Saint Francis Borgia is Here!

“Saint Francis Borgia is Here!”

From the beginning of the Church, through the centuries, Christians have always had great devotion to the relics of saints. Some saints are literally incorrupt (preserved miraculously from the normal effects of bodily decay after death). Others God continues to work miracles through, often times along the lines of their patronage. For instance, St. Gerard Majella was made patron saint of expectant mothers because he left a handkerchief with a family, and later when a daughter was on the edge of losing her life and that of her child during delivery, the handkerchief was placed on her womb and instantly and safely delivered the baby. God continues to work similar miracles through his relics!

Why not just go straight to God with prayers and petitions? God has demonstrated that He loves it and honors it when we go to his saints. Think: when we admire a work of art, does the artist feel ignored? No, but all the more honored! The same with saints: they are God’s masterpieces. So too, God loves it when we pray to and honor the saints. There are traces of this all over the Scriptures.  For example, check out Acts 19:11.

If we want to get technical, it gets to the root of Christian anthropology: we are not just a body of chemical reactions running around for survival; nor are we a soul trapped in a temporary shell of a body. We are soul and body – each aspect is us! Think: if Jesus’ body didn’t matter, the Cross would have had no power for salvation. Vice versa: If we didn’t have a soul to save, then why bother with the Cross? 

This informs a lot of Christian teaching about the care of the body after death (an article for another time), but at the root, the body even after death still belongs to the person, and so somehow makes the person present.

Consider: when archaeologists were digging around under St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in the 1950’s (which was built over an ancient Roman graveyard on the Vatican hill), they discovered a tomb, on which was described in Greek the phrase, “Peter is here.” Lots of forensic analysis of the bones indicates they belonged to a first century man from Galilee engaged in a long life of hard physical labor, with feet missing. Seems to line up with our understanding of St. Peter (and the traditional account of his death)! But to note: the inscribed note reflects the understanding that the body makes the person present, even after death.

Back to relics: To be a Saint means to be in deep union with God (mind, heart, soul, strength), loving our neighbor as He does. This doesn’t stop after death! And just as God loves to love us through His Saints, He continues to do so even after they die bodily! If you want a local example, check out the story of the healing of Mr. Ignatius Strecker at the shrine of St. Joseph in north St. Louis through the relics of St. Peter Claver.

Each of us needs the love of God, and He loves to love us. When we honor those whom God loves, even under the humble presence of the relics, we open our hearts to receive His love in a greater way. Thus, it is beautiful and worthwhile to venerate them, and give them such a beautiful home in our church. After all, with them we can say, “Saint Francis Borgia Is Here!”
 
P.S.   A great word of gratitude to Mr. Rich Meyer and Fr. Joe Wormek for building the ‘Reliquarium’ in which the Relics are stored and displayed!