Good luck trying to find an object that represents lost causes

Whether you believe or not is completely beside the point. This item was Stolen. Pure and simple. I pray that the thief will return it. Even if they do it annonymously. It means a great deal to a lot of people.

Just because YOU don't believe in it, that doesn't mean it isn't special to someone else.

Friendly reminder,( Haggie 2: 6- 14, 20-23) That goes for all churches. Are people listening to men Or The Almighty.

Let's just hope it does not show up on eBay.

Oh Sweet Irony... (lost objects and all)

OK, on a more serious note... This thing has been around for 700 years, and yet the picture in the story is the best likeness we could come up with? I can barely make it out...

Yeah, Gundeck, I can't help but think this was a gag. The relic of the Saint of Lost Objects now becomes a lost object. Can't help but wonder is some smart alec didn't just hide it somewhere in the church...

780 years old ?? where/who did the catholic church in long beach steal it from ?

Don't ya think the suspect wouldn't have stolen it if they thought a god was watching.....lol

The article does not mention once what exactly the relic IS.... just keeps calling it "the relic"... WTF???

Yes, ok, it has Gold and Silver ornamentation (which is all the thief was really after)...
but what exactly is the 780 year old object?

What was going on in the year 1231, that made the church say "we have to keep this"?

This think is going to end up in a Long Beach garage sale.

How appropriate that a religion that is a lost cause in itself is coveting a relic that symbolizes lost causes.

Good luck trying to find god.

Patron Saint of LOST causes and MISSING objects. This is funny.

Off traveling with a lawn gnome to be sure.

Relics - Just another example of how Catholics don't read or follow the Bible. Only God is to be worshipped, revered or prayed to. The whole saint thing is a creation of man and totally off focus.

Not in the bible. OK. So, you tell me where the bible tells you these things:

What books are supposed to be contained in it. That Jesus founded a book. That all christian teaching is contained in it and that it is the sole rule of christian authority.

Whatever... you lost me!

Since it is the so-called Patron saint of lost causes and lost articles, shouldn't it be able to find itself?

WHY YELDARB27? ?Very simple, it wasn't lost,it was Stolen!Maybe Saint Anthony can find YOU!

Pretty sure the lost article and the reason the relic was brought out was their coffers runith dry. Maybe they are lying, Catholic Church tends to do that, especially when revenues are down, but fear not, the suckers will fillith.

Pretty sure god doesn't give a C about some lame statue that is hidden from the public for 8 years, and brought out when revenues are waning.

Saint Jude is the patron saint of lost causes.

Scott, a relic is NOT a statue. A first class relic is a part of the body such as a bone and those are the relics the church usually has. There are also second class relics such as an item of clothing the saint once wore and a third class relic would be something like a cloth which has been touched to a more important relic. Relics come from the Vatican and cannot be created at will by a local church!

Scott needs to go back to school and redefine his definition on statues.Don't ya Scott?

Maybe the Patron Saint of Lost Causes can help him out.

The original articles is incorrect. St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost articles. Catholics who have trouble finding lost items have a prayer to Saint Anthony.

gloria fabiaschi and Entitled To My Opinion - if you take a good look at the photograph, you'll see that the object in question seems to be a gold vessel of some sort, which might lead someone to refer to it as a statue.

Why would any sane, educated person believe in relics in the first place? They are as authentic as the sliver of wood from the cross that my 80-year-old grandmother bought when she visited Jerusalem years ago.

ABCzyx, Well then since Scott does not know what he is looking at he should refrain from commenting. This article was about a theft of a relic from a catholic church. It was not written to cause people to slam the church or the way it's members pray. Our country (USA) was founded on religious freedom.

Our country (USA) was founded on religious freedom.

Entitled To My Opinion - exactly. Which gives Scott the right to follow any religion in which he wants to believe. It also gives him the right not to believe in anything if he so chooses. This country was also founded on Freedom of Speech, which gives Scott the right to say anything that he wants to say about the Catholic church or any other church. The problem is that people like you want to limit the freedom of others if their views do not match yours.

BTW, Scott knows exactly what he is looking at. It's a wooden and glass cabinet with a gold vessel inside, the same thing that we all see when we look at the photo. The photo shows more than a relic or space where the relic used to reside.

