A Theology of Objects
My personal collection of milagritos
A quick note before today’s piece: I’ve included five things (reads, objects, hobbies, recipes, and the like) that I’ve been loving recently at the bottom of this essay. I hope you may find joy in them too! Some are affiliate links, but most aren’t and all are things I’ve truly loved.
I’ve been thinking a lot about milagritos lately — brass charms that you can buy in bulk behind many a Latin American cathedral. Some are small and unfinished. Others are large and painted in bright colors. All are exquisitely camp.
Milagritos serve as offerings: a token to thank your favorite Saint for interceding on your behalf, a gift in request of a blessing or, as the name would suggest, a small miracle. A sculptural ex-voto. Prayer as token. An eye to thank Saint Lucia of Syracuse for a healed ocular ailment. A figure of a house for Saint Christopher from someone who hopes to make a safe return from a treacherous journey. A Sacred Heart for Saint Anne following the birth of a healthy child.
Mementos of faith and of folk and of fervor. Milagritos, and ex-votos at large, represent a Theology of Objects. And if our lives are shaped by the objects we keep close — by talismans of memory, luck, longing — then what would my own ex-votos look like? What tokens might I offer up for the small miracles I’m still waiting for?
A lone sock.
So that I may never again lose half a pair in the wash. And maybe that single sock will serve as a beacon, warding off the inevitable disappearance of my keys, my wallet, my scrunchies, and the charger to my Oura ring. I’ve lost and found my dignity before, so this should be easy lifting.A felted ball of cat fur.
In hopes that my cat stops digging into my favorite rug and waking me up by sitting on my face at 6:00 AM on Sunday mornings.A vintage watch.
So that I may be granted the patience not to spiral when someone else’s Green Card application gets approved in two weeks. And the grace not to hate them for it. Or at least the strength to close the USCIS subreddit tab.A pair of sharp scissors.
To gently unpick seams stitched by unkind hands.A silver spoon.
Maybe it will help me act with grace without swallowing poison. For empathy without reverence. Understanding without submission.An offering of fresh flowers.
Because they make any and everything better.
And for those blessings that have already come, of which there are many, a bent safety pin. A forerunner that hope is not to be lost. And that sometimes, the solution isn’t quite what we’d hope for, and it’s all the better for it.