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J1ST 095: Relics Part Two

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 ** Before we jump into this week’s episode, we want to let you know that we’ll be doing a book study this upcoming Advent!!!  The book is Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Philippe. Have you read anything by Fr. Philippe yet? He is AMAZING. Such a gentle, yet wise voice… our hope is this study will help us all stay centered this Advent on what (or WHO!) truly matters.  You can snag a copy here. First episode/discussion will be on December 1st!! **

 

And we’re back with Part 2 of our Mini Series on Relics!!  We thought it might be good to distinguish between veneration and worship. Besides the fact that relics are pieces of dead people or things that have touched dead people, those unfamiliar with the practice might also take offense at the idea of us giving “worship” to something/someone other than God. But the fact is, we *don’t* Worship relics. We venerate them. In the words of one of our Church Fathers, St. Jerome, 

 

“We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are.” 

 

So if you have friends thinking you’re weird for worshiping pieces of dead people, you’ve got your reply right there. It ISN’T worship.  Holding, gazing, praying with (not TO) relics can help us feel a stronger connection to the holy people we are asking to pray for us.  Relics are a powerful reminder that the Saints are Real People who had Real Bodies. Also: the fact that there are no first class relics of Christ or Our Lady strengthens our belief in the Ascension and the Assumption. Where are their bodies? Not on Earth!

Anyways, this week on the podcast, we’re diving into specific relic stories. Namely the Holy Stairs, the Crown of Thorns, and the Shroud of Turin.  

The Holy Stairs were brought to Rome by St. Helena. They are the stairs that Christ ascended to appear before Pilate. 

The Crown of Thorns were in the news earlier this year when a fire broke out in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  It, along with many other relics and the Eucharist were saved from the blaze.

The Shroud of Turin is arguably the most fascinating relic of our Faith. It is the cloth in which Christ was covered and buried in and a ‘negative image’ of His face was left. Studies of the shroud have shown us just how much Christ suffered on Good Friday before dying on the Cross.  

 

Have you visited any of these ‘extreme relics?’  Tell us about it in the comments!

Your sisters in the small things,

 

Nancy and Katie

 

J1ST 094: Relics Part One

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Welcome back!

Today, we start a two part series on relics… What are they? Are there different kinds? Why do Catholics hang on to pieces of dead people?

It might surprise you to find out that the practice of keeping relics is not something that started with the early martyrs, or even with Christ.  No! The first example of relics we found in scripture is in the second book of Kings (13:20-21).  Some men were burying a dead man when they were attacked by Moabites.  They threw the body into the tomb to flee and the body landed on the bones of Elisha, a prophet. Immediately, the man came back to life and stood up.

 

A dead man came in contact with the bones of a holy prophet and came back to life!  How cool is that?

 

In the New Testament, we have the story of the hemorrhaging woman touching the hem of Christ’s garment and being healed (Matt. 9:20-22), Peter’s shadow having healing power (Acts 5 14-16), and the clothes and handkerchiefs of Paul bringing healing as well (Acts 19:11-12).  Even the way in which Christ’s body was treated after the crucifixion points to the importance and sanctity of the body.

There are three ‘classes’ of relics.  First class are actual pieces of the person’s body (bone, hair, etc.).  Second class relics are things the person owned or used (piece of clothing, their rosary, etc.). Third class relics are things that have been touched to a first or second class relic.

Have you ever encountered a relic?  Maybe you had a relic come ‘on tour’ to your parish?  Did you know that there probably is at least one relic in your own parish permanently? Most altars have a relic inside them and many parishes have some relics in the sacristy.  Just ask your priest if you can see them!

 

We’ll be back next week with some more awesome relic stories!

Your sisters in the small things,

Nancy and Katie

 

Bishop Robert Barron speaking on relics and Gnosticism

J1ST 093: All Souls’ Day

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Welcome back to another week of the Just One Small Thing Podcast!!

 

Continuing on our ‘Fall Triduum’ theme, we’re discussing All Soul’s Day today.  Although the last day of this great Triduum of our Faith, it seems to be the ‘middle child’ in some ways… It’s not an eve.  It’s not a Holy Day of Obligation. It’s also kind of sad.  We all have people we have known and loved and they’ve passed on and we’re not exactly sure where they are… Did they go straight to Heaven? Are they still in purgatory? How exactly are we supposed to celebrate it?

First of all, it’s really truly beautiful that our Church gives us a feast day expressly to remember our beloved dead.  Many (most?) of us will spend some time in purgatory after we die and the only way we can get to Heaven is the prayers of those on Earth or in Heaven. There are actually indulgences attached to praying for the dead during the month of November!  It’s also comforting to have this time to remember those we’ve lost personally.

That’s exactly what we do in today’s episode… Nancy and I both share a bit about our beloved dead and discuss ways to remember and honor them on All Souls’ Day and throughout the month of November. Some ideas are:

    1. Visit, clean, and decorate their graves (check out this beautiful tradition in Poland!)
    2. Speak their names
    3. Ask them to pray with you
    4. Display their pictures/names
    5. Pray the St. Gertrude Prayer (see below)

We also discuss how we talk about death with our kids. As uncomfortable and sad it might be, death is a reality our children need to be aware of.

We’d love to pray for your beloved dead too!  Please comment here or email us so we can add them to our list.

Your sisters in the small things,

Nancy and Katie

 

The St. Gertrude Prayer (pious tradition is that 1,000 souls are released from purgatory upon each recitation… more about that here):

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

J1ST 092: Is Halloween Evil?

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Hi There!

We’re getting seasonal today and tackling Halloween… If you’re like us, you probably remember the annual struggle to narrow down your costume ideas to a single CHOICE and then the excitement of running door to door to get candy (FOR FREE) from strangers.

