I listened to a documentary about religious relics. I guess the closest one to me would be the Tilma of Juan Diego at the Cathedral in Mexico. I don’t know whether or not I believe Juan Diego saw Mary or if she made an impression of her image on his tilma. I don’t think it really matters. I do believe that whatever happened has made a huge difference in how indigenous people are treated by the Catholic church in Mexico and that’s a good thing. However, personally, it doesn’t change my faith.
Here’s my problem with how some people treat religious relics. They are like Thomas in the Bible who wanted to see Jesus before he could believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. I don’t need a physical object to link me to the story of Jesus to believe. I don’t need to see the Tilma of Juan Diego, the Holy Grail, or a piece of the True Cross, to believe that Jesus gave His life for me. In fact, I already know that in history and in folklore, there are many chirst figures, who have died, and who have been resurrected. It doesn’t change my belief that Jesus died for my sins.
Faith isn’t about holding an object that links me to the historical Jesus or some event that took place 2000 years ago. Faith isn’t about turning to the Bible and believing that every word is exactly God’s word, with no human influence and that it is historically accurate. Faith is about knowing God. Knowing God in such a way that no matter what anyone tells me, no matter what anyone shows me, and no matter what anyone proves to me, it won’t change what I know about God.
There’s this scene from a movie about demonic possession. A mother tells a priest that if you created a carbon copy of my child who looked exactly the same, as a mother, I’d be able to just feel deep inside that it wasn’t my child. No explanation, just knowing. That’s the relationship I have with God. I am His child. He knows me. If there was a carbon copy of me, He would be able to tell it wasn’t me. He knows me. As my God and my Father, I know Him. Not because the Bible tells me so, not because someone taught me, and not because of some piece of religious art. I know Him because He exists in my soul from the moment, He created me until the moment He ends my existence. He is as much a part of me as I am. That’s faith.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
