Is it wrong to steal the relics of a saint? Let me return to that question in a moment. First, Venice. The Republic of Venice, traditionally known as La Serenissima, or Most Serene Republic of Venice in English, was a proud world superpower in the middle ages, under the special patronage of Saint Mark of Alexandria in Egypt. La Serenissima was so rich, and had such a powerful navy and commercial trading fleet, that it dominated the Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean Seas for centuries.
The historic Byzantine Empire, the new Rome, became, like many others, a virtual vassal of Venice. The symbol of Saint Mark and the City of Venice is the Lion with wings. Saint Mark’s Gospel is the shortest, and earliest of the four canonical gospels. The Church believes that Saint Mark, a disciple of Saint Peter, was the author. Saint Mark was much younger than Peter and heard all his sermons. Saint Mark is very likely the founder of the patriarchal Church of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the five most important churches in the first millennium.
Saint Peter says: "Clothe yourselves with humility, God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble, So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." Put your trust in God. Even though we might have to suffer some in our lives, we must remember that God cares for us. He will, in Peter’s strong words, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. This tells us that he is a personal God who is not only available, but ready to intervene on our behalf. We need to trust him.
Have you wondered what is all this fuss about Divine Mercy? One helpful way of appreciating the Mercy of God is the ABC's of Divine Mercy.
A - To open ourselves right now to God’s mercy we first do well to ASK for His Mercy.
B - Second, we must BE merciful ourselves to others, those we like and even enemies.
C- And finally, we must COMPLETELY Trust is God. Ask for mercy, be merciful and completely trust in Jesus.
Now back to my opening question! Is it okay to steal a saint’s relics? There might be times when we need to protect them!
In 828, a troop of Venetian sailors were in Alexandria, Egypt, on a commercial mission with a special task to save the relics of Saint Mark from desecration by invading Muslims.
Knowing that Muslims abhor pig meat, as do Jews for dietary and religious reasons, intrepid sailors entered the Church of Saint Mark, placed his remains in large baskets, covered the baskets with pig meat, and made their way down to the port crying out, "Make way, unclean, unclean!"
No one challenged them and they escaped with the precious relics of Saint Mark and placed them in the basilica of Saint Mark in Venice, where they remain to this day. It may be okay to steal relics when they are in danger of desecration.
Father Willy's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
