WATERVILLE – The Rev. Carlos Martins says he once witnessed a man paralyzed for 65 years get up from his wheelchair and walk.

Martins, a member of Companions of the Cross, a community of Roman Catholic priests, says he also saw a 9-year-old girl cured of a cancerous tumor.

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Ida George, 90, inspects a collection of relics Sunday at Saint Joseph Maronite Parish in Waterville. She was hoping to have contact with a relic of St. Peter, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

The man and the girl were both healed after having contact with a relic, or sacred object, said Martins, who brought more than 100 relics to St. Joseph Maronite Parish in Waterville on Sunday morning.

Relics are bits of a saint’s bones or flesh, or objects owned by a saint.

They are not magic, Martins said, just God’s way of drawing attention to saints as models.

He referenced relics in the Bible, including 2 Kings 13:20-21.

When the body of a man was lowered into a tomb with the prophet Elisha “and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet,” the passage says.

For miraculous healing to occur, Martins said, people must open their hearts to God.

“God requires our permission to enter into our heart,” he said. “If you give God your heart today, you’ll experience the power of God today.”

Ida George, 90, of Waterville, one of the 50 people in attendance, said she was hoping to have contact with a relic of St. Peter, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles.

To completely give one’s heart to God, Martins said, people must attend Sunday Mass, regularly confess sins to a priest, confess all their known sins and forgive those who have hurt them.

“God will accept murderers and rapists at his table, but he has said he will not tolerate someone who is unable to forgive,” Martins said.

“The Holy Spirit will show up today; he always does. Your job is to let him in.”

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