St Gemma handmade relic pouch offer


St Gemma handmade and handpainted relic pouch offer to benefit the Passionist Nuns at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy


I am offering a variety of very unique and beautiful St Gemma Galgani handmade and handpainted relic pouches individually as a fundraiser for the Passionist Nuns at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy. The nuns at the monastery kindly sent me a number of these, so I thought I would offer a few of them individually as a fundraiser, and all donations from the offer of these relic pouches will be donated to them.

This relic pouches are light cream colored, pink or blue (see photos) and are hand-sewn closed. The flowers on front are hand painted.

The Passionists nuns have told me in writing that the relics inside consist of fragments of wood from wooden box of Saint Gemma fragment of "wooden box" of Saint Gemma--(relics are identified in Italian as "Legno della cassa dovè stata S.Gemma"), pieces from candles that the Holy Father blessed on the feast of St Agnes, and palms blessed on Easter Sunday--both the candles and the palms are from beside the relics of St Gemma at the main altar at the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca. Gemma's holy remains are kept beneath this main altar, where Mass is celebrated each day.


I am offering each of these relic pouches individually for a free will offering of any amount (suggested donation is $25.00 for each pouch). I will ship the relic pouch as soon as the donation is received, and I will include a free Saint Gemma holy card with each donation. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My email address is: gdallaire1@gmail.com



Or, those in the U.S.A. who prefer to use the mail may send American cash, personal check or money order, well hidden in an envelope to:
Glenn Dallaire
42 Crown St.
Bristol, CT 06010

When ordering, please be sure to include your current mailing address and also let me know if there is a specific color that you would like.

To order, click here to go to the St Gemma Gift Store.

Free photo holy prayer card included
Included with the relic pouches is a free photo St Gemma holy prayer card (large sized 3-1/2" x 5"). On the back of the free holy card is the following prayer:

"Oh holy Gemma, I am near you, help me to pray. You who know what I and those near me need; look after my urgent needs and my spiritual and material wants. You take care of them! I confide in you and entrust all to your loving care. Offer up to Jesus that tender and constant care that you bore Him here on earth.
Oh holy Gemma, you who physically suffered all the pains of the Passion of Jesus, I beseech of you the grace to meditate on and live the Passion of Jesus, and the sufferings of Holy Mary. Pray that I will be able to walk in the path of humility, simplicity, love and sacrifice, fulfilling at all times and in all ways, the holy will of God. Let me live united with Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and you, for all eternity. Amen."


As of August 2012 I now have more colors availible. See the following link for more pictures and details:
http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2012/06/st-gemma-relic-pouches-with-free-2nd.html

To order, click here to go to the St Gemma Gift Store.

12 comments:

Fr. Todd said...

Thank you very much for all of your hard-work on behalf of our dear St. Gemma. Your website is a wonderful resource for all of St. Gemma's friends throughout the world. May God continue to bless you and your family during this coming New Year!
Signed,
Respectfully,
Todd+

Glenn Dallaire said...

Dear Father Todd,
Thank you so much for your kind comments. Of all the visitors to this website, you have been the greatest supporter from the beginning, and for this I sincerely thank you, and I ask St. Gemma to recommend you always to Jesus, and obtain for you many graces.

May God bless you and may He continue to draw you ever closer to Himself.
And please give your blessing to all who visit this website.
-Glenn Dallaire

Keith Berube said...

Hi Glenn,

I received a few of these from the Passionist nuns when I sent a donation to them for a few second class relics of St. Gemma. I wasn't sure what could be inside, and I figured it was worth very carefully opening it to find out--I figured it could be a second class relic in there, and I would want to know that. What's inside is rather a combination of wax and flowers/plants--if you look at the photos of the convent in Lucca, where the Passionist nuns in question reside, there is a photo of the altar beneath which is the resting place of St. Gemma. On top of that altar are candles and flowers, the flowers being the same color of the flowers that were in the pouch I received. My guess is that this is what is inside all the pouches. It's a very beautiful thing, to have flowers and wax that was in such close proximity to her relics. And the hand-painting on the pouches is really something! Hope this sheds some light on things. God's blessing on you and yours,

Keith

Glenn Dallaire said...

Hi Keith,

It is great to hear from you again!
Thank you so much for the information about the contents of the relic pouch. Also the fact that these relic pouches are hand sewn and hand painted at the Monastery with obvious care and devotion also makes them very unique and special. The Nuns kindly sent me a number of them, the majority of which I will be offering for free to those who are sick and are seeking St Gemma's interecession. In fact, I already sent one out earlier this week to a gentleman who is very ill and who is praying to Saint Gemma for her help and intercession.

Anyway, thanks again Keith for the information and may God bless you and your loved ones!
Glenn Dallaire

Kathy said...

Dear Glenn, I can't thank you enough for your kindness and prayers. Our dear Gemma has been holding my hand as I approach Jesus in my suffering. I Pray with her to Him daily and His Blessed Mother. I have kept the relic pouch of Gemma with me at all times.
God is Good the Cancer is in remission! I have returned part time to work this week, I take care of the elderly. Ever though I dont have all my strength, I feel this is where Jesus wants me to be. After speaking to my Passionist Director & showing him the relic pouch and beautiful prayer cards, he has decided that next year our retreat at the Passionists Nuns Monastery will be on the Life and Writings of St Gemma. God Bless You

Glenn Dallaire said...

