Why do Catholics keep statues in the Church?

Why do Catholics keep statues in the Church?
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Many people who see statues in our churches

have a wrong notion

that we are worshiping them.

But such people have framed photos of their dear ones,

past and present,

in their houses.

If they can understand

why they take photos

and maintain albums for them,

they can also understand

why we keep statues.

We don't worship the statues.

Then why are there statues in a place worship?

I would like to ask the people,

who raise the above question,

one question.

Are all the things kept in a place of worship meant for worship?

Eucharist is meant for worship as He who is really present in it is God, our Creator.

But the tabernacle,

where Jesus resides,

is not meant for worship.

Tabernacle is a place where Jesus resides.

We worship Jesus,  not the place where He resides.

Everything kept on the Altar has a purpose.

It is the keepers who decide the purpose,  not the seers.

We,  Catholics, have the right to explain the purpose of our keeping statues .

We don't keep the statues to worship them.

What is the real purpose for our keeping them?

In the early years of the church many Christians were ignorant of reading and writing.

They  could not read and understand  the bible for themselves.

Priests and scribes were the only people in the church

who were educated enough

to read and understand the bible.

Therefore,

the church

used statues,

paintings

and stained glass windows

to visually portray the stories in the bible

and

to show what  the people mentioned in the Bible would have looked like.

The stained glass windows in a church

often depicted the stories from Jesus’ life visually,

so that everyone, including little children,

could understand who Jesus was and what He did.

It isn’t much different even today.

Even today we use the photographs of our grandparents to tell our children stories about them.

When I  was explaining to my grandson the adventurous acts of my grandfather, 

he asked me,  "Why don't you have his photo? I want to see his face."

Music and You Tube videos on the internet

tell a story in a couple of minutes,

mostly by using pictures

and a few words.

People do not have time to read very much

and the message needs to get across to the viewer

as quickly, and to the point as possible.

The images and sound bites on the evening news

is also another example of the need

to quickly portray a story

in just a few seconds.

Many of the buildings in our nation’s capital

has statues of presidents,

war heroes

and other important public figures

in order to honour them and preserve their memory.

There are a lot of town squares throughout the world

that have statues of a famous persons

who once lived in their town,

to honour them and remember what they looked like.

People, who lived a few centuries after the birth of Jesus and Mary, did not have an idea about their faces.

Their statues were helpful to such people for meditation and prayer.

We cannot think about a person without his face.

Even if don't know his face personally

we will supply him a face ourselves

and then only we will begin to think about him.

Do we know Jesus personally?

No.

Then how can we  meditate on Him without His face?

Suppose we meditate on Jesus carrying His cross, 

His facial expression is very important to move us to tears.

The statue of Jesus on the way of the cross will be helpful in the meditation.

It is the purpose of that statue.

Have you ever observed the facial expression of Jesus in a crucifix?

Of course it may differ from crucifix to crucifix.

The one in our church is very moving.

Just one minute observation with concentration

is enough to move us to tears

and to the confessional.

We know that a statue is a statue,

not a person,

  but but it helps us

to remember the person.

How does a lover feel when his lover sends him her photo via WhatsApp?

He knows that what has been sent is a lifeless photo, 

but he feels that it has given new life to his love.

Though he spends hours looking at the photo

he knows that he loves

not the photo,

but the person it represents.

So also, though we look at the statue

during our prayer

what is in our mind is not the statue,

but the saint it represents.

We don't keep the statues for worship, 

but to help us to pray with concentration.

We worship God and God alone.

We don't worship saints,

we only venerate them.

Statues just help us

to venerate the saints

they represent,

properly.

Lourdu Selvam