NOVEMBER 8 – THE FEAST OF THE HOLY RELICS.

PROTESTANTISM pretends to regard the veneration which the Church pays to the relics of the Saints as a sin, and contends that this pious practice is a remnant of paganism. The Council of Trent, on the contrary, has decided that the bodies of the martyrs and other saints who were living members of Jesus Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, are to be honored by the faithful. This decision was based upon the established usage of the earliest days of the Church, and upon the teaching of the Fathers and of the Councils. The Council orders, however, that all abuse of this devotion is to be avoided carefully, and forbids any relics to be exposed which have not been approved by the bishops, and these prelates are recommended to instruct the people faithfully in the teaching of the Church on this subject. While we regret, then, the errors of the impious and of heretics, let us profit by the advantages which we gain by hearkening to the voice of the Church.

WORD OF THE DAY

ALTAR STONE. A small flat stone, consecrated by a bishop, that contains in a hollowed out cavity relics of two canonized martyrs. The stone is usually inserted in the center of an altar that is not entirely consecrated. It constitutes the altar proper and can be moved from one altar table to another. The host and chalice during the Sacrifice of the Mass are placed on it.

Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)

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