Statues, Pictures, Icons

It is, at least in a shallow way, easy to confuse Catholicism and vodou. It’s all the saints. When you walk into a house, say, and there’s a table with a glass of water, a candle, and a statue of Mary, it can be a bit challenging to tell whether the person is a devout Catholic or if something else is going on.

The last of my statues, icons, and pictures came today. Looking down at a neat circle of saint heads and candles, I felt the need to say a few things. The statues, pictures, and icons are, on the one level, things.

And on the other?

A lit candle in my hand, a cup of water to be sprinkled, the sound of prayers fading—a moment of silence before the dedication.

A song plays. I speak.

These things, these statues, pictures, and icons are an invitation. Come to us, spirits. Come and dwell with us. Come to us and have your own house, your own dwelling place, wherever we are. Come and see what we have bought for you.

These statues, these pictures, these icons, are tokens of our love for you. They are a physical sign of our affection and devotion.

Come and be cherished.

If there is anything to dedicate your symbols with, it is just that. Love, what we share with the divine.