When Archbishop Bernard Hebda lived in Rome, he visited the catacombs where early Christians would “venerate the remains of those who had given up their lives for the faith, those who had been martyred in any sense,” he said.
The remains of the most well-known were placed in a church, he said. Early Christians did not visit to idolize them, but to venerate them and pray for their intercession, “that they might lead us closer to Jesus and to that life of grace with God,” he said.
A relic of St. Jude the Apostle recently was displayed for veneration at a number of parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. And in a couple of weeks, relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her parents, Sts. Zélie and Louis Martin, also will be on display.
Archbishop Hebda recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show producer Kayla Mayer to discuss relics visiting the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and what it means to venerate them.
What’s “so exciting” about the relics of St. Thérèse and her parents is “that sense of holiness is lived in a family,” the archbishop said. It’s “a great opportunity” to venerate the relics of three saints “who were family members and who inspired one another to holiness,” he said.
When asked for suggestions about venerating relics, Archbishop Hebda said people often kneel before relics, “not in the way that you would kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, the way in which we adore, but in the sense of being part of prayer, asking for the particular intercession of the saints whose relics are before us.”
Sometimes, visitors are able to “touch something to the relic,” he said. People bring an item, such as a rosary, to touch the relic’s reliquary and keep it as a reminder of “their saintly lives,” he said.
Veneration is an opportunity to ask for intercession, meditate on the saints’ lives and “be inspired by the way in which they were faithful in facing the challenges in their lives,” he said.
To learn more about veneration, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Sept. 22 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Sept. 23 and 2 p.m. Sept. 24.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with MarySarah Stokman, who describes her journey to being shop owner and the merchandise she sells at her St. Paul home goods store; and Father Daniel Griffith, rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, and Caitlin Morneau, a parishioner of St. Mark in St. Paul and director of restorative justice for the Catholic Mobilizing Network, who describe the intersection between restorative justice and the Catholic Church.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