Hi Kathy,
It is really nice to hear from you again! I am so happy to hear that the cancer is in remission--thanks be to God! And I am really glad to hear that you are keeping Gemma's relic pouch with you--I pray that she may be very close to you, and may she lead you ever closer to Jesus, her beloved Spouse.

And I am really happy that your Passionist director will preach on the spirituality of Gemma during his upcoming retreat. I would love to be at that retreat!

Thanks again and may God bless you Kathy. Please keep in touch!
Union in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
-Glenn

Glenn Dallaire said...

For those interested in knowing whats inside the relic pouches, the Passionists nuns have told me in writing that the relics inside consist of fragments of wood from Gemma's casket (ie- 2nd class relic), pieces from candles that the Holy Father blessed on the feast of St Agnes, and palms blessed on Easter Sunday at the Monastery--both the candles and the palms are from beside the relics of St Gemma at the main altar at the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca. Gemma's holy remains are kept beneath this main altar, where Mass is celebrated each day.

-Glenn Dallaire

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Isn't selling relics against the Church's teaching?

Ryan said...

Hi,

I'd just like to say that I've visited your site often and that it is a great source of information on Saint Gemma and her most holy and saintly life. Well done for your good work :)

The only thing I feel slightly uncomfortable this - and I'm not saying this in a rude, mean or pretentious way - is the exchange of relics for a donation, and the ones for sale on eBat. You're right in that Canon Law states that relics cannot be sold, but this applies to all classes of relics, first, second and third class. I've seen some postulators selling relics in the past, and this is wrong too - they are breaking Canon Law. I know that you have the best intentions in mind by sending a portion of donations to various religious communities, but the sale of relics is wrong.

Best regards and God bless!

Ryan.

Glenn Dallaire said...

Hi Ryan,
I respect your concern. The statement below is what is stated in the St Gemma Gift Store where the items are offered:
"***Note concerning the relics being offered on this website: Pertaining to relics, the Catholic Code of Canon Law (Canon 1190) states simply: "It is absolutely forbidden to sell sacred relics."
So, the question then is, what exactly does the canon law intend when it refers to a "sacred relic". Without a doubt this pertains to 1st class relics which are body parts of a Saint or Beata (ie.- hair, bones, etc...) and also 2nd class relics such as the Saints clothing and certain articles of devotion that were frequently used by a Saint (rosary, crucifix, etc).

However the "ex capsa" (fragment of coffin) relics being offered on this site would not reasonably be classified as a "sacred relic" because while the coffin obviously did come in contact with Saint Gemma, and the fragments have also been touched to her authentic 1st class relics, yet nevertheless a coffin in and of itself (or fragments of it) is not a "sacred relic" no more than the house that a Saint lived in, or the horse carriage that a Saint rode upon neither would be classified or considered a "sacred relic". The Church does not keep or honor the homes of Saints as sacred relics, and neither for example is Blessed Pope John Paul II's "pope mobile" a sacred relic, even though he rode in it an used it often, or again just because a Saint had at one time rested upon a certain bed, neither does this make such an item a sacred relic and therefore venerated by the faithful. As we can see, obviously not everything a Saint touches is a sacred relic, so there must be a reasonable distinction between what is, and what is not, a "sacred relic" as defined in canon law.

Thus it is reasonable to conclude that the canon law forbidding the sale of sacred relics does not pertain to the "ex capsa" fragments of St Gemma's coffin being offered here for devotion of the faithful and for this same reason one can normally find 3rd class relic holy cards, relic medals etc. being offered at Catholic shrines and gift shops throughout the world. Simply put, what the canon refers to as a "sacred relic" does not pertain to everything the Saints ever came in contact with....in that case, most of the globe would be a relic! The primary purpose of all the religious items offered here is to be a means of grace and to help spread devotion to Saint Gemma.

Please note also that none of the items that are offered on this website have been blessed, so I highly recommend that this be done as soon as possible after receiving them.

May God bless you and your loved ones,
Glenn Dallaire

Mary said...

I understand many catholics want to have something of their favorite saints with them for devotion and piety. But imagine what is going to happen when they die,are their families going to sell the relics online? Are the second or third class relics going to be abandoned in the house in forgetfulness? Or are they going to be in the trash when relatives collect your personal belongings after death? Unless everybody in a family has your faith, piety and devotion and want to keep the second and third class relics out of devotion, those relics are going to be thrown aside as worthless things. There's a reason for why the church prefers relics in a church. If an individual person dies,are their descendants going to keep the relics showing them due veneration? We know not everyone in our families cares about religion. If a person has relics,in my personal opinion is better if they donate it to the church before dying. I have seen many families putting in a box religious articles like rosaries, crucifixes,religious books, etc,after their relative dies and giving away those belongings to any person that wants it.

Unknown said...

To whom it may concern,

I'm Melvin, and currently serving in our little community I'm glad to see this website to look for her relic but sadly, I wasn't able to give any donations because of financial instances and health difficulties. I wanted to have one of her precious relic for my private veneration, and wish to hear a response from this website.

I will solely, appreciate your blessed response

Thank you and May God bless you.

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