Halloween was quite different as we went on college and post-graduation life.  Halloween seemed like nothing more than an invitation to dress immodestly and drink to excess, so no thank you, Halloween, we’ll just move on to All Soul’s Day.

Through Katie’s husband’s obsession with the history of All. The. Things, however, we’ve learned that Halloween does have some deep roots in Catholicism, even if the ‘seeds’ had been pagan.  As Catholics, when we evangelize, there should always an effort to respect the traditions and culture of the people we are preaching to.  We should not seek to eradicate all former ways of life, but seek to find ways to ‘baptize’ some traditions and tie them into our beautiful Liturgical cycle.

For example…. according to pious tradition, St. Boniface was working hard to spread the Good News to the people of Germany, but there was the issue of this huge tree they worshiped.  St. Boniface knew a tree doesn’t have any supernatural power; only the Creator of that tree did.  And so to drive home the point, he chopped it down. Yet, he allowed the people to continue on with the tradition of bringing smaller trees into their home in the middle of winter and those trees became a reminder of The Tree of our Salvation, the Cross. Christmas trees are a ‘baptized tradition’ from pagans.

Another example of this is the harvest festival of Samhain (Gaelic word pronounced ‘sewing’).  On October 31st, the Gaelic people would have a celebration to mark the changing of the seasons and the beginning of the ‘darker half’ of the year.  These celebrations involved bonfires, costumes, prayers (to false gods), and feasting.  When saints like Patrick and Columba came to the island, they took the fact that Samhain occurred on the eve of All Saints’ Day and gradually turned Samhain into All Hallow’s Eve.  Catholics like to party, so the costumes and feasting could remain, but the praying to false gods was left behind.  So, Halloween is actually the first day of the triduum our Church celebrates each fall.

 

Beautifully, these three days connect the three parts of our Church: Militant, Triumphant, and Suffering.  In some of the earlier celebrations of “All Hallow’s Eve” children would dress up as angels and demons and ‘battle’ each other, reminding us of our daily battle to choose good over evil.  We are the Church Militant.  On All Saints’ Day, we remember those who have been victorious in this earthly life, those who now enjoy the heavenly banquet, and can intercede for us: the Church Triumphant.  And finally, on the last day of the triduum, we pray for the Church Suffering, those in purgatory who require our prayers to get to Heaven.

 

We hope you enjoy today’s episode as much as we enjoyed recording!

 

Your sisters in the small things,

Nancy and Katie

15 Incredible Rosary Facts

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To celebrate the release of the MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY BOARD BOOK SET, here are 15 amazingly incredible, mind-blowing facts. Yes, they are facts; tested, investigated and proven. And so, if you aren’t in love with the Rosary yet, prepare to be by the time you get through this list.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to grab you board book set so that you are all set to celebrate October, the month of the Rosary, with your whole family.

15 INCREDIBLE Facts about the Rosary:

  1. The Rosary was JPII’s favorite prayer and he made time to pray all 15 decades every single day.
  2. JPII described praying the Rosary this way: “Contemplating the face of Jesus through the eyes of Mary.” Pretty cool, right?!?
  3. During the 1600’s Century the Ottoman Empire was attacking Venice at the Battle of Lepanto. The Ottoman empire was intent on destroying Christianity forever. Hopelessly outnumbered, the Pope begged everyone to pray the Rosary, and they did. Miraculously the Ottoman Empire was defeated and Mary was given the title Our Lady of Victory.
  4. When we pray the Rosary we are offering Mary a bouquet of roses…and this isn’t just a metaphor! A couple of different times people have witnessed real roses falling from the months of saints as they recite the Rosary.
  5. Blessed Bartolo Lango was a Satantic priest who was converted, and became a powerful saint, through the power of the Rosary. Seriously. Read his story. It will BLOW YOUR MIND.
  6. When Mary appeared in Fatima she spoke of only two things that could bring an end to the War (WWI): saying the Rosary and offering up suffering.
  7. Mary appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the Rosary. It is a gift from heaven!
  8. St. Therese described the Rosary as a long chain that linked heaven and earth. When we pray we hold one end and Mary holds the other.
  9. St. Padre Pio described the Rosary as our greatest weapon!
  10. Religious orders wear long rosaries hanging down their side from their belts. Why? Because it is a weapon! This is the way that knights once carried their swords. And the rosary is so much more powerful than a sword.
  11. Ted Bundy (serial killer) was blown backward when he attempted to harm a girl that had fallen asleep while praying the Rosary. (google it. it happened).
  12. Just a couple of years ago, a bishop in Nigeria was praying before the Blessed Sacrament when Jesus appeared to him. Jesus handed the bishop a sword that mystical transformed into a Rosary. The bishop understood and through the Rosary, the most powerful weapon, his diocese was able to peacefully rid itself of a violent Muslim group. (his name was Bishop Oliver Doeme. youtube it).
  13. Countless saints have preached “To Jesus, Through Mary!” Mary is the shortest and surest route to Jesus. And the Rosary is a key part of that journey.
  14. Check out this remarkable timeline: May 13, 1917–> Mary appears in Fatima for the first time; May 13, 1981–> a man attempts to kill JPII. He is wounded, but miraculously survives; May 13, 1982–> JPII visits Fatima and offers Our Lady of the Rosary the bullet that hit him, thanking her for saving his life.
  15. According to JPII, “How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening.”

The power of the Rosary is REAL my friends. Use that power and teach your children about it!

There is no need to use the Mysteries of the Rosary Board Book Set when teaching your children about the Rosary, but it was designed to help. So, if you would like to use these books as you lead your family deeper into the Rosary, I encourage you to grab a set.

Head here to check it out: https://catholicsprouts.com/rosaryboardbook

Our Lady of the Rosary, PRAY FOR US!

Your sister in the small things,

Nancy