Q. 1205.  How many kinds or classes of relics are there?  A. There are three kinds or classes of relics:  (1) The body or part of the body of a saint; (2) articles, such as clothing or books, used by the saint; (3) articles that have touched a relic of the body or other relic.

Q. 1206.  What is there special about a relic of the true cross on which Our Lord Died, and also about the instruments of His Passion?  A. The relics of the true Cross and relics of the thorns, nails, &c., used in the Passion are entitled to a very special veneration, and they have certain privileges with regard to their use and the manner of keeping them that other relics have not.  A relic of the true Cross is never kept or carried with other relics.

Q. 1207.  What veneration does the Church permit us to give to relics?  A. The Church permits us to give relics a veneration similar to that we give images.  We do not venerate the relics for their own sake, but for the sake of the persons they represent.  The souls of canonized saints are certainly in heaven, and we are certain that their bodies also will be there.  Therefore, we may honor their bodies because they are to be glorified in heaven and were sanctified upon earth.

Q. 1208.  What care does the Church take in the examination and distribution of relics?  A. The Church takes the greatest care in the examination and distribution of relics. (1) The canonization or beatification of the person whose relic we receive must be certain; (2) the relics are sent in sealed packets, that must be opened only by the bishop of the diocese to which the relics are sent, and each relic or packet must be accompanied by a document or written paper proving its genuineness; (3) the relics cannot be exposed for public veneration until the bishop examines them and pronounces them authentic; that is, that they are what they are claimed to be.

Q. 1209.  What should we be certain of before using any relic or giving it to another?  A. Before using any relic or giving it to another we should be certain that all the requirements of the Church concerning it have been fulfilled, and that the relic really is, as far as it is possible for any one to know, what we believe it to be.

Q. 1210.  Has God Himself honored relics?  A. God Himself has frequently honored relics by permitting miracles to be wrought through them.  There is an example given in the Bible, in the IV Book of Kings, where it is related that a dead man was restored to life when his body touched the bones, that is, the relics of the holy prophet Eliseus.

Q. 1211. {341} Does the first Commandment forbid the making of images?  A. The first Commandment does forbid the making of images if they are made to be adored as gods, but it does not forbid the making of them to put us in mind of Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother, and the saints.

Q. 1212.  How do we show that it is only the worship and not the making of images that is forbidden by the first commandment?  A. We show that it is only the worship and not the making of images that is forbidden by the first commandment, (1) Because no one thinks it sinful to carve statues or make photographs or paintings of relatives or friends; (2) because God Himself commanded the making of images for the temple after He had given the first commandment, and God never contradicts Himself.