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At every canonization ceremony in the Catholic Church, people connected to the new saint carry to the altar a relic in a reliquary which is often an ornate work of art in gold or silver.
A relic is a keepsake, a tangible reminder that the new saint was human yet heroically lived a life of holiness.
The relic may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures. The authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate; for that reason, some churches require documentation of the relic’s provenance.
In the Catholic Church, a reliquary, also known as a shrine or by the French term châsse is used as a container for relics.
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The relic presented at the Mass for St. Teresa of Calcutta was a few drops of her blood contained in a phial embedded within the centre of a wooden reliquary in the form of a simple cross reflecting her life and values.
The back of the cross-shaped reliquary is made from Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani), a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region, known as a symbol of nobility and spiritual greatness.
The front of the large cross is made of wood taken from places associated with Mother Teresa’s works of mercy: The first home for the dying she established in Calcutta, a home for those with Hansen’s disease, an immigrants’ boat, a Gypsy shack, and wood from the kneeler of a confessional because Mother Teresa believed the “Sacrament of Penance” also known as “Confession” or “Reconciliation” was the greatest expression of God’s mercy.
In the centre of the cross, the phial of Mother Teresa’s blood is sealed in a glass orb in the shape of a water drop as a symbol of her vow to quench the thirst of those literally without water and those dying in the aridness of being unloved.
A roughly sculpted wrinkled hand supports the glass to symbolize that it carries this drop of water, full of love, in response to the cry of Jesus “I thirst” on the cross echoed by millions of people around the world.
The religious dress of the Missionaries of Charity bears special significance. The white colour of their sari stands for truth and purity and the three blue borders each signify the vows that the nuns of the Order take: the first thin band represents “Poverty”, the second thin band represents “Obedience”, and the third broad band represents the vows of “Chastity” and of “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor”.
The water drop on the reliquary is framed by a heart of three sweeping bands of blue on the left and a white band on the right to symbolize the sari St. Teresa adopted as a habit for her sisters of Missionaries of Charity as well as to express devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The three sweeping bands of blue on the left side of the heart are curved and bent to represent St. Teresa’s own curved form bent in prayer. The white band on the right side of the heart displays the words, “I thirst“ in gold, reproduced in St. Teresa’s handwriting.
The base of the reliquary is made of battered iron to represent how society always sees the poor people whom Mother Teresa loved with her whole heart.
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RELATED ARTICLES
- Reliquary (en.wikipedia.org)
- Sacrament of Penance (en.wikipedia.org)
- The Road to Sainthood of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (tvaraj.com)
- How Does One Become a Saint in the Catholic Church? (tvaraj.com)
- Mother Teresa (en.wikipedia.org)
- Canonization (en.wikipedia.org)
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Mother Teresa officially becomes a saint at canonisation ceremony in Vatican City (abc.net.au)
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Significance of Mother Teresa’s Three Stripped Sari (motherteresa.org)
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More About The MCs (maryjohnson.co)
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Teresa: Now a saint, but always a mother (theweek.in)
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Some facts about Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. (tvaraj.com)
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On Poverty – Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (tvaraj.com)
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Pearls of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (tvaraj.com)
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