st francis statue

I've seen large statues of St. Francis of Assisi in the yards and gardens of people who are self avowed sport hunters. They kill for sport, not simply out of necessity. St. Francis loves animals and represents kindness to other creatures. How appropriate is it for him to be in the yard of someone who likes to kill?
I'm talking about killing for fun, not for necessity. It's the idea of recreational killing I'm getting at here - killing as a form of entertainment. St. Francis couldn't be pleased to be associated with it.

If it weren't for managed and controlled hunting - killing for food or sport - then the animal populations would get so large that it would tax the natural resources that they live off of. Then many would be sick and starving and that would be bad. Animals don't have the endless wilderness that they used to have, thanks to man. So since man put them in this mess, man needs to be responsible for helping them maintain a healthy environment so that they can be healthy, too.

Think of the animal shelters. Say you only have a capacity for 200 dogs. The incoming rate of dogs per day is so great (over the rate of adoptions out) that you have exceeded space, water, and food capacity and are running at above capacity. This means that the dogs all suffer from less food, stress, kennel cough, and other illness related to a crowded population. If the shelter does not receive enough funding to support the animal population, they have to kill animals to make room for the new ones. Man put them in this problem by not spaying/neutering, and not taking care of their pets, and man is responsible for managing them and trying to help them out.

The bible tells us man is responsible for caring for the land and for tending to the beasts.

2008-11-03 13:50:31 by aussiegenes

Sculptor Mic Carlson created this life size statue of Saint Francis of Assisi for Artprize, the world#39;s largest international art competition ...

Was he crazy or taking hallucinogenic drugs at the time? Or did Birds used to have souls until god canceled them after getting angry at pigeons defecating on religious statues (particularly the statues of St Francis which pigeons seem to prefer to decorate, maybe as a comment on old Frank's sermon)

Some would say that ALL sermons are for the birds...

2008-08-12 20:03:29 by enigma

Price: $49.95 $49.36

Features a durable, weather resistant finish
This garden statue features a brownstone finish that looks like carved stone
St. Francis Holding Deer statue is 24" tall

My grandmother always told me stories about the saints, and the different intercessions they stood for. Cecilia was the patron saint of music, Jude the patron saint of hopeless causes, St. Francis the patron saint of animals...

one story that always intrigued me was the story of St. Joseph, patron saint of carpenters and fathers... foster father of Jesus.

My grandmother always told me if we ever put our house up for sale, you're always suppose to bury a statue of St. Joseph, head down, by the front door, facing away from the house... then pray special prayers to him for 10 days.

then once your house sells, you dig him up and place him in a special place in the new house.

well our house is up for sale, and I remembered that story, so my mom and I went to buy a statue of St. Joseph. it came with a million different ways to bury him. Bury him upside down in front of the door facing out, bury him upside down by the for sale sign facing the house, bury him in the yard in any way...

Do you HAVE to bury him? I mean, it's 10 below and snowing. Can't I just put him on the window sill where it's relatively warm, looking out towards the for sale sign, then do the prayers? Or are you suppose to bury the statue? It just seems so mean to put him outside, upside down in the cold, cold ground just to sell the house.

I mean, this is all about faith right? So can't he interceed and help sell my house if I have faith and pray for intercession, without burying him in the cold ground?
ok

1. it has nothing to do with ME not wanting to freeze my butt off I have to spend so much time outside as it is, a few more minutes wouldn't bother me. I just think it's a cruel idea to bury a saint upside down to help sell a house.

2. it's a shame you left the catholic church. And no this isn't in the bible... because the idea of saints being made patron saints of certain causes to intercede (say an extra prayer to God and Jesus) in the name of someone came AFTER the bible.
wow, you guys need to go back and study these things a little. This isn't "wrong" or "superstitious" this is a very old practice.

The main stories are an order of sisters without a convent buried a medal of St. Joseph as a sign of their devotion to God and prayed for intercession so that the land could be procured for their convent, and their prayer was heard.

Its a physical sign of faith and devotion and belief that the saint will help you say a few extra prayers to Jesus.

It's like displaying the cross. It's a physical sign of devotion to christ. Burying the statue is a (still used today world wide, look it up) physical sign of faith that he'll help.
And, burying the statue doesn't defeat the purpose of having it... because you're suppose to unbury him and put him in a prominant place in the new house as a sign of thanks.
it also has nothing to do with FORCING God to help you. Everyone knows you can't FORCE God to do anything unless it is his will. Again, it is a physical sign of faith that you know the saint will at least try to say a few extra prayers for and with you to God for help in what you need in your time of need. It's not about a magic fix all.
and finally, the tradition was practiced by all sorts of people, priests, nuns and carpentors since the late 1400's, early 1500's. it has nothing to do with my overly pius grandmother taking things too far out of context. This is a real practice. look it up...

this is an actual, longstanding, old tradition

anyhoo, thanks for the actual, understanding and non-insluting answers. I think I'll leave the statue on the window sill for now. Maybe I'll bury the statue when the weather is a bit nicer out.
actually it is recognized by the church, and even practiced by thousands of parishes today. again, do some research before answering a question.

We just set our St. Joseph statue in the kitchen on the windowsill. We also asked him to pray with us and for us -- prayed a novena and all that. We sold our house in 4 months for our asking price. Some may say 4 months is a long time, but not in this market.