"a third class relic would be something like a cloth which has been touched to a more important relic."

Seriously? all you have to do is take a rag and touch it to another "relic" and then you have two relics? Yeah, they need to get that back then, before someone starts making all the relics they can to sell on ebay, lol

"ABCzyx, Well then since Scott does not know what he is looking at he should refrain from commenting. This article was about a theft of a relic from a catholic church. It was not written to cause people to slam the church or the way it's members pray. Our country (USA) was founded on religious freedom."

Holy crap, you did not just say that, do you even realize how ignorant you sound?

Not only was our country founded on religious freedom, there was also a little freedom called freedom of speech. Which means, that he does indeed have the right to comment on the picture it shows with the article.

Thank you, Prohibition! My thoughts exactly.

St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes. St. Anthony is lost objects.

Or, as the nums taught us: Blessed St. Anthony, please come around. Something is lost and can't be found.

Gloria, I think you are confused. Shouldn't you be looking for Budda, the Patron Saint of Obesity?

My point was that people need to stick to the point rather than bash religion if they aren't of that faith. Common courtesy.

Wakehead, you're so intelligent aren't you?They pray to a figurine on a dashboard?WOW!

Yup just the epitome of intelligence brimming over with information when it comes to praying and religion.You should teach a religious class!.

Gloria...

If you can't see the irony in Wakehead's post...then I fear you are the dummy!

Praying to the dashboard statute will render the same results as praying period....relic, statue of in a church !.....

It will render NOTHING but false hope, wasted time and effort and the ultimate frustration of hoping for a god to listen and you get nothing in return.

That is religion.

FYI...
There's a big misconception among protestants and people in general, that Catholics pray to relics, statues and such. They pray to God. Everything else like the stain glass, art work, relics and statues are just visual aids and reminders. It goes back to a time when illiterates couldn't READ the bible, but could still take part in the services.

Ben915

There is no excuse for this horrible act, "St. Anthony" is one of our greatest Catholic Saints. Return it, it would be better if this person were never born than to not return this Holy Sacred Relic. Read about St. Anthony and you will agree. GB

Wow... what a fine example of a Christian/Catholic you are.
You would wish and pray the thief into nonexistence for the sake of a relic.

I'm sure Jesus would be so proud of you...
I mean he didn't try to teach people about forgiveness and salvation or anything, right?
He didn't walk among the dregs and the wretches and try to change them...
No sir, he wished them into nonexistence, right?

You religious folk kill me, you really do...
You follow and live your own belief system LESS than most non-believers do...
Jesus pointed the way, and you stand there staring at his finger,
Worshipping the finger, making songs, and statues of his finger,
But never going where the finger pointed...

Listen.....
Take your bible, and keep the sermon on the mount section,
and discard or ignore the rest of the book...
you'll be a better person for it.

"Greatest Catholic Saint".. lol. Like being the lightest kid at fat camp

Globalove...............

side note:

The church prefered the "illiterates" to remain as such so that the church and it's preachers were deemed important and special to be able to preach and interpret the bible as they saw fit. It was about control. An illiterate will believe what ever you tell them is in the bible...even if it is BS!

If they really practiced what they preached they would teach them to read and write....oh wait - but then they wouldn't have illiterate zombie followers of a fairytale! They would have educated folks who can recognize BS!

V makes an excellent point; unfortunately the ones that could benefit will ignore it.

Sort of like my favorite question for 'Christians' that is never answered:

Last time I checked, one of the most basic teachings of Christianity (simplified wording) is 'do not judge others'. Why is it also the most ignored?

I guess I would be considered a Christian, but I do not care much for organized religion and faith is private to me. Anyone else's beliefs/non-beliefs/dis-beliefs are a private and personal choice, and as long as no one is being hurt it isn't my business... or yours.

I think at some point in their life everyone should have in-depth conversations with people from every religion, and with atheists and agnostics (better still if you can get several in the same conversation). If you are willing to be logical and respectful of people's choices, you will discover a lot of very interesting things that may change your opinions. A sense of humor and an open mind are helpful as well.

Gloria, I thought that you were just mad at me for all the fat jokes, but you don't mind attacking any/everybody do ya?

