Relics, Miracles, and Faith
ONE
In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes His way to Gennesaret, a town near Capernaum, where He lived. He’s mobbed as soon as He arrives, and we’re told the villagers “…begged him that hey might touch only the tassel on His cloak; as many as touched it were healed” (Mk 6: 55-56). The books of Numbers and Deuteronomy in the OT required the Israelites to sew tassels on their garments “to look upon and remember the commandments of the Lord to do them,” and not follow their own sinful inclinations (cf. Num 15: 37-41; Deut 22:12). So, when the people of the region of Gennesaret touched Jesus’ tassels, they were being reminded of two things: to have faith in the Lord, and to be morally upright, as the sign of their faith (cf. James 2: 1-18). Three things are demonstrated here: Faith, moral goodness, and grace flowing from Jesus, through his garments. This latter reality is what we call relics, objects sanctified by touching Christ. These are still a means of grace for us when we approach with faith and moral goodness.
TWO
This passage is similar to the hemorrhaging woman, who touches Jesus’ tassels and is healed. He exclaims; “power has gone out of me” (Lk 8:46). Christ is God made man. His body, then, is the very location and instrument of His Divinity, of His power. His body is also Mystical. That means that He can incorporate into it whomever He chooses, so that “in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each belongs to all the others” (Rom 12:5). Christ is the head of the body, the Church (Col 1:18). To belong to the body is to belong to the head. To belong to the head is to experience Jesus, through His word, sacraments, doctrines, and relics. The power of grace goes out of Him, through His Body in these various channels to you and I. Do you live as though you are a channel of grace in the Mystical Body?
THREE
One of the reasons why I ceased practicing my faith when I was younger was that I didn’t see any miracles. No miracles, no God, because no proof, or so went my reasoning. In fact, I remember trying to ignite my faith by reading the OT. I literally threw the bible across the room, frustrated that the God of that book was always speaking and parting seas, and smiting people, and speaking through burning bushes, and I witnessed none of that, so I thought. What I didn’t realize was that my pride and sin blinded me from all the things God was doing in my life. A major element of my conversion was the testimony of a holy woman coupled with strong evidence of a miraculous intervention of the Virgin Mary in humanity. She also gave me a blessed Rosary, which I have to this day. The night of my conversion I literally felt chains and shackles of doubt and skepticism fall away from me, and I felt free! Going to confession and receiving the Sacraments, praying, and learning my faith took that spark and turned it into a furnace!
FOUR
In Matthew’s Gospel we read; “And they took offense at Him”. But Jesus said to them; 'only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.’ And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief” (Mt 13: 57-58). Unbelief is caused by us, not by God. This was the penetrating insight Our Lady drove home to me the night of my conversion. I felt she was saying to me personally; “You may not believe in my Son, but He believes in you!” I may not believe…my unbelief was my choice! And I chose it because I didn’t want to change AND I was afraid to believe. I was afraid to put all my eggs in the basket of belief because I feared that He might not actually be there for me and believing in a non-existent God would cause me to lose everything! I feared to trust! This is the essence of Adam and Eve’s fall: could they trust that God was a Father to take care of them, or did they need to look out for number one?
FIVE
Fearing to trust means that we already trust ourselves too much. King Saul of the OT vacillated constantly between Presumption—believing the God would approve of his every deed; and Despair—feeling that all was hopeless. Why these two? Because both are tied to self-centeredness. This is the root of unbelief! This is the root of mistrust! This was my rotten root from which I had to repent. Do you have this rotten root? Today, write a prayer to Jesus asking Him to reveal to you His belief in you, and to remove this bad root. Then go to confession and open up that grace flowing from his tassels!