A reader writes:
I have been enjoying reading your blog very much and appreciate your testimony. Quick question regarding the upcoming Papal visit to Cuba. I know that this is just a news article below, and believe that the Pope’s ultimate goal for Cuba would be a return to Catholicism, but I am disturbed that anyone would be celebrating the 400th anniversary of a statue. In addition, it’s gone on a tour. Can you explain how this works?
This is from an article from Reuters:
“One purpose of the papal visit is to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Cuba’s most famous religious icon, the statue of the Virgin of Charity. Last month a replica of the statue completed a 16-month pilgrimage around the island that was the first such religious display since the 1950s.”
I’m not sure what you are disturbed by. The Catholic faith has always made use of images as “windows on to God”. This goes right back to the New Testament, when Paul speak to the Galatians “before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified” (Galatians 3:1). The prohibition against the use of images in the Old Testament was, like much of the Old Testament, provisional and meant to prevent idolatry, which is the worship of creatures instead of the Creator. For it was the destiny of the Jews to be headed off from the worship of things that resemble God to the worship of God himself. But when God the Son takes on human form in the person of the Jewish Messiah, images are transformed, because he is “the image of the invisible God” (Hebrews 1:4). So images are hallowed by the Incarnation as the Word becomes matter.
Catholics, therefore, do not worship statues or mistake them for gods. Rather, these images—exactly like the images you have in your family photo album—point to the saints they represent and the saints, in turn, point to their Lord and Savior, Jesus.
It’s worth noting that people generally only have difficulties with this concept when it comes to religious imagery. Nobody gets upset by the graven image on a bowling trophy. Nobody thought it strange when the Statue of Liberty got cleaned up a few years back and there was a big celebration to commemorate that. It’s only when the subject of an image is a religious figure that people get jittery. But there’s no reason to do so. Religious images are not gods for Catholics. They are, like that favorite picture of your Mom and Dad, a way of connecting with the one portrayed and, through them, with the God that saint loved.
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I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the reader’s concern about the statue of Our Lady of Charity was less about honoring the statue than about focusing on the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the image, rather than on, as the reader states, helping Cubans “return to Catholicism” after years of persecution under communism, which the reader sees as the more important focus of the papal visit. Perhaps the disconnect for the reader is in understanding the integral connection between the two. (Prayer doesn’t always seem to be the most practical way to acheive freedom!) It seems our Holy Father is convinced that Cuba will benefit most of all from the intercession of the Mother of God as she continues to awaken from the night of religious persecution. These are wonderful events for the Church in Mexico and in Cuba, and we should be praying for all of our brothers and sisters in the Church there, and throughout Latin America.
From what I remember, statues were also used to tell stories, much like we use picture books today to tell stories to children who still cannot read. If I recall correctly, most of the the poor people who heard the Gospels for the first time were illiterate. So, the statues were utilized for them to have a visual image of Jesus nad Joseph, and Mary, and baby Jesus, the saints, etc… Same thing with paintings, art work.
Mark, I find your assertion that there was a “prohibition against the use of images in the Old Testament was, like much of the Old Testament, provisional and meant to prevent idolatry”. In fact, God forbid idols in the old testament, and still forbids them in the new. That the old testament prohibits images is a common Protestant misperception. Here’s a short blurb from www.Catholic.com showing the absurdity of that position from an Old Testament perspective:
In fact, five chapters later [after the prohibition against idols in Exod 21] God commands the Israelites to make two golden statues of angels as part of the lid of the ark of the Covenant (Ex 25:17-19). That’s an image of something from heaven. Then, in 1 Kings 6, God commands that graven images of flowers and palm trees be made, as well as 15-foot tall statues of cherubim. And in Numbers 21, God commands that a bronze serpent be made and uses it to heal the Israelites. It was preserved for 800 years and then destroyed when some began to worship it (2 Kgs 18:4).
Catholics do not worship statues, because only God is deserving of adoration. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is adamant in affirming this (CCC 2112–2114). When a Catholic bows to a statue, he is not worshiping it any more than King Solomon worshiped Bathsheba when he bowed to her in 1 Kings 2:19. In other words, the honor given to images does not detract from the honor that is due to God. After all, if one member of the body is honored, the others should share in its joy (1 Cor 12:26).
(reference http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/how-do-crucifixes-fit-in-with-the-old-testament-prohibition-of-graven-images )
What the pope is celebrating is a miracle that occurred 400 years ago, not just the appearance of a statue. Please consider the news source, Reuters - they don’t always report religious stories correctly. Here is what happened 400 years - three men went out in a small boat off the eastern coast of Cuba. Tradition has it that one of the men was white, the other black, the third mulatto (thus representing all Cubans). A storm came up and the men, frightened that they would drown, began praying to the Virgin Mary. Almost immediately the storm stopped completely, and they found floating on a board towards them a small statue of Mary. The men took the statue, returned to shore, told everyone what happened. This image was named Our Lady of Charity of Cobre (the town these men were from) and she has been the patroness of Cuba ever since. In the hearts of Cubans, Our Lady of Charity has the same place of love and honor as Our Lady of Guadalupe for Mexicans, Our Lady of Fatima for the Portugese, or Our Lady of Czestochowa for the Poles. Regarding the statue’s tour, it is very similar to any image which is taken from town to town so that people who ordinarily would not get the chance to see it have the opportunity to do so (St. Therese of Lisieux’s bones have travelled the world). And actually, Cubans used to believe that if the statue was removed from its shrine, that something disasterous would occur - after the last tour, Fidel Castro took over Cuba, so perhaps there is some truth to that.
