22/08/2026
A Reverend Sister recently explained that Catholics do not worship the bones, skulls, or remains of saints. She argues that they honour them because the bodies of the saints were temples of the Holy Spirit, and because Scripture shows God working through physical things associated with His servants, such as Elishaâs bones, Paulâs garments, and Jesusâ garment. So she claims. It is not wrong to do so.
The question is:
Does Scripture instruct Christians to preserve, carry, and honour the physical remains of departed believers in this way?
1. 1 Corinthians 6:19 does not establish this practice.
Paul says, âYour body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.â
The context is about living believers and how they should live because the Holy Spirit dwells in them. It does not say that because someone's body was a temple of the Holy Spirit during life, their remains should therefore become objects of religious honour after death.
2. Elishaâs bones demonstrate Godâs power, not a practice of honouring bones.
Yes, 2 Kings 13:20â21 records that a dead man came into contact with Elishaâs bones and was restored to life.
But who performed the miracle? God.
Were the Israelites instructed to carry Elishaâs bones around, pray before them, or preserve them for future miracles? No.
God sovereignly chose to use Elishaâs bones in that particular miracle. The passage does not establish a religious practice of honouring or using the bones of the dead.
3. Acts 19 also points to God as the source of the miracle.
Acts 19:11 says, âGod was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.â
Yes, handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul were associated with healing. But Scripture does not instruct Christians to preserve Paulâs clothes, carry them in procession, or honour them.
Again, God was the source of the miracle.
4. The woman who touched Jesusâ garment was reaching out to Jesus in faith.
Matthew 9:20â22 tells us that the woman touched Jesusâ garment and was healed.
But Jesus was alive and physically present. She was reaching out to Christ, not honouring the remains of a deceased servant of God.
Jesus told her, âYour faith has made you well.â
The passage points us to Christ, not to the garment as an object of religious honour.
5. Scripture consistently directs worship toward God.
Jesus said:
"You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.â â Matthew 4:10
When Cornelius fell before Peter, Peter said, âStand up; I myself am also a man.â (Acts 10:26)
And when John fell before an angel, the angel said, âWorship God.â (Revelation 19:10)
Scripture teaches us to remember and follow the faith of God's servants (Hebrews 13:7), but where does it instruct the Church to preserve, carry, and honour their physical remains?
That is the question.
So yes, God can use physical things. I completely agree.
But there is a difference between:
âGod Himself used this object.â
and
âGod commands His people to honour this object.â
If we are going to defend a religious practice as Christians, the question should be:
âDid Christ and His apostles teach the Church to practice this?â
Because our faith is built on what God has revealed and instructed.
And ultimately, Scripture continually points us back to Christ.
Not the bones.
Not the skull.
Not the garment.
Christ.
That is where our worship, faith, and devotion belong.
