Comments on: Should We Hold Saints Divine Ransom? And Do Materials of Statues Affect Our Faith? http://ecojoekits.com/2009/12/31/should-we-hold-saints-divine-ransom-and-do-materials-of-statues-affect-our-faith/ EcoJoe is the green alternative to plastic St Joseph statues to sell real estate Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:43:37 +0000 hourly 1 By: Mary Pope-Handy http://ecojoekits.com/2009/12/31/should-we-hold-saints-divine-ransom-and-do-materials-of-statues-affect-our-faith/comment-page-1/#comment-1343 Mary Pope-Handy Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:45:16 +0000 http://www.ecojoekits.com/?p=864#comment-1343 Thanks Cindy - you are the best! Happy New Year! Thanks Cindy – you are the best!

Happy New Year!

]]> By: shopkeeper http://ecojoekits.com/2009/12/31/should-we-hold-saints-divine-ransom-and-do-materials-of-statues-affect-our-faith/comment-page-1/#comment-1342 shopkeeper Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:07:07 +0000 http://www.ecojoekits.com/?p=864#comment-1342 Mary, thank you so much! I love your response. I think we will tweak our next batch. Basically if EcoJoe is bio degradable or not depends on the firing temp of the kiln. When they fire the kiln to a certain high temp, the clay becomes non porous. Therefore the clay blocks the moisture from entering the body. The statues will still be Eco friendly but not bio degradable.  I definitely want to respect the traditions.  I'm very glad you weighted in on this matter. I'm always open to suggestions. :) I definitely appreciate these comments. I think it's pretty important to do what's right, both environmentally and in the religious community. I don't want to be one of those "Jesus is my homeboy" or "rollerskating Jesus" that while the products are fun but they add no values to anybody other than the product creator! xoxo, Cindy Mary, thank you so much! I love your response. I think we will tweak our next batch. Basically if EcoJoe is bio degradable or not depends on the firing temp of the kiln. When they fire the kiln to a certain high temp, the clay becomes non porous. Therefore the clay blocks the moisture from entering the body. The statues will still be Eco friendly but not bio degradable. 

I definitely want to respect the traditions. 

I’m very glad you weighted in on this matter. I’m always open to suggestions. :)  I definitely appreciate these comments. I think it’s pretty important to do what’s right, both environmentally and in the religious community. I don’t want to be one of those “Jesus is my homeboy” or “rollerskating Jesus” that while the products are fun but they add no values to anybody other than the product creator!

xoxo,
Cindy

]]> By: Mary Pope-Handy http://ecojoekits.com/2009/12/31/should-we-hold-saints-divine-ransom-and-do-materials-of-statues-affect-our-faith/comment-page-1/#comment-1341 Mary Pope-Handy Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:28:22 +0000 http://www.ecojoekits.com/?p=864#comment-1341 John is correct in that the statues buried are not supposed to be bio-degradable. They are supposed to be of a lasting material precisely out of respect and because eventually the statue is to be put in a place of honor in the home. John is mistaken that it is an issue of ransom, though. Burying statues is not about luck, superstition, ransom or anything else along those lines. It's actually about prayer and gratitude. There are many Catholic traditions around burying statues, medals, and holy objects in the ground. I know of one religious order of nuns who buried a medal of their foundress when their convent and grounds were threatened by a fire. But they didn't just bury the medal - they prayed. The burying of the medal was simply a physical way of demonstrating their prayer. The same thing is true about burying the statue of St. Joseph or any other saint. It is much more about the prayer than about burying anything. The act of burying is simply a physical sign of the prayers being made. (Not a lot different than blessing oneself with holy water.) Finally, returning holy things to the earth is the proper way to dispose of many holy items when it is time to dispose of them (ashes of burned palms, holy water, etc.) Because the intention of burying a statue is supposed to be temporary, not disposal, it actually makes the most sense to have it be made of a permanent material so that it can be moved into the home later - intact and not partially decomposed. John is correct in that the statues buried are not supposed to be bio-degradable. They are supposed to be of a lasting material precisely out of respect and because eventually the statue is to be put in a place of honor in the home. John is mistaken that it is an issue of ransom, though. Burying statues is not about luck, superstition, ransom or anything else along those lines. It’s actually about prayer and gratitude.

There are many Catholic traditions around burying statues, medals, and holy objects in the ground. I know of one religious order of nuns who buried a medal of their foundress when their convent and grounds were threatened by a fire. But they didn’t just bury the medal – they prayed. The burying of the medal was simply a physical way of demonstrating their prayer.

The same thing is true about burying the statue of St. Joseph or any other saint. It is much more about the prayer than about burying anything. The act of burying is simply a physical sign of the prayers being made. (Not a lot different than blessing oneself with holy water.)

Finally, returning holy things to the earth is the proper way to dispose of many holy items when it is time to dispose of them (ashes of burned palms, holy water, etc.)

Because the intention of burying a statue is supposed to be temporary, not disposal, it actually makes the most sense to have it be made of a permanent material so that it can be moved into the home later – intact and not partially decomposed.

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