Really, I don’t get what the reader was driving at in his/her question. Part of his/her question reads, ‘...but I am disturbed that anyone would be celebrating the 400th anniversary of a statue. In addition, it’s gone on a tour…’ This throws up the following questions: 1. Is the reader worried over the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the statute? And, if yes, what is the source or cause of the worry? 2. Is the reader trying to object to the worshipping of a statute, which is, of course, not the case with the Catholic Church? 3. Is the reader worried that the statute has made a tour? In my view, the reader’s statement is not clear; it has not put a finger on anything for discussion. Until then I think we await his/her reframing of these cryptic objections.
The statue represents the patroness of Cuba. She is like Our Lady of Guadalupe for Cubans. The honoring of her image builds a bridge of solidarity with the Cuban People, who have never abandoned this devotion. I believe this Papal gesture will have the power of Blessed John Paul II’s first visit to Poland after being made Pope. The Solidarity of the Papacy with the desire for freedom led to the downfall of soviet communism in Poland. This is a similar event. Pray that it has an even better outcome in Cuba!
The statue in question depicts Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre, the patroness of Cuba. As with many titles under which Mary is honored locally, Our Lady of Charity of Cobre refers not to a biblical title of Mary or to an apparition but to a particular image that is honored as miraculously discovered or created. In this case, the story is that the statue was found by three salt-gatherers named John (“los tres Juans”) of mixed race (as are many Cubans) who were caught in a storm at sea and prayed for rescue. When the waves were calmed, they saw what they thought at first was the body of a young girl floating by. It was the statue, which depicted the Madonna and Child. The statue had real human hair of the characteristics of a mixed-race woman, and she and the infant had dark skin. The figure was lashed to a board, and had a sign attached that read “I am the Virgin of Charity.”
The image was honored in a seaside chapel, but it kept disappearing, even when the doors were locked, and being found atop a hill at Cobre in the Cuban province of Oriente. Finally the people built a church there. It was from that province that the movement to free Cuba from Spanish domination began, and also in that province that slaves were first freed. Under the title of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, Mary is honored as interceding for the freedom of the Cuban people, especially the poor and the oppressed, so it is only natural that her intercession would be sought for democracy and a resurgence of faith. “Touring” the image is common with many such miraculous icons: It allows those who cannot afford to go on pilgrimage to the shrine at Cobre to have Our Lady’s image come on pilgrimage to them.
“It seems our Holy Father is convinced that Cuba will benefit most of all from the intercession of the Mother of God…” -Father L
If the Holy Father were “convinced” this type of intercession would help Cuba, would that not carry over to the needs of the world? Or does the Holy Father do honor to a regional custom? In 1917 Our Lady of the Rosary came to Fatima and made known God’s wish, “Establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary throughout the world”. God’s wish has been left unfulfilled, because Our Lady is a major road block in the advancement of ecumenism.
Steve,
While it is true that honoring Our Lady under the title of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre is a Cuban tradition, and therefore an act of deference to the Cuban people and to their cultural and religious heritage, still, honor given to the Mother of God is honor given to the Mother of God, regardless of her titles. Mary is not less honored when she is invoked by her children in Cuba as the Virgen Mother of Charity than by her children in Mexico who invoke her as Our Lady of Guadalupe, or by those elsewhere who invoke her by other titles. It is all an expression of the richness of our Catholic faith.
Dear Steve,
Could you please explain what you meant by this, ‘...God’s wish has been left unfulfilled, because Our Lady is a major road block in the advancement of ecumenism.’
Could you please explain what you meant by this, ‘...God’s wish has been left unfulfilled, because Our Lady is a major road block in the advancement of ecumenism.’
The following is taken from Our Lady of the Rosary speaking at Fatima on July 13, 1917:
We then looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so kindly and so sadly:
“You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.
http://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/third_secret/fatima.htm
If the current Pope was not bogged down by ecumenical concerns, by how the Jews, Protestants and Pagans would react, he could place as his top priority, to grant God’s wish and establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary throughout the world.
What does devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary entail?
Wearing the Brown Scapular.
Morning Offering of ones daily duty in reparation to Mary.
Praying five decades of the Rosary each and every day.
Communions of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Five First Saturday devotions in every Parish.
Praying and making sacrifices for the Holy Father.
If the Holy Father were to make this happen worldwide, we would not be knee deep in abortions, homosexuality, etc. etc. etc.
In other words, the tide would turn in favor of a Catholic Culture, because once God’s wish is granted, God will change the hearts of those that oppose us and they will be converted.
Maybe a bit in “left field” here, but for what it’s worth: I have often wondered whether words themselves could be considered graven images, and that the Protestant who stands on “sola scriptura” might be considered to be elevating the Bible, and especially any commentary on the Bible (whether spoken of written), to the level of a graven image. There is only one “Word” of God—the Logos who is Jesus.
These “graven images” that you, dear reader, perceive with your eyes are not actually God, are they now? We Christians worship God, and only God. If we apply “reductio ad absurdem” in regards to prohibiting graven images such as these squiggly lines on paper (or on computer screens), then it is possible to argue that the Bible alone—in the absence of the living teaching office of the Church—is itself potentially a “graven idol.”
Readers: Is this a “bridge too far”? Or might I be on to something here?
BOULETBOULET,
It’s not left field because I posted the same exact thing on another post several months ago while debating a protestant. They DO worship the Bible. According to them, the Bible IS God, and that’s idolatry. I’m just glad that I’m not alone and that I now have another confirmation…
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