STATUES are not gods and it’s not believed that they, in themselves, have any super powers. Faithful, whether Catholic or not should understand that statues are just artistic representations which help a religious in his prayers and devotional life. They are mere objects, as St. Thomas Aquinas explains, which represent divine reality.
My theology professor has always reminded us back then that images are venerated because people honor those whom they signify. Thus, when millions belt the hymn to Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno--year after year-- with their hands raised in the air, it’s cool with me. Because I understand that they do not address it to the statue in itself, but to its prototype: the Living God, who is honored through this devotion.
The reverence given to sacred images are not the same worship given to the Creator alone. More so, when people consider an image to be miraculous and worthy of devotion, it is with the understanding that the Living God is the source of all power and healing.
It is true that the Ten Commandments forbid the making of any statue as lodi, but it has to be understood in the right context.
What the First Commandment condemns is the worship of images as if they are idols or gods. So, the use of images can only be considered idolatry once it becomes a “substitute for the reality itself”--- that is to say believing that the piece of wood itself has power on its own-- thus becoming an object of worship.
I cannot claim that everyone understands this, so there are those who make the statue an object of worship. Some join the procession in the belief that the statue, on its own, has powers; while many others join because they want to express their sincere devotion to our suffering Lord.
Either way, let's keep in mind that it is hard to judge one's inner disposition or motive since it can be seen by God alone. #Respect
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