Posted on 02/01/2011 12:52:59 PM PST by RnMomof7
A vial containing blood drawn from Pope John Paul II shortly before he died will be installed as a relic in a Polish church soon after his beatification later this year, an official said Monday. Piotr Sionko, the spokesman for the John Paul II Center, said the vial will be encased in crystal and built into the altar of a church in the southern city of Krakow that is opening in May. The exact date of the opening is not yet known, but it should be shortly after John Paul's beatification at the Vatican on May 1........... "It was the cardinal's proposal," Sionko said. "He is of the opinion that this is the most precious relic of John Paul II and should be the focal point of the church." .........
"The idea of displaying the pope's relics has met with some reservations, even inside the Catholic Church. "The tradition of relics comes from medieval practices of teaching the Bible through images and symbols," said the Rev. Krzysztof Madel, a Jesuit priest in Nowy Sacz who has publicly questioned the usefulness of displaying John Paul's blood. "But in today's rationalized world the message should rather come through teaching about someone's life." After John Paul's death, some Polish officials said they hoped John Paul's heart would be removed from his body and returned to his homeland for burial. However, church officials dismissed any possibility of dismembering the body, saying the age had passed for that practice. Dziwisz said Friday that he has always been against dividing of the body, but that "relics have always existed and will always exist."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I find this more than odd... One has to wonder what other body parts might be saved to be “venerated” in the future
Don't mean to be disrepectful of one of Christianities great sects but I don't get it.
It is gross and it is not biblical.
You and me both. They are definitely an odd bunch.
...what other body parts might be saved to be “venerated” in the future
You are being kind with the "venerated". In no time at all they will be bowing down to the vial of blood and praying to it with the expectation that their prayers will get special attention from him.
Wisdom there friend
Before everyone rushes to judgement (which I know they will anyway), here is a snipet of info about relics: http://www.saintanthonyschapel.org/index.cfm?load=page&page=172
I’m sure you will all use this, though, to Catholic bash. It’s just your way.
creepy
You DO realize that you’ve just taken an Associated Press article at face value, don’t you?
Ew.
OR you could be a Christian.
JP II heads up!!!
What is odd about unity among the communion of all saints, past, present and future?
Keeping physical relics of witnesses to Christ are a way to express physically the closeness we have to all who profess Christ.
You and I both know lots of folks who have a lock of hair or a tooth as a momento of their children or some other loved one.
This is likely only “creepy” to those who want to criticize the Church.
What is odd or even the least bit troubling about acknowledging that we can mark the passing of a Christian witness in a substantive way that can inspire unity and faith among His followers by calling to mind in a strong way a dead man’s memory and witness to Christ?
If this is creepy and odd and un-Christian, then funerals are even more fully subject to the very same critique. If you will declare all rituals of mourning and marking the passing of a person are creepy/odd/un-Christian.
What is odd about unity among the communion of all saints, past, present and future?
Keeping physical relics of witnesses to Christ are a way to express physically the closeness we have to all who profess Christ.
You and I both know lots of folks who have a lock of hair or a tooth as a momento of their children or some other loved one.
This is likely only “creepy” to those who want to criticize the Church.
What is odd or even the least bit troubling about acknowledging that we can mark the passing of a Christian witness in a substantive way that can inspire unity and faith among His followers by calling to mind in a strong way a dead man’s memory and witness to Christ?
If this is creepy and odd and un-Christian, then funerals are even more fully subject to the very same critique.
Will you declare all rituals of mourning and marking the passing of a person are creepy/odd/un-Christian?
Removing the heart to bury in a different place is an old Polish custom. Chopin’s heart is in a church in Warsaw. Marshal PiÅ‚sudski asked that his heart be placed in his mother’s grave in Wilno. It’s a cultural thing. I was lucky to get a 2nd class relic of JP II. The office promoting his cause was giving away small pieces of his white cassock. I asked them and they sent me a piece mounted on a holy card. Rather cool, I thought.
ain’t no bibchr in the bib
That’s what the Pharisee Jews said about the Cross and about the Last Supper.
Silly - it's all about the merchandising. Consider the following exchange:
Dr Clayton Forrester: All action figures have two things in common: merchandising, and accessories. But there is a fatal flaw in this philosophy that yours truly, and the monkey here, have rooted up like the puss-y scab it is.
TV's Frank: The component factor. Most kids can't be satisfied with just a simple start-up kit - one doll, naked, alone and afraid. Ya gotta have all of the accessories! But why stop with the doll - don't you see? You sell a component doll!
Dr Clayton Forrester: Introducing Johnny Long Torso! The doll who is - himself - sold separately!
[Both, singing]: Johnny Long Torso, Johnny Long Torso, The man who comes in pieces! He's long!
BUT THEN again the CC has done some pretty weird stuff in the past. That's why they eliminated the 2nd commandment... they like to venerate images and oddities rather than just worshiping God in spirit.
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