“That is going to happen, when you encounter the relics,” the priest said. “I guarantee people that's going to happen.”
While some non-Catholics may find the veneration of relics unusual or even strange, it is solidly rooted in scripture and the constant tradition of the Church. Saints and their relics are not worshiped, but honored in a manner that acknowledges God's work in their lives.
Through his work with Treasures of the Church, Fr. Martins has seen God's work continue through the relics of the saints – sometimes in surprising ways.
“People come to a relic exposition for all kinds of different reasons,” he noted.
While some are there because of their devotion to saints, others may attend for different reasons: historical interest, an interest in “antiques,” or curiosity about a practice with which they are unfamiliar.
“They can't believe that there is a 'medieval circus act,' running around with human bones, in this day and age,” Fr. Martins joked.
In the presentation that precedes the “walk with the saints,” the priest makes a promise to all of these attendees.
“I make a public guarantee that they will encounter the living God in that exposition.”
“In the years I've been doing this, the hundreds of thousands of people that have come – I have never had anybody make a 'warranty claim,'” he said.
Instead he has heard testimonies of healing, accomplished by God's grace, through the intercession of the saints.
“I've had thousands of healing stories communicated to me: cancers gone, heart conditions, osteoporosis, you name it.”
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
But the “most dramatic effect” Fr. Martins sees, following the exposition of relics, is a healing within the human soul.
It is this kind of healing that the priest finds “most exciting” in his ministry. Through their encounter with the saints, those living on earth are called to remove the obstacles to receiving eternal life.
“You can go to heaven with cancer in your limb. You can go to heaven with a bad heart (condition),” Fr. Martins noted.
“But you can't go to heaven with a heart that has shut God out. You can't go to heaven with unforgiveness in your heart. You can't go to heaven by refusing to participate in the sacraments and live your Catholic identity. You just can't. ”
“If I've managed to help God penetrate the human heart, that invigorates and exhilarates me,” he said.