2009-01-12 15:28:18 by drea_me_3000

Price: $35.99 $35.99

Excellent addition to any yard or garden
Hand-applied weathered stone finish
Filled for added weight and stability

I just received the latest issue of Pan Gai and there is an article in there about "Indo-Pagans"...people who are Pagan that are influenced by Hindu spirituality. I used to be a Celtic Pagan (because my ancestry is in UK) but worshipping the Celtic deities never really felt right to me...until one day I was just struck by Ganesha and I felt the right path had been placed in front of me.
NOW...my question.....what do you think of blending Paganism with Hinduism, which in my mind is the Grandmother/father of Paganism to begin with! I understand with other Pagan traditions there is no current recognized religion, but as Hinduism is alive and well and thriving, why would you want to lessen it by including only a portion of it into your already existing Pagan beliefs and making up a name for it? It would be like someone wanting to have a St Francis statue on their Pagan altar so they call themselves a Cath-Pagan...do you see what I mean? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this!
I don't think I fully explained myself...instead of converting to Hinduism, they take some of Hinduism's teaching and call themselves Indo-Pagans...I'm trying to understand why when Hinduism is alive and thriving (unlike the other Pagan traditions - Egyptians no longer worship their Pagan gods, etc). If you believe in the Hindu traditions then why not convert to Hinduism?
PKD & Frater,
You have both given very good answers, and I thank you.

Well, as a Pagan who tends to lean towards the "recon" paths, I think you should make an honest effort to honor the gods you are drawn to in the way most fitting for those gods. In the case of the Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Celtic, and Norse gods there is no continuous tradition -- no temples, no priesthood. We have to do all of these things ourselves. But if you are going to honor the Hindu gods, why would you do it half-assed, when there is a living, unbroken tradition to investigate and learn from? Get yourself in touch with some practicing Hindus. Find a Hindu temple and pay it a visit. If you're going to worship Ganeshaaa, for example, do the research. Find out what offerings Ganesh likes. Find out what the traditional prayers to Ganesh are. Now, I mainly worship the Greek gods, and when I want to honor a particular deity, I try to do as much research as possible -- try to find an appropriate ancient hymn, try to figure out the best incense to use. With the Hindu pantheon, we have the benefit of a continuous and unbroken line of practice -- Hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world, and is in fact the only Pagan (by which I mean ancient polytheistic religion) religious tradition that survives to this day pretty much as it was before Christianity. There are Hindu temples. There are Hindu priests. There are people who have practiced Hinduism all their lives, and Hindu families that have been Hindu for thousands of years. Unlike Druidism, Hellenic Paganism, Egyptian Paganism, Asatru, etc., the tradition is there, you don't have to reinvent the wheel and make it all up yourself. If these are the gods that you are drawn to, then I would say that you would honor them best by converting to Hinduism. Otherwise, you are practicing Cultural Appropriation -- cannibalizing another person's culture, just like the New Age and Neopagan movements have been doing to the Native Americans. This, of course, is just my opinion. I'm curious what an orthodox Hindu would say.

2007-04-10 15:15:41 by Jade

Okay, my dream started out when I had seen this guy who I had been aquaited to, and we knew eachother pretty well. (If we where, in real life, to see eachother we would know who we were) When he had seen me, I said it's nice to see you "Name". He did'nt remember my name, and instead called me 'hug' , and I said good enough, and embraced him.
Later, when I had gotten back at my house (we were at my school where he does not go) I heard a rumbling, and outside was this aquaitence with a beat up white Comaro (sp?) and a moose!
My father came out and slapped him up, but because of the moose, not because he wanted to see me.
The St. Francis Statue in our yard became animated and held the hands of the aquaintence and I! We smiled at eachother and kissed lightly! (I know, TMI)
Then, he took me in his white Comaro and we drove to Maine where we rented a cabin and lived there!!

When someone does not remember your name, it means they don't know you very well, or they don't remember things well. But he seemed to want to get closer to you with the use of hug for your name. He seems to be an adventuresome outdoors type guy struggling to get by in life. Your father would not approve of him. He seemed to be on common ground spiritually with you{the St. Francis Statue incident in dream}. The dream ends with like an escape to a cabin in Maine to live together. The subconscious mind, which creates dreams, is always going to produce images of possible future scenarios to guide you inward. They are not necessarily the best guiding images, but they tell you about yourself, and make things happen and guide your intuition and attractions. You seem to hope that in the future a guy who is and outdoors type person, who seem to know how to get by in life and survive, will want a relationship with you, and take you away from your current situation in life. The subconscious mind's images are long term, and can change or develop over time. As for this guy in real life that is depicted in the dream. He may or may not have potential, you could explore possibilities with him to some degree, to see if your subconscious was on target to some degree. But there is no need to rush things, you will have other dreams giving you other possibilities of guys that may work for you. The subconscious will keep looking, and you do want to make good choices as to who you relate to in life as to how they will fit into your future plans. The subconscious mind is not perfect, and is not as practical or tuned in to the complications of life, as is the conscious mind, that must make the decisions in one's life. Meditate/pray, exercise, and eat healthy, so that you will be strong spiritually, and able to draw to you the right type of future and relationships into your life.

2008-02-13 17:58:11 by Mac