Just look on the south side of town. There you will most likely see a 1987 Buick Lasabre with a real fancy looking hood ornament. the collection plates probably made nice looking spinning rims too.

Whoever took it, they took it for the case, not the relic. Gold and silver are at premium prices these days. If the relic is to be recovered, perhaps putting word out on the street that all that is really wanted is the relic object, I'll bet they get it back. As for the case, that is replaceable. The relic is not.

It was the relic that was stolen, not the case!

zapper45701
If the relic is to be recovered, perhaps putting word out on the street that all that is really wanted is the relic object, I'll bet they get it back.

I doubt it. Once the thief finds out that it is a 700+ year-old relic, no chance the church gets it back. It's probably worth more than the gold and silver it's cased in combined. Next time anyone sees it will be in the black market.

My bad, sort of.

"Arcala said the relic is housed in a 16-inch-tall case with angel-shaped handles made of gold and silver on either side. He declined to describe it further because that might jeopardize the investigation."

I looked at the case in the pic, and saw the relic encapsulated in the gold and silver interior case inside the wooden outer case. I still think they were after the gold and silver, but who knows.

Nevertheless, it's a very sad day to steal the bones of a dead man just to make a buck. (And I'm assuming the relic is a bone.)

Come on. where will the thieves fence a 700+ year-old St Anthony?

zapper - I'm with you. The description is very ambiguous. From the way the article is worded, it sounds as though the cabinet and everything inside was taken. Does "16-inch-tall case" refer to the wooden and glass enclosure? If so, where are the silver and gold handles? Are the handles on the object inside the wooden case? Poorly written description.

Long Beach, Catholic church, stolen - synonyms??? Any Hispanic gang bangers in the area??

• A first class relic is a part of the body of the Saint. All instruments of the Passion are considered First Class Relics.
• A second class relic is a piece of clothing or other object - like a watch or a blanket - used by the Saint.
• A third class relic is a bit of cloth that came into direct contact with a first or second class relic.
• Everything else is properly classified as a relic memento.

Yes, it has the power to grant whoever holds it three wishes. But each wish comes at a horrific price. Be careful what you wish for!

Ben Bernanke stole it to help him find his financial senses

Sarah Palin stole it to help her find her brain.

Rush Limbaugh stole it to help him find his pills.

Anthony Weiner stole it to help him find his shame.

Bill Clinton stole it to help him find his black book.

Barack Obama stole it to help him find his teleprompter.

Donald Trump stole it to help him find his humility.

Glenn Beck stole it to help him find his white board.

LeBron James stole it to help him find his 'balls'.

Tiger Woods stole it to help him find his 'stroke'.

the list is endless...........

Curious Bob

The person who "borrowed" this item doubtlessly did so to acquire the "power" it has.

Really?
You go to that answer, before going to the fact that it is encased in gold and silver?
Relics hold no power by the way... sorry.

However, that person should also be aware that this "power" can have a negative effect on anyone that has taken it from its rightful place. For that "borrower's" well-being, both physical and spiritual it should be returned immediately, and certainly never offered to another for sale.

You, my friend, grew up watching too much Scooby Doo, and Brady Bunch Tiki idol episodes...

For the believer, that could have the most dire of consequences.

Hmmn... so a non-believer would be safe then?

Consider yourself warned, do the right thing, and then confess your sins...

Who are you warning?
Do you think the thief is here on Newsvine reading this...?

man oh man...
Let me guess you had your bags packed for the rapture last month, didn'cha?

Lol. I thought my niece was a bit gullible believing in the Tooth Fairy. Wait till I tell the guys in Walking Dead company about this. "Hey you guys, you laughed when I told you my niece believes in the tooth fairy and easter bunny.. well these guys still believe in GOD!" They'll @!$%# themselves.

Actually, I do believe in God.
I just completely reject what religions tell ME God is, and wants...

Google this word... "Pantheism".
That is closer to what I think God is really all about.

Not an old man with a beard judging our actions, thoughts and behaviors...
like some kind of Salvation VS Damnation game show.

Lost causes, not lost objects. You didn't read the article or just are foolish.

Yeah! Lost causes! Not objects! Doesn't really matter anyways though.. Fixin' lost causes and whatnot. They failed with all christians..

