Aware of all the saints who intercede for us as we near the Feast of All Saints, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity invited Fr. Kevin Harmon, associate pastor at St. Mary Immaculate Conception and St. Frances Cabrini Parishes, West Bend, Wisconsin to respond to questions regarding saints and relics in our Catholic tradition.
Who are some of the significant saints represented in your parish reliquary?
We have many illustrious saints in our reliquary. Various apostles and martyrs, and even one of the house of Mary! Moreover, along with the saints in our reliquary, in our altar, we have Saint Matthew, Saint Frances Cabrini, Saint Cecilia, and St. Agnes. Nevertheless, my favorite relic is actually not in the reliquary! It is a relic of St. Vincent Ferrer which is in the sacristy. We cannot put it out for public veneration because we do not have paperwork for the relic. Nevertheless, I venerate this relic in the sacristy everyday. My reason for this is twofold. The first is that I have a friend who was very devoted to St. Vincent. However, she has recently fallen upon hard times and is struggling with her faith. Thus, I invoke his intercession for her everyday. Secondly, St. Vincent greatly struggled in his early years in the Dominican Order. I also have struggled in my early years as a priest. After having only been ordained for 6 months, I was put in charge as a temporary administrator of two parishes. That was a great burden which was followed by spiritual desolation which has been very painful. Nevertheless, in the life of St. Vincent, we see that his struggles were mere periods of purification in which the Lord was perfecting his faith, his hope, and his love as Sirach says: For gold is tested in the fire, and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation. (Sirach 2:5). Thus, I pray that in these trying times, the Lord may purify my faith so that I may firmly believe; my hope, that I may rely solely on his mercy; and my love, that I may love nothing but him.
Are you able to share any of the history on how the relics were obtained?
I do not know the history of how our relics in the reliquary were attained. However, the relics in our altar were given to us by a priest from St. Francis de Sales Seminary. St. Frances Cabrini recently underwent a renovation which included a new altar. Fr. Strand wanted to include relics from St. Frances Cabrini (our Patroness) and also the relics of a few martyrs in the altar. The reason for having the relics of martyrs in the altar is because martyrs in a profound way participate in the most Holy Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Namely, that just as Christ died for love us, so the martyrs died for love of Christ. This sacrifice of Christ, which the martyrs so wondrously partake in, is made present upon our altar at every Mass. Therefore, it is fitting to have the relic of a martyr in the altar.
Watch for Part 2 of this All Saints Series by Fr. Kevin Harmon.