The church also has a relationship of faith with objects.

For example, do I expect my salvation and healing from a miraculous medal, scapular or holy water?

Jesus says to a sick man who has been lying at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem for thirty-eight years, near the pond: “Get up, take up your bed and walk!” (Jn 5:8). The Holy Scriptures speak of healing water. Ezekiel writes about the healing power of water in Betsata Pond. This was not the natural power of water. We could compare it to the effects of water in today’s Lourdes, where many inexplicable healings took place – based on the immersion of a sick person in this water. The book Lourdes Lighthouse of the Atomic Age is written about these events not in a superficial sense, because each case is investigated by a committee of doctors and the doctors don’t have to be believers. When the Church gives evidence of unexplained healing, it is issued after a thorough investigation. So nothing, superficial, was invented.

The sick person lies in a colonnade by the pond where he came or could be brought to be healed in the water that restores health. However, he had no one to carry him into this water when it swirls, that is, when it acquires healing power for a while. It was something special. After the storm, the water in the pond healed only one, and that was the first person who entered it. This patient is therefore sad. Hope dawns on the sick man when Jesus asks him if he wants to be healthy. However, the sick person sees only a sick body, and Jesus wants to give him his salvation. The sick man thinks that Jesus wants to take him there, but Jesus does not want to become a nurse. He wants to heal with his word. The sick man was not healed with the help of miraculous water, nor with the help of some proven practices, but with the love of Jesus. This should lead him to seek Jesus and salvation. Jesus, who healed his body, can also heal his soul. That’s how we understand Jesus’ words, with which he admonishes him: “Behold, you are healed, sin no more, lest something worse befall you” (Jn 5:14).

Our faith is not based on the power of sacred objects. These objects, such as scapulars, agnostics, medallions, are only visible objects that are intended to awaken and maintain faith in the power and strength of the teachings of Jesus Christ. When we take such objects in our hands, let us not succumb to superstitions, and magical charms, because our devout respect for these objects is only meant to deepen our dependence on God. It is different if someone wears a cross around their neck or a rosary on their finger to call on God for help and protection, than someone who carries these objects with them as a talisman for luck or success. Let these objects remind us of the salvation of our souls. But let them help us grow spiritually and progress in fulfilling God’s and the church orders. Yes, we must not lightly provoke, but we must not passively resign when approaching, for example, the rosary and the like. Let us use these and similar things with discretion for the salvation of our immortal souls. In these matters, let us submit to the discipline of the Church while ensuring that it will only benefit the cause and our salvation.