A person could spend a lot of time in their neighborhood and not notice anything really about it. The great thing about growing up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn is that it is a walking neighborhood. You can walk to the shops on 86st. You can walk to the grocery store, you can walk to the subway or bus stop. But the best part is walking through the residential streets and admiring the beautiful houses from afar. And so, I spent a lifetime of walking the streets of this neighborhoods. Bensonhurst is known as a predominately Italian-American neighborhood, though there are changes to the neighborhood, it is still keeping its pride strong.
As I was walking along 20th avenue one day, I noticed something that I passed probably a thousand times before; this statue of St.Mary enclosed within a little house in the yard of someone. I stopped and looked at it for a while and moved on merry way. As I was walking back to my own home, I noticed something about the houses along my block, One or two had statues of St. Mary, one or two had a statue of a Saint I did not recognize. This was peculiar to me because throughout my childhood, almost every house on the block had a statue of St. Mary or Padre Pio or St.Dominic, or Jesus (excluding the winter time Nativity scenes). Seeing the statue of St. Mary above triggered this childhood memory of walking past each house with my mom and waving hello to these statues, they were always there... and now they are almost gone.
America was founded on the idea of freedom. Freedom of speech, press, and religion. Catholicism was at one point the minority religion, especially in a country whom the majority were of the Protestant faith. Irish and Italian immigrants were also at one point the minority in America, discriminated against for many reasons, one being their catholic faith. Bensonhurst has seen a lot of changes over the years: families have come and gone and with them, the statues. Why did these families place these statues in their yards? The two most obvious answers are to show their faith to the world and/or protection. For generations (possibly forever) people have prayed for protection, a little help over here, a little help over there, so it is logical to pray to the Saints to protect my home, my belonging, and everything and everyone that I hold so dear to me.
However, is it possible to say that the families who don't have a statue of a saint in their homes aren't Catholic? Are these families more or less religious by having these statues or not having these statues? Should we question how openly people showcase their faith? Does it matter if the way they showcase their faith is aesthetically pleasing? It is so easy to overlook these statues, walk right past them, and not think anything of them. But how did these statues go from a presence everywhere to just one or two on one block? Why do we not criticize theses families who choose to openly showcase their faith in this way?
Reading through Engaged Surrender brought a new awareness to me about religion and our preconceptions and our ideas/awareness about religion. The best example is the hijab. It is an open way of showcasing a person's faith, and many times these women who wear their hijab are criticized for wearing it. However, To each individual person, wearing the hijab means something different-- it is a type of freedom that there faith provides the. At one point, probably in the distant past, these new immigrant families (of Bensonhurst) were probably criticized for placing a statue of Saint in front of their homes. It brings to light that at one and at some points, we were all in the same boat, and it is important to keep an open mind about how we see and interact with others in the world.
If you are ever in Bensonhurst, walk down the residential streets. Some of the statues are elegantly protected like the one of St. Mary in the picture. Others show the wear and tear of being exposed to the outside elements, warriors of protection. There's not a lot of them anymore, but every other block or so should surprise you. It's so easy to ignore our past, rush through the present, and race towards the future-- it's good to know one or two statues will stick around for the ride.
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