As unbelievable as it may seem, there really are Catholics out there who still believe that the Catholic Church has obtained pieces of the "True Cross" -- the cross on which Jesus was supposedly crucified. In St. Louis, they were lining up to see one of those pieces as well as other relics in a travelling side show called Treasures of the Church - Sacred Relics of the Saints.
Well, believers wouldn't call it a "side show," but what other label would be as fitting?
"The more significant relics that are here is a fragment of the veil of Our Lady of the Cloth, worn by the mother of God on her head, and wood from the cross on which Jesus died," explained Father Carlos Martins, who travels all over the country with these relics.
He says every exposition is a special experience for the people that come to see and touch them, "People have that experience, that encounter. And it's great to be a part of that. It's great to be able to be an instrument God uses to provide this for his people."
Rosaries, prayer cards, and necklaces were just a few of the many objects people waited in line to touch up against the relics on display Friday night.
For several present at St. Francis de Sales, this was a very moving experience. Helen said, "It was very emotional. Very emotional. I'm a spiritual type person anyway, so it was very emotional. The piece of the cross that Christ died on, that's the one that really got me."
Source: KTVI
I wonder how much money is taken from the faithful by the people who display and host these relics? I don't know if it's the sort of thing that would make a person rich, but it has the potential to provide a comfortable living. No one ever went broke underestimating the American public (except for those hawking Intelligent Design movies as if they were real science).
It's instructive, I think, to witness the extent to which "primitive" superstition and magical beliefs continue to be integrated with "sophisticated" religion. The idea that objects carry with them magical powers because of the last owner or user, and what's more than this magic can be transferred through touch to some new and unrelated physical object, is easy to find in "primitive" systems of magic and superstition -- but here we have exactly that in Catholicism today.
Religious apologists insist that there is a "sophisticated" religion out there that critics should engage and debate, but just how "sophisticated" is the above behavior? Just how "sophisticated" is any church that hosts a travelling side show like this? Criticism of religion should engage the religion which people actually live and experience, not academic ideas which the average believer doesn't even know about, much less understand or use in their regular religious practices.
No comments:
Post a Comment