I am not a Catholic but rather, a traditional Protestant Christian and I confess to never having ever been able to understand the whole Catholic thing about "things" (or the "infallibility" of a human pope but that's another discussion). For me, there is God, Christ and the Holy Spirit and there is Scripture and that's pretty much it. When I hear or read about Catholicism's fixation on physical objects (which were created by man) I cannot help but think of these things as being akin to idols. I just see them as unnecessary and, at best, distracting from the Message. Reading some of Barnardt's latest post highlights this, yet again, for me...
Long story short, Our Lord has seen fit to manifest Himself in ways particularly attached to a statue of Himself as an infant which resides in Prague. He wants us to love Him in every possible way, including as an infant. Why? Because babies are totally helpless and that helplessness reminds us of and points us to the Eucharist, wherein Our Lord is likewise totally helpless as He comes to us under the appearance of bread and wine. A Host, like the Baby Jesus (because a Host IS the Baby Jesus, remember), must be handled with exceeding tenderness and care, and can be dropped or otherwise mishandled at any time. And yet, despite this, God Almighty, for Whom all of creation is like less than a drop in the ocean to us, became incarnate and was a Baby, and comes to us on the altar, totally helpless and physically dependent in the Eucharist every day.
So, there's that, and then there's also the snuggling part. Baby Jesus just loves to snuggle. When we receive Him in the Eucharist, we are truly snuggling with God, as He settles right under our hearts and stays there for fifteen minutes or so. Show me a person who receives Holy Communion and the runs out the door and I'll show you someone who hasn't a CLUE what is going on, and probably has never heard word one about the Real Presence.
Thus, the statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague reminds people of the Baby Jesus (Who can easily be forgotten outside of Christmastime), and when people specifically call upon Our Lord in this way, miracles and extreme blessings tend to rain down. In fact, the Infant Jesus of Prague devotion is known to "keep us from all want".
I have said this before and I'll say it again. Satan and his minions are IMPOTENT. They can also be surprisingly obtuse, especially considering their angelic nature.
Believers such as myself find this fixation on physical things (crucifixes, rosary beads, various and sundry items such as the one discussed above) to be, well, weird. It reminds me of all of the intricacies of Old Testament Hebrew Law which was more or less made up by the pharisees, religious doctrine and dogma which was added by man to what was handed down by God through His designated messengers.
But that's me.
And there are most certainly zealots within the ranks of those who I congregate with. Zealots are to be found anywhere. They are part of the bell curve of religion.
Barnhardt sez that the bidding on the spoon is over $500. Who are these people? Will they treat Ann's spoon as some kind of an artifact or relic? The spoon of Saint Ann? They are obviously free to spend their own money any way they want but this is nuts. How much will her used articles of clothing go for?
Ann's troubles are, like most of us, the creation of herself mixed in with the events that some of us refer to as bad luck. Choices. You take one and you live with the consequences.
I am not a big Barnhardt fan or follower. I have certainly appreciated some of the videos she has made (reading from the koran with bacon bookmarks was both inspired and, given the violent nature of islam, courageous) and some of the blog postings that she has written. But she isn't infallible and she isn't always right. She is just another human. Better than average but a human, nonetheless. Diatribes like the one referenced are not, in my opinion, a net positive for her image or reputation. If I had known nothing else about her, was totally unfamiliar with her past work, and had only this posting to go on I would be forced to dismiss her as, yes, a complete nut.