As being an angry and irritating person who happily vilifies others beliefs on the internet, where it is safe. But probably wouldn't dare say the same to someone's face.

EBAY LISTING:

(1) Each, religious relic thought to be over 700yrs old but in near mint to mint condition. Known to disappear without reason or rhyme. Will also accept trades for Elvis shaped potato chips and state shaped cereal flakes. Special premium paid for the states of Ohio and West Virginia. Bids starting at $99.99 or best offer. Bids ending in 3 days and 17hrs. Enjoy. Free shipping.

Dealer: NatziKook105 ****Dealer.

Please leave positive feedback.

Yes, and he answers all prayers. Just sometimes the answer is no. He knows what is best.

So when 40,000 children across the world die each DAY from malnutrition and preventable disease, that's just "God" saying "No!" and is business as usual.

That's why when one child survives after $500,000 worth of medical intervention the religious types call it a "miracle" because "God" saving one child is such an extraordinary event that defies the odds.

Yes, and he answers all prayers. Just sometimes the answer is no. He knows what is best

Indeed, sometimes he answers prayers like 'please God let the Packers win on Sunday' - but refuses to answer the prayers of his faithful parishoners to return a holy relic of one of His Saints.... for the best, I'm sure He knows what He's doing.

/s/

There are so many private collectors who will pay huge sums of money for stolen art and relics, that the FBI now has a 10 most wanted list for stolen art.

Finding a collector to buy stolen art is not that difficult.

They are not really that special. I have six of them myself. I use them, for bookends.

Every catholic church that is named for a saint has relics of that saint. There are also relics placed inside of alter stones. I don't think there are any catholic churches without relics.

My church does not have a relic. Many do not. In fact, most do not. Relics are hard to come by that is why they are so precious.

This is not really about religious ideology; this is about a 780-year-old piece of art, stolen from its owners.

Oh good. I was wondering when the anti-Catholic rants would begin.

To rico-3607296, Catholics do not worships saints, never have, never will. Saints were human beings that exemplified the life of Jesus. We use saints to pray through to the Holy Spirit for love and support.

Rico, relics of saints have been venerated (not worshiped) since the early Church, and the custom, found in Catholic, Anglican, and especially Orthodox churches, is justified via Scripture, and was approved by early councils of the church. Protestants should try reading their bibles too. Relics are simply tangible links to those who lived especially holy lives. The church from day one has been seen as an "extended family", with those on earth being connected to those in heaven. Relics, statues, etc. facilitate this connection. In one Biblical passage, a murdered man is thrown into a cave where his body comes into contact with the bones of St. Elisha. The man is restored to life, not BY the bones but by God. Whether taken literally or symbolically, relics have always been a part of Christianity until the Reformation.

amen bro right on

Rico-

If you were catholic then you missed the whole book of the Catechism that tells you what Catholics believe. That being said, Catholics DO NOT worship saints, I am Catholic and have never worshiped a saint. I ask saints to help me be a better Christian, to live a more fulfilling life, I ask them to pray for me. But I worship God. Oh and you need to learn about the Catholic faith before you start talking about relics. A relic is something that a canonized saint possessed when they were living. It is a reminder that this person achieved something that we as Christians should try to achieve in our lifetime.

So please quit judging people. You do not know it all, if you did you wouldn't have said the things you did!!!

There's nothing like an apostate Latin who thinks their family was actually Catholic just because he was served a bowl of spaghetti once.

Hey Meatball you were lied to by the Jesus-deniers who worship Bibles and not God. News to you. The Bible didn't fall out of the sky. It was put together by an Italian Catholic Bishop named St. Jerome. How about you realise that Moses was instructed by God to carve a staff with a cross on it put on it two carved-snakes?

to worth florida.

Praying through saints is a waste if time. The bible says who the hearer of prayer is..... and its not saints. God is the only hearer of prayer. Therefore when you pray he is the only one listening. How do you think he feels when your talking to him but asking others for holy spirit when God is the only one with the authority and power to give it. Jesus model prayer (which catholics took and repeated over and over just as jesus instructed not to do) showed us how to pray. He prayed to God directly as we all should. The people you call saints who are in heaven have a job to do, and its not to hear prayer or to pray for you.

