There are relics and relics. Some are quite secular. We visit museums and see articles like the spectacles, the pen, the pipe or the chair of some writer, artist, patriot or scoundrel. We feel that seeing such belongings helps us to know the person better.

Memories and Feelings

One can go one better than a museum, and actually possess something belonging to a famous person. Hardly a week goes by without news about yet another auction of things which belonged to sporting or musical icons. Why do people pay really big money for such things: a Beetle guitar or shoes belonging to an operatic singer? Apart from owning something that is unique, the artefact is a reminder of the person.
When people suffer a burglary what pains them most is usually not the loss of something that, though costly, can be replaced, but the loss of items, often of little monetary worth, which are of enormous sentimental value. These can never be replaced: no money can buy Granny's First Communion medal or her wedding ring; Uncle Joe's watch may not have ticked for fifty years, but its theft can be deeply felt.
These secular relics are a link with somebody who is not present, often somebody dead. Their value lies in my memory and my feeling for the person. If I have no regard for a famous person or distant relative, I will not treasure his bicycle clips or her handbag.

Religious Relics

We find relics in all religions. They are reminders of holy people. Catholics and Eastern Christians are generally much more into relics than Protestants. But even Evangelical Christians will treasure in some way John Calvin's hat or a letter written by Martin Luther.
I can remember in the years before Vatican II special blessings with relics at the time of a parish mission, the daily blessing with the relic of St. Paul of the Cross at the Passionist Church of Mount Argus in Dublin. I can recall as a child being brought to various churches and being shown relics often on side altars. It was hard to know what to do. If the relic were kissable, then this would be in order. Failing that one could touch the glass surrounding it, or say a Hail Mary before passing on. My memory of relics in the years before the Council was that they were very important, that they were in some sense good for you, and they were given some token of respect.
After the Council interest in relics waned somewhat. But they were not eliminated in the reforms that followed. Indeed the new rite for the consecration of altars notes the important place of relics, especially those of the martyrs. The Eucharist is still celebrated on an altar containing relics of the saints, which recalls the most primitive celebrations of the feast of the saints, originally celebrated at their tombs.
Relics are of several kinds. So-called first class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint. Second class relics are of two kinds: they may be something worn or used by the saint; they may be objects, often a piece of cloth that has touched a first-class relic.

Veneration

A big issue in the 8th century and in the 16th at the Reformation was how images and relics were to be venerated. Only God can be adored. Other holy persons or things are given some honour because they belong to God. But God is sometimes pleased to bless his people through the images or relics of his holy ones. In scriptural times people were healed by the very shadow of Peter (cf. Acts 5:15) or the handkerchief or apron of St. Paul (cf. Acts 19:12).

Contact

Relics are a way of making some contact with another. A picture or personal belongings of a parent is a way of remembering them. And such recall is not just a thought; it has an element of feelings. Something comes over us at times when we look at such a picture or memento. The relics of the saints in some way make them closer. It is a kind of bridge between them and us: we venerate the saints, who in turn intercede for us.
Of course relics can be reduced to some kind of magic. The surest protection against such abuse is prayer: praising or thanking God for the saints; asking their intercession; expressing our sinfulness or need. The other important thought about relics is surely imitation of the saints. God is most pleased when we try to love others as the saints did, when we worship God with something of the love shown by his holy ones.
Relics are an imperfect but valuable way of remembering and of making contact with the unseen world. But through them we can share our hopes and desires with those in glory. The ultimate meaning of relics is to be sought in the beautiful dogma of the Communion of Saints: we are united in the goodness and love of all God's gifts and holy people.

Reprinted from the Spring 2001 edition of Carmelite Horizons, published by the Anglo-Irish Province of the Discalced Carmelites (www.discalcedcarmelites.ie)

See also: Relics? - A Pilgrim Saint - The Veneration of Relics - Radio National Interview

What is a Relic?

A relic is usually part of the body of a holy person. St Therese is one such person, who lived a life of exemplary holiness. She was declared a saint by the Catholic Church in 1925.

What is a Reliquary?

A reliquary is a container for the relics of a saint. In the case of the reliquary of St Therese, it is a ornate box donated by the people of Brazil in the 1920's, made of Jacaranda wood and gold, and then covered in perspex.
The relics are 1.45m long x 0.9m wide x 0.9m high. Weight: 132 kg. At least six strong people are required to carry them (there are eight handles). 10-12 people can comfortably gather around the reliquary for prayer at any one time.

This link will give you an indication of what to expect, from the visit of the relics to St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney: www.culture.com.au/virtual