Greetings...Out of curiousity...Who confirms the relics are actually from the person that they are claimed to be from?
Also, why does no mention of the importance of relics exist in scripture? In fact, I can't find the word "relic" in scripture anywhere. Where/when did relics take on the importance they do in the RCC today?
Thank you for your insight. God Bless
The relics, i.e. the remains, of the saints were venerated right from the beginning. This can be shown by the importance of the burial sites of Sts. Peter and Paul in Rome.
Obviously there have been some relics that were fraudulent, while the history of other relics indicates a high probability of their authenticity. I believe the point is that throughout history people have rightly and wrongly claimed ownership of the bones of saints, nails and other pieces of the Cross, and various other articles; yet there has never been any claim of possessing any relic related to the Holy Mother, this would indicated that nobody would have possibly believed they were authentic because it was well known that her body was no longer on earth.
"Who confirms the relics are actually from the person that they are claimed to be from?"
As in everything else, we rely on our Christian forefathers to have set aside some piece of clothing or some such thing in which future Christians can use to make a physical connection to a holy person of the past. For example, after St. Francis of Assisi died, a few of his personal belongings were kept for later generations to help them bring St. Francis to mind and to use his example to come closer to Christ (in the way St. Francis did, as there are many ways to come to Christ)
"why does no mention of the importance of relics exist in scripture?"
It seems that the Acts of Apostles mention the personal effects of Peter (a hanky, I think) were highly revered to be able to even effect cures on others. Of course, this concept carries even to this day, as there are numerous saint's effects through whom God continues to work miracles through. God chooses to work through His saints, even after they have passed to their eternal reward. Without getting into the "whether its in Scripture" argument, I believe that such things were not normally written about in Scripture, as the letters written to communities addressed problem areas, and were not a dictionary of Christian beliefs. I believe it is important to admit that there are some Christian beliefs that are not in Scripture - such as the celebration of Christmas Day. Is it absolutely important to the faith? No. But it does help us to remember something about Christ and ties us to our Christian brothers of centuries past.
"Where/when did relics take on the importance they do in the RCC today?"
without consulting a book on this, I am pretty sure it goes back to the first martyrs. The Christians would collect up the bones or remnants of the killed Christians and they would highly revere those saints. (I am certain that Ignatius of Antioch - killed in the Coliseum in about 110 AD was one whose bones and articles were collected and later venerated) Consider that the martyrs were the ultimate witnesses to God. It is one thing to worship Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him, and another to feel a kinship with a saint who shared the trials and tribulations that I do. Was Jesus a father to children? Was Jesus an old man? Was Jesus a wife? A mother? Pregnant? Did He have an incurable terminal disease? Blind? And so on. There are saints who fit all of these - and some people are able to relate directly with these people, as they went through the same thing and remained faithful to God. God uses these saints to bring hope to us that we, too, can live the life of Christ. Relics are a physical means of feeling closer to these particular saints who successfully picked up their cross and followed our Lord.
I hope this helps. If you want more details, I'd have to do a little research, as this is from my limited store of knowledge!
Take care and God bless you as well