Is Food Offering To the Religious Statues Idolatery?

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Bernard82

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I am a Filipino, and since I was a kid I always see Filipino catholics offer foods to some of the religious statues they have at home, especially the Sto. Nino one (the toddler Jesus Christ). it never crosses my mind to even ask why they do it, since I was just a kid and would not be able to understand as to why they do such thing. Lately, I found out that “pagans” also do it to their false gods (1 Corinthians 8). I know, Buddhism does. And I still see Filipino Catholics do it up to this date.

What can you say about that? Does the Catholic Church consider that as an act of “idolatery?” Is it okay to “offer foods to the religious statues?” Is their any other catholics who does that in some other countries?

Thank You!
 
Do the statues get hungry?:cool: Is the food allowed to spoil? 😦 Who eats the food? :confused:

Odd…🤷
 
I like to think that Crosses, Statues, and so on are symbols of your faith. Do not worship statues, but Jesus.
 
Bernard82 said:
I am a Filipino, and since I was a kid I always see Filipino catholics offer foods to some of the religious statues they have at home, especially the Sto. Nino one (the toddler Jesus Christ). it never crosses my mind to even ask why they do it, since I was just a kid and would not be able to understand as to why they do such thing. Lately, I found out that “pagans” also do it to their false gods (1 Corinthians 8). I know, Buddhism does. And I still see Filipino Catholics do it up to this date.

What can you say about that? Does the Catholic Church consider that as an act of “idolatery?” Is it okay to “offer foods to the religious statues?” Is their any other catholics who does that in some other countries?

Thank You!
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Italians attach paper money to St. Anthony statues… no big whoop… custom trumps law.
 
Offering food to a statue seems to me to constitute plain idolatry of the first order, cf. Bel and the Dragon, and is different in spirit from veneration of images.

It seems to be one of those folk religion things that crosses the border, such as Voodoo and Santeria do in syncretizing Catholicism with native witch craft, and as Marian devotion that lapses in to adoration does for some Latinos.
 
Maybe people just shouldn’t do it. Flowers, okay. They’re pretty for a while. But food? Put a coin aside for a good cause.

Maybe I should replace my St. Francis statue in my front yard with a St. Anthony! 🙂
 
I wouldn’t see a problem if it were just a votive offering (to God, not to statue). There’d be nothing wrong with e.g. placing a token sample of the produce of your farm as a votive offering (who says it has to be a rosary or a golden “thank you” plate?).

I’d see a problem if it were associated with an idea of feeding the statue.
 
You should ask the bishop of the diocese if such actions are permitted.
 
I’m Filipino too.

What’s tough about questions like these is a lot of people here where you are asking are not Filipinos and therefore does not have an idea what Filipino cultural customs are. As you can see, people who have responded have seen this as weird and outright heretic. Yes, it is indeed a carry over from our pagan roots.

Is it idolatry? Its our cultural way of worship, now directed towards God. Of course its not part of Christian tradition to offer food to God because it is God who gives us food in the Eucharist. I say its not idolatry because its worship directed to God. Its just the wrong way of worship.
 
svid2 said:
Maybe people just shouldn’t do it. Flowers, okay. They’re pretty for a while. But food? Put a coin aside for a good cause.

Maybe I should replace my St. Francis statue in my front yard with a St. Anthony! 🙂
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Don’t forget to move to an Italian neighborhood first 😃
 
Bernard82 said:
I am a Filipino, and since I was a kid I always see Filipino catholics offer foods to some of the religious statues they have at home, especially the Sto. Nino one (the toddler Jesus Christ). it never crosses my mind to even ask why they do it, since I was just a kid and would not be able to understand as to why they do such thing. Lately, I found out that “pagans” also do it to their false gods (1 Corinthians 8). I know, Buddhism does. And I still see Filipino Catholics do it up to this date.
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They do it in Transcendental Meditation as well. When someone is initiated, he or she brings in some fruit. Probably one of the reasons the Church has been skeptical of the TM practice.
 
My goodness. It is plain old idolatry.

Voodoo practitioners leave food offerings to their spirits as well.

Is everything relative here?
 
Okay, I feel I have to straighten out this question.

As a Filipino, I learned that the practice of food on the altar was not for the statues but rather for the dead. I don’t know where the idea came from but it is a way that Filipinos try to connect with family on the other side. It is NOT supposed to be for the statues. Anyone who thinks they have to feed the statues needs to be taught that this is idolatry and is a sin because the statues, though blessed are nothing more that sacramentals that remind us of Jesus and the saints. They are not living beings nor are they in need of nourishment like those false idols of the pagan religions.

