St Jude Relic Tour-June 28

What Is a Relic?

A relic is a fragment of the body or physical possession of a canonized saint that can help us grow closer to God. Relics are divided into three classifications. A first class relic is a body part of a saint, such as bone, blood, or flesh. Second class relics are possessions that a saint owned, and third class relics are objects that have been touched to a first or second class relic or the saint has touched him or herself.

Why Do We Value What Saints Owned or Wore?

First, we need to answer why we value saints. They are more than ordinary holy figures; they teach us how to respond to Jesus’s gift on the cross through our vocation. Like all humans, saints had their imperfections and sufferings in their time on earth. Yet, through their sufferings and despite their circumstances, they made God the center of their lives and encouraged others to do the same. With hundreds of saints interceding for us from Heaven, every person can find a story of a saint that personally appeals them. Not every saint belonged to a religious order, which can encourage us to love God in our daily vocation.

If we look to the Scripture, we can find that God heals through physical touch and objects. Many times, Jesus would touch the sick, and they would be healed. The hemorrhaging woman who simply grabbed the hem of Jesus’s clothes was cured, and the mud that Jesus spread on a blind man’s eyes caused him to see again.

When we touch the relic of a saint, the object itself isn’t healing; rather, God heals through the intercession of the Saint who’s relic we are venerating.

We believe that these saints are in Heaven because they have performed miracles on earth that cannot be explained by science. Touching an object to a Saint’s relic also connects us to their heavenly presence.

St Jude Relic Tour | Dates for Diocese of San Bernardino