Praying is a waste of time, period. There is nothing to "hear" any prayer.

Well I am glad at least one religious EXPERT has something to say. As long as you whole family is catholic that makes you qualified to judge every catholic in the world. Good for you ...what was that... fool?

Here's a defense of relics from Scripture and from Christian history:

youngevangelicalandcatholic.blogspot.com/2010/12/relics-of-saints-and-early-church.html

Worth Florida: But, you don't have to pray to God through the saints....you can pray directly to him yourself. This is one reason he died on the cross, besides saving us from our sins. According to the Christian doctrine....we pray directly to God with NO interventions necessary. Don't know why the Catholics seem to feel they need someone to forward their prayers to God....sounds like a game of "Whisper" to me. Remember, you sat around in a circle and whispered a word to the person next to you, who, in turn, whispered it to the next person.....it ended up getting all garbled up. I send my prayers directly to the source....works better that way.

http://youngevangelicalandcatholic.blogspot.com/2010/12/relics-of-saints-and-early-church.html

thanks catholicdude

rico, where does say it say not to repeat the Our Father? That argument is new to me so I would like to learn about it. Also, your quote is from the Old Testament law, I believe it falls in the same category as eating kosher; the apostles with the authority vested in them by Jesus Himself decided such things did not need to be kept at the Council of Jerusalem mentioned in Acts.

rico and dial, have you never asked your friend to pray for you? That is what we do with Saints, we ask them to add their prayers to our own. In Acts, it is clear that those with faith work miracles and obviously those who lived lives filled with Christ have faith, so we merely ask them to pray and act as a path for God perform miracles in our souls and in our lives just as you do when you ask a friend or pastor to pray for you or as those who the apostles prayed over in Acts did. What is wrong with asking an apostle, or a friend, or a saint to work a miracle through the power of God?

Ten to one the thief wanted the reliquary, not the relics that were in it. The Church forbids the selling of relics, but take a look on eBay; Reliquaries from closed churches are being sold, WITH relics, though the sellers like to add that the relics come as a "free gift". Right.

I like your view. I was raised in a Catholic family myself and attended Catholic gradeschool and high school. We were taught the "one God" theory in 'Church' class. Our teacher was a nun who presented us with the theory that no matter what the religion, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, or whatever ... we all worship the "one" same God. I can't fathom that anyone from a different faith could actually believe that there is more than 'one' God. Worth mentionoing also, we do not 'worship' saints' as some ignorant poster stated before. Praying to saints for intervention is NOT considered worship. Also, we don't "worship" idols ... any more than the public "worships" statues of Abraham Lincoln or other famous men/women of their times who were honored with statues. Catholics are one of the most assailed of the religious, yet always willing to extend a helping hand. I haven't "found Jesus" either, as I never lost my way to God. He is always there for us.

Very nicely put!!!

I am Catholic as well and that is what I was taught in my Catholic grade school and high school.

I am not Catholic but I now have a better understanding from the posts of Worth and Capt.. I too thought for years why were they worshiping the saints and for what. But I was blinded by my beliefs, I never even got a proper answer when I would ask about that subject. But thank you both for explaining it more clearly. I do hope and pray the relic is returned to the church.

Kitty, its not what men thinks is an act of worship but what The Almighty thinks.

( Hosea 13: 1,2 ) Gods son? ( Luke 22:48 ) " Nehushtan?" smoke =candles? ( 2kings 18:4) Spirit mediums do the same thing. candles and they blow smoke.

I was commenting on the understanding of the Catholic beliefs ie: they praying to a saint not what they think as men.

also try 1 Peter15-17 For so is the will of God,that with well doing ye may put to silence the ingnorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King.

I always liked Elizabeth I's remark about 'we all worship the same God, the rest is just an argument about trifles.'

Some of the ignorant, small-minded, just plain nasty comments here are appalling.

ProudWestVirginian - Just to clarify, "Judge not lest ye be judged" means don;t judge a person's eternal destiny. Only God can do that. It does not mean we cannot judge another persons bad behavior.

Thanks for sharing this great story. It's nice to see someone saying something nice about an institution that's admittedly not perfect, but yet does so much for so many around the world. I encourage others who might be considering a worthy charity to consider Catholic Charities.