Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: On Tour in South Africa

In today's news:

"Relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux to make three-month tour of South Africa"
EWTN News (June 26, 2010)

"On Friday, relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux arrived at a South African convent. They will travel around the country for the next three months making stops in the provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng, Free State, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

"Priests from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg joined the Carmelite Sisters and the Catholic Order of the Knights of da Gama to receive the traveling relics at the Carmelite Convent in Benoni.

"The casket, containing some of the saint's mortal remains will be kept at the convent until June 28. At that time, the relics will proceed along a three-month tour of South Africa that includes the provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng, Free State..."

I've posted about Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, or "the little flower," before. (October 1, 2009)

I see that I've mentioned the veneration of relics, too: but didn't go into much detail. That's "veneration," not "adoration," by the way. That's a distinction, and an important one (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2132)

Carrying parts of a long-dead Saint around is a custom that definitely wasn't part of my life, growing up in a nice mainstream Protestant family. To this day it 'feels funny,' if I give my emotions a shove. But I also recognize a value in getting close to some physical thing that was connected with a Saint: particularly the Saint's body, or part of it.

Gruesome? I suppose so, from some points of view. But it's also a way of getting physically close to someone who led a life of heroic holiness.

And that's worth something.

Related posts:

• "Statue of Saint Rita of Cascia, Biggest Catholic Statue, Unveiled Today"
  (June 26, 2010)
• "Saints: That's so Medieval"
  (February 14, 2010)
• "Today is Saint Thérèse of Lisieux's Feast Day"
  (October 1, 2009)