So I have been meaning to share a fascinating story to everyone...it's short, but pretty interesting.
My late Italian grandmother (who passed when I was a sophomore in high school) was extremely religious. She had a blessed stone with a relic of a saint, Holy Water (both of which are in my room back home), multiple statues of religious figures, and has seen many of the European holy sites. Unfortunately as she got old, she rarely attended church, but continued to believe in God.
Many years ago, my eldest uncle (who is in his mid 70s now) had a friend he played with as a kid who caught polio. The boy who had polio could no longer walk or play with my uncle, and as you could probably imagine, my uncle was deeply saddened. I don't know how much longer my uncle's friend was supposed to survive, but it wasn't much time.
My uncle approached his mother (my late grandmother) about the situation and she was intrigued. Long story short, she rubbed the boy's legs with Holy Water and prayed, and the boy soon began to walk and had no problems...crazy.
I'm sure you've heard of stories like this, but that boy shouldn't have been able to walk for the rest of his life. I'm not sure if the Holy Water in my room back home was the same as the Holy Water she used to rub the boy's legs, but it's a strong symbol of protection and my faith.
Do you have any symbols that illustrate your faith?
I think this is a really interesting point, and one that also definitely gestures to the diversity among not just religions, but Christian traditions in particular. For example, I also come from an Italian Catholic background, and statues of Mary and the saints, rosaries, and crucifixes were common growing up. However, as I grew older, I began to realize that not all sects of Christianity had these symbols as ingrained into their traditions. One example I remember in particular is when a girl I worked with (who came from a Pentecostal background) talked about how the crucifix was nonexistent in her tradition- a simple cross was what was emphasized. It is fascinating to think that some symbols are more universal across Christian traditions, while others may not be as much. I think your point also brings up the idea of the diversity of depictions of Jesus across Christian traditions and different ethnicities. It also relates to Harvey and Blume's discussion about how Catholics valued images for a longer time period, while the Pentecostal traditions saw them more as icons, rather than religious symbols. It is interesting to see how the use of symbols and images have evolved and adapted over time among all Christian traditions.
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