in the presence of God. Therefore, we treat relics with respect.

✠ Feel free to carry it with you in your wallet or purse, or to place it in some part of your house where it is safe and won’t get lost.

✠ It is against the law of the Church to sell or buy relics.

✠ If you don’t want to keep a relic, don’t throw it away. Instead, give it away, or leave it in the back of a church where someone who would like to have it will find it. Or, as a last resort, a sacred thing like a relic may be disposed of by burning or burying.

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