One may argue that the dead don’t need food. Certainly, the souls should be prayed for and indeed they have no need of food but then again, they don’t need flowers on their grave either. We put flowers on graves becasue we love our dead and want to show that remember them.

The same applies for Filipinos. In lieu of flowers, food on the altar which is usually from the dinner eaten by the family is offered as a means of affection for the dead. This is a mere cultural aspect that Filipinos have to express belief that death is not really the end and that all of us will be together in Heaven with the Child Jesus and those holy ones depicted in the home shrines. Since the statues symbolize the presence of God, food is placed before the home shrine because the physical presence of the images evokes a tangible presence of God and a hope that the dead are in Heaven with Him.
 
CathMass said:
Okay, I feel I have to straighten out this question.

As a Filipino, I learned that the practice of food on the altar was not for the statues but rather for the dead. I don’t know where the idea came from but it is a way that Filipinos try to connect with family on the other side. It is NOT supposed to be for the statues. Anyone who thinks they have to feed the statues needs to be taught that this is idolatry and is a sin because the statues, though blessed are nothing more that sacramentals that remind us of Jesus and the saints. They are not living beings nor are they in need of nourishment like those false idols of the pagan religions.

One may argue that the dead don’t need food. Certainly, the souls should be prayed for and indeed they have no need of food but then again, they don’t need flowers on their grave either. We put flowers on graves becasue we love our dead and want to show that remember them.

The same applies for Filipinos. In lieu of flowers, food on the altar which is usually from the dinner eaten by the family is offered as a means of affection for the dead. This is a mere cultural aspect that Filipinos have to express belief that death is not really the end and that all of us will be together in Heaven with the Child Jesus and those holy ones depicted in the home shrines. Since the statues symbolize the presence of God, food is placed before the home shrine because the physical presence of the images evokes a tangible presence of God and a hope that the dead are in Heaven with Him.
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As I said earlier, its from our pagan roots. Like some of the Chinese, our ancestors practiced ancestral worship and therefore such honoring of dead ancestors is part of it.

We’ve incultured this into the Mass where we offer food during the offertory. Of course this food now goes to feed the priests.
 
There are a number of cultures that place food as gifts for those who have departed from this world. I think Hispanics practice something along these lines during the Day of the Dead. So I would think the food placed in front of a saint’s statue in Filipino culture is just something they’ve always done for their ancestors and are now doing out of a habitual sign of good will. It’s a remnant from before the people were Christian. Whether or not this is idolatry is at least debatable. Looking at it as Christians now, we can say it is superstitious, or at the very least unnecessary.

Bottom line, I don’t think they’re really practicing idolatry, but it’s probably not something you want to do yourself, or should teach your children to do. I’m not sure if I would try to change the ways of the elders, but you can stop it with you.
 
I never heard of this when I was in the Philippines. I’m a bit troubled by this, but I never really understood Sto. Nino devotion anyway; that in itself seemed like idolatry at first. Then again, I was first troubled by veneration of icons as well.

The Church in the Philippines needs a few good men. Perhaps said men can clarify this custom as well.
 
CathMass said:
As a Filipino, I learned that the practice of** food on the altar was not for the statues** but rather for the dead. I don’t know where the idea came from but it is a way that Filipinos try to connect with family on the other side. It is NOT supposed to be for the statues.

One may argue that the dead don’t need food. Certainly, the souls should be prayed for and indeed they have no need of food but then again, they don’t need flowers on their grave either. We put flowers on graves becasue we love our dead and want to show that remember them.
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This.
 
Are you worshipping the statue? No? Then no, it’s not idolatry.
 
Idolatry would require the person in question to be praying to the statue, not the saint of whom the statue is a representation of.

As for acts such as these, if anyone here has traveled widely enough throughout the world - you’ll notice a lot more than food - flowers, money, heck even toys.

From what i understand, the Church has no specific teaching regarding either these tiny superstitions / small acts of devotion (depends on who you ask i suppose).

In other words its not an action that the Church condones as part of the proper manner of worship, but at the same time i’ve never seen a pastor in an Italian/Chinese/Mexican/Filipino/Thai/etc.Church (alright i’ve been to a lot of places :P) remove the offerings and place a big sign or bringing it up as part of the homily about why it shouldn’t be done.

I’ve always equated it in my head with the folks who feel the need to rub St. Peter’s feet in the Vatican or the ones who desire to physically touch a saint’s statue while praying.

Necessary? No. Harmful? not really.
 
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