Honoring A Temple Of The Holy Spirit

In light of last week’s news that a relic of Blessed John Paul II was stolen (and thankfully, found), we thought we would reflect on the importance of relics in the Church and explain why we keep and venerate a relic of the late Holy Father here at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine.

The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that,

The word relics comes from the Latin reliquiae (the counterpart of the Greek leipsana) which already before the propagation of Christianity was used in its modern sense, viz., of some object, notably part of the body or clothes, remaining as a memorial of a departed saint. The veneration of relics, in fact, is to some extent a primitive instinct, and it is associated with many other religious systems besides that of Christianity.

It is quite natural for a person to keep precious articles that belonged to a deceased person they loved or admired. This instinct is what began the tradition of keeping and venerating relics in the Church, especially ones that belonged to saintly figures.

The bodies of the saints were once temples of the Holy Spirit and are one day to be eternally glorified. So to venerate their bones is to venerate the bones that will one day be conformed to the body of Christ.

This is why we keep and display a piece of Blessed John Paul II’s blood-stained cassock from the 1981 assassination attempt. His body was a temple of grace, and it will one day rise to eternal life. It also stands as a reminder of the Holy Father’s incredible witness to the Gospel during his time here on earth.

We expose Blessed John Paul II’s relic every weekday at noon. So stop by the Shrine, and take part in this centuries-old tradition by honoring one of the greatest saints of our time.