ODOR OF SANCTITY
"And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full o/ odours, which are the prayers of saints. "—Apocalypse
At the very beginning Of the Christian era, perfumes were introduced as elements proper to the worship Of God. Myrrh, an aromatic gum resin, and frankincense were offered to the Christ Child by the Three Magi. We also read of the reverential act performed by Mary Magdalen when she "took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." (John 12:3).
It is not surprising that the sweet aroma of perfumes should be associated with virtues, goodness and holiness Of God's Saints, and it is not surprising that one of the phenomena most frequently mentioned in the lives of the Saints is that of a perfume in which the Saints, by the grace of God, emitted a sweet fragrance from their bodies either during
their lifetime or after death. In this chapter we will consider the fragrances emitted from the bodies of the Saints while they were alive, or the perfumes that lingered about the articles they used in life. Anotherchapter will deal with the fragrances Of the dead.
POPE BENEDICT XIV (d. 1758), in his work, De Beatificatione Canonizatione, acknowledges this phenomenon and even indicates the procedure to be followed in verifying its existence when a soul is being considered for beatification. According to the Pontiff, it should be
considered whether the odor is both sweet and persistent and whether it could be explained as having come from anything other than the person.
"And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full o/ odours, which are the prayers of saints. "—Apocalypse
At the very beginning Of the Christian era, perfumes were introduced as elements proper to the worship Of God. Myrrh, an aromatic gum resin, and frankincense were offered to the Christ Child by the Three Magi. We also read of the reverential act performed by Mary Magdalen when she "took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." (John 12:3).
It is not surprising that the sweet aroma of perfumes should be associated with virtues, goodness and holiness Of God's Saints, and it is not surprising that one of the phenomena most frequently mentioned in the lives of the Saints is that of a perfume in which the Saints, by the grace of God, emitted a sweet fragrance from their bodies either during
their lifetime or after death. In this chapter we will consider the fragrances emitted from the bodies of the Saints while they were alive, or the perfumes that lingered about the articles they used in life. Anotherchapter will deal with the fragrances Of the dead.
POPE BENEDICT XIV (d. 1758), in his work, De Beatificatione Canonizatione, acknowledges this phenomenon and even indicates the procedure to be followed in verifying its existence when a soul is being considered for beatification. According to the Pontiff, it should be
considered whether the odor is both sweet and persistent and whether it could be explained as having come from anything other than the person.
