A simple guide to explaining the Catholic Church's use of relics (without making it weird).

Not everyone has time to read an entire Papal Encyclical! So when Pope Leo's first Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas was published this morning, I wanted to create a summary of it for anyone who doesn't have an extra few hours to spare, but still wanted to be part of the conversation. Consider this your "TL:DR" of Magnifica Humanitas!

So, Jesus is God, yes? Most of us can agree on that much. And we know that Mary is the mother of Jesus. Therefore, logically speaking, Mary is the Mother of God. Mary was first defined as the Mother of God (Theotokos!) at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. This belief was a conclusion based upon belief in Jesus' Incarnation- that He is fully God AND fully man. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according...