EDITORIAL - Pray with the heart, not the eyes

 It is sad that, as the days tick closer to the canonization of Beato Pedro Calungsod to become San Pedro Calungsod, the first Bisaya saint, there would now appear to be some argument, though somewhat subdued, as to what he really looked like.

The argument seems to have sprung from the fact that the likenesses or images of the soon-to-be-saint vary in both physical appearance and in the portrayal — such that he is either fair-looking or dark, holding this or that, is barefoot or is clad in sandals.

There should not have been any such argument at all because the images are what they are, mere representations of the actual man who, because of his martyrdom for the faith, is being rewarded with the highest honor the Roman Catholic Church can give to such person — sainthood.

Catholics do not pray and ask for intercession from the images of saints but to the very real persons who once walked the face of the earth that these images represent. These very real persons are with us today because of the goodness in them that God has recognized.

So it should not really matter if Pedro Calungsod is dark-skinned or fair, or is holding a book or a palm frond, or is clad in slippers or is barefooted. For all we know, he could have been any one of those looks at one time or another in his life.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is one perfect example of a holy person depicted in a wide variety of looks in her images — all of them representations of either the various devotions to her or her various apparitions to a few chosen persons.

Thus, for instance, the image of the Virgin of Lourdes looks different from that of the Virgin of Fatima, which in turn looks different from the Virgin of the Rule and the Lady of Mount Carmel. The Mother of Perpetual Help, on the other hand, is just a portrait, not a standing icon.

Yet it does not matter to the faithful how the Virgin Mary is depicted, except of course on the matter of specific devotion. To the people who pray, it is still Mother Mary that they pray to. That they close their eyes in prayer indeed suggests they do not care how Mary looks.

And then, of course, there is our beloved Santo Niño, which is just one of the many depictions of Jesus Christ. There has not been any argument about that either. So let us all stop this folly about how Pedro Calungsod is depicted. Pray with your heart, not with your eyes.