Dear Tazi:
I have an elderly aunt who is on a limited budget and is also quite religious. Every year for Christmas she sends me a small, plastic figurine of a saint or of the Blessed Mother, which she has had blessed by her church's priest before mailing it to me. It always arrives with a beautiful card, full of heartfelt sentiments of how she is praying for me and my continued well-being, which to me is the gift that I appreciate the most. The cheap plastic figurines? Not so much.
I actually have a very nice curio cabinet in which I keep my porcelain knick-knacks and family heirlooms and over the years these plastic figurines have made their way into it every time "Aunt Jenny" comes to visit. Because she lives a distance away her visits are always announced and generally infrequent. I am saddened to know that last year's visit from Aunt Jenny will be her last because her health no longer permits her to fly. I will of course be visiting her, that is not the issue. My issue is, how do I get rid of all the figurines she has sent me over the years now that I know she will no longer be coming to visit?
I feel guilty enough putting the figurines in storage until she visits - they have been blessed, which means I certainly can't throw them away! I have considered donating them to a local charity or selling them at a tag sale, but then I think of the love that Aunt Jenny put into these gifts and I just can't bear the thought of parting with them like that. In the end, though, I really don't want them decorating my house!
Signed,
In A Spot
Dear In A Spot:
You do have quite the conundrum! According to religious faiths, anything that has been blessed should not be thrown in the garbage; this does not mean that you must hand onto it forever, though. It appears these plastic statues have sentimental value to you, so I suggest keeping them in storage just a little while longer. Should your aunt pass sometime soon, you may regret getting rid of her gifts.
If you are truly bent on getting rid of these plastic figurines I suggest you try donating them to a church or asking a priest to handle them for proper disposal. Technically, once something has been blessed it needs to be buried. Some people bury these plastic statues on their property, having been taught that this will bless the property by extension; others insist on burying them at a local cemetery, which is already hallowed ground. Some people put these plastic figurines into the coffin of a loved one before they are interred. All are appropriate methods of removal.
Snuggles,
Tazi
Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with Bachelors degrees in Communications and in Gender and Women's Studies. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.
I have an elderly aunt who is on a limited budget and is also quite religious. Every year for Christmas she sends me a small, plastic figurine of a saint or of the Blessed Mother, which she has had blessed by her church's priest before mailing it to me. It always arrives with a beautiful card, full of heartfelt sentiments of how she is praying for me and my continued well-being, which to me is the gift that I appreciate the most. The cheap plastic figurines? Not so much.
I actually have a very nice curio cabinet in which I keep my porcelain knick-knacks and family heirlooms and over the years these plastic figurines have made their way into it every time "Aunt Jenny" comes to visit. Because she lives a distance away her visits are always announced and generally infrequent. I am saddened to know that last year's visit from Aunt Jenny will be her last because her health no longer permits her to fly. I will of course be visiting her, that is not the issue. My issue is, how do I get rid of all the figurines she has sent me over the years now that I know she will no longer be coming to visit?
I feel guilty enough putting the figurines in storage until she visits - they have been blessed, which means I certainly can't throw them away! I have considered donating them to a local charity or selling them at a tag sale, but then I think of the love that Aunt Jenny put into these gifts and I just can't bear the thought of parting with them like that. In the end, though, I really don't want them decorating my house!
Signed,
In A Spot
Dear In A Spot:
You do have quite the conundrum! According to religious faiths, anything that has been blessed should not be thrown in the garbage; this does not mean that you must hand onto it forever, though. It appears these plastic statues have sentimental value to you, so I suggest keeping them in storage just a little while longer. Should your aunt pass sometime soon, you may regret getting rid of her gifts.
If you are truly bent on getting rid of these plastic figurines I suggest you try donating them to a church or asking a priest to handle them for proper disposal. Technically, once something has been blessed it needs to be buried. Some people bury these plastic statues on their property, having been taught that this will bless the property by extension; others insist on burying them at a local cemetery, which is already hallowed ground. Some people put these plastic figurines into the coffin of a loved one before they are interred. All are appropriate methods of removal.
Snuggles,
Tazi
Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with Bachelors degrees in Communications and in Gender and Women's Studies. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.
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