The Reliquary of Saint Mary Magdalene is currently on tour in the Southeast.  In other words, the container which holds the relic of a piece of Mary Magdalene’s tibia (leg bone) is on a journey through many parishes in our region until late November.  Discovering this has intensified my thought process about Catholic body parts.

It’s one thing, I suppose, to buy into the whole idea of the Communion of Saints.  Catholics and main-line Protestants alike have been reciting the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds as part of their order of worship for years, and in those creeds we all profess belief in the communion of saints.  After all, it’s biblical (see 2 Kings 13:20-21; 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 26; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:1-2; and Revelation 8:3-4, among others).   Christians through the centuries have taken God at His word when He says that He is the God of the living, not the dead.  So, it is an easy jump to accept the idea of our brothers and sisters in Christ to include those faithful witnesses and saints that have come before us and who stand as that great cloud of witnesses described in the letter to the Hebrews.  By virtue of being Christian, we are members of a much larger “family” of faith.

However, when you are getting acquainted with the Catholic family, you eventually are introduced to the world of incorruptibles and relics- whole bodies, parts of bodies, and things that have touched parts of bodies of saints, and it can be a strange world, indeed.   Once on a trip to Paris, I made my way to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, only to find out that it was closed due to renovation.  A very nice nun thought I might enjoy seeing the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul close by, so off I went.  When I entered that church, I couldn’t help but notice a gold leaf casket high and off in the distance above the altar.  About 10 minutes later I found myself standing in front of St. Vincent de Paul’s incorruptible bones encased in his body which apparently has been preserved with some wax.  Later, I found out that his heart was down the street at the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal.  I hate that I missed THAT.

All this to say that there is quite a bit of veneration toward the remains of the saints.  I’m beginning to get it, though, as I spend more time in the Catholic world.  Just this morning I was thinking about some items that I cherish-  Michael Jordan’s autograph, my father’s Air Force ID bracelet, my mother’s letters to me, my great grandmother’s china- and I realized how much I venerate things that belonged to people I admire or love.  I went a little crazy for a few years when I thought I had lost Michael Jordan’s autograph during a move. If I can feel that way about something that identifies him, then I certainly can muster up some respect and veneration for relics that identify those who have died for the faith that has become my own.

If you’d like more information on the practice of venerating relics, please read this well written piece by a priest in Atlanta here.     For Mary Magdalene’s itinerary, visit the schedule published by the John Paul II Center.    Maybe I’ll see you at one of the stops!

Chick “B”