Next month the Relics of St Bernadette of Lourdes will be taken to Ireland to visit each diocese. In our own diocese the relics will be in St Mel’s Cathedral on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th September.
The purpose of this visit is to; Bring Lourdes to the Faithful. In other words, to help those who may not be able to travel to Lourdes themselves, to share in some of the atmosphere of prayer and consolation that pilgrims experience, while they are there.
The veneration of relics
of Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Biography of Saint Bernadette
Bernadette Soubirous was born in Lourdes in 1844. In 1858, she saw the Virgin Mary
eighteen times at the Grotto of Massabielle: the Apparitions of Lourdes were authenticated
in 1866 by the Bishop of Tarbes. In that same year, Bernadette left Lourdes to live out her
religious vocation within the community of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. She died in 1879
and was proclaimed blessed in 1925, then a saint in 1933. Her liturgical feast is celebrated on
16 th April in the Universal Church, and on 18 th February in France.
Bernadette’s body was exhumed on 18 th April 1925 for her beatification. It was found to be
uncorrupted. It was then decided to place it in the chapel of the Sisters of Nevers where it is
still visible today.
What do we do with relics ?
The Catholic veneration of relics is based not only on the natural respect for everything
related to people held in great esteem and affection, but above all on the religious
veneration due to martyrs and saints as heroes of the faith and models of Christian
perfection. So, the Catholic veneration of the relics of saints PERTAINS TO GOD, that is, relics
are honoured only to honour the holiness of God. The body of the saint is the object of a
special veneration because:
1- he or she was the instrument of the Spirit to accomplish God's plan: holiness.
2- he or she was the living temple of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Paul teaches us (1 Cor. 6:19);
3- he or she will rise again one glorious day to receive the reward of eternal happiness in
Paradise.
Therefore, at the heart of the veneration of the relics of the saints, we find the Catholic faith,
in particular the dogma of the resurrection of the flesh and the confidence in the power of
intercession of the saints. The relics are not given the worship of “latria” (supreme worship
allowed to God alone) nor is a particular power of intercession of the Saint before God
attributed to them. The relics are not worshipped, writes Saint Jerome but the relics of the
martyrs are venerated to adore the One whose martyrs, that is to say witnesses, they are.
The veneration of relics is all about FAITH– we thank God for the faith of His saint, and as we
reflect on and learn more about this saint's faith, we pray that God will renew and increase it
in ourselves. but the relics of the martyrs are venerated to adore the One whose martyrs,
that is to say witnesses, they are.
Why are relics significant ?
It might be helpful to cite a recognized Church authority on the matter, (i.e. The Catechism
of the Catholic Church (CCC) or perhapsThe Code of Canon Law) to provide “legitimacy” to
the answer to: “Why are relics significant?”
CCC No.1674: “The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in
various forms of piety surrounding the Church’s sacramental life, such as the veneration of
relics…”. Also, regarding veneration, the CCC’s Glossary states, “Veneration must be clearly
distinguished from adoration and worship, which are due to God alone.”
The Code of Canon Law: Can. 1186:“To foster the sanctification of the people of God, the
Church commends to the special and filial reverence of the Christian faithful the Blessed
Mary ever virgin, Mother of God, whom Christ established as the mother of all people,and
promotes the true and authentic veneration of the other saints whose example instructs the
Christian faithful and whose intercession sustains them.”
The hope of the resurrection
The veneration of relics, or a pilgrimage to the tombs of the blessed and the saints, greatly
strengthens our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body. In the exceptional cases
where a body has remained intact, the testimony is all the stronger. This is the case with
Bernadette. She fell asleep in death. With her soul at peace, she awaits the call of the Lord:
“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!” (Eph. 5:14)
The relics of the saints bear witness that the grace of Heaven has penetrated our earth.
Those who have lived on earth in grace are called to live again in heaven in glory. The
veneration of the relics of Saint Bernadette is a way of giving thanks for her life. We are not
contemporaries of Bernadette, but as her soul is in Heaven, the grace she received in her life
is still here, available to us. Our friendship with the saints in general looks forward to the
time when we can meet them in Heaven and embrace them in the unity of the Body of
Christ.
The happiness of Heaven
18 th February 1858, the 3 rd Apparition: “I do not promise you the happiness of this world but
of the other.”
Bernadette testified that she saw the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, “in flesh and blood”. There is
thus a real continuity between our earthly life, the relics and uncorrupted body of
Bernadette, and the glorified body of the Virgin Mary. Today, Bernadette's soul really “sees”
the Virgin Mary. To be close to the relics of Bernadette is to be close to the Virgin Mary
herself, and to “see” her in faith!
When Bernadette saw the Virgin Mary, she communicated the happiness of Heaven to her.
That promise of the happiness of the other world is here for us today. The veneration of the
relics of Bernadette gives us a foretaste of this happiness. It also strengthens our faith in God
who comforts the afflicted and satisfies those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (cf.
Matt. 5:5-6).
Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself there
25 th February 1858, 9 th apparition: “Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself there.”
When we welcome the relics of Saint Bernadette, we also therefore welcome the Virgin
Mary, and hear her invitation to go to the Spring! Mary always leads us to Christ, the Risen
One, the Author of our resurrection at the end of time.
During the Apparitions, pilgrims were already flocked around Bernadette, and immediately
afterwards went to the Spring to drink and wash. Everyone did what Bernadette had done.
Today, being close to the relics of Bernadette is a way to draw from the Spring! It is a way ofrefocusing our life on Christ, the unique mediator between God and humanity. By our
closeness to the saints in the Communion of Saints, it is the grace of Christ, the grace of
Salvation, that we receive.
Go and tell!
2 nd March 1858, the 13 th apparition: “Go and tell the priests to build a chapel here and that
people should come in procession.”
Bernadette found the courage to find Father Peyramale to carry out the commission. No one
yet knew the identity of the Lady who was asking for the chapel and procession. It was not
until three weeks later that the Lady introduced herself with these words, “I am the
Immaculate Conception”. It would take another three years for the Bishop of Tarbes to
confirm that it was indeed the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven,
the Immaculate Virgin.
Today, the pilgrims of Lourdes attest to the Virgin Mary’s request, “Go and tell!” It resonates
like a new vocation, in the same way that Peter and John, in the Acts of the Apostles, said,
“We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) The
journey and the receiving of Saint Bernadette’s into our parishes make it possible to radiate
the grace of Lourdes and to bear witness to all that we have “seen and heard” during our
pilgrimages to Lourdes.
You must be logged in to post a comment.