Patron Saint

By Doug Tanoury

I found a wooden Santo in an antique shop, without hands and it called to mind a passage from the New Testament, where Jesus encourages that offending eyes be plucked out and tempting hands be severed by their owners.

This Santo with tempting hands removed and paint peeling from his clothes was keeping the company of sinners who owned the shop and other lesser Santos with both hands still attached, so I asked: "¿cuánto es este santo?" The shop owner thought for a moment and slowly replied: "tres mil quinientos".

I paused, then complained: "pero él no tiene los manos" and I thought how much are a Saint's hands worth that have done such good work, and  I said to the shop keeper: "dos mil, no mas".

So now "San No los manos" keeps the company of a new, perhaps too I am sure, even greater sinner, but for me it remains an object of deep devotion, a Santo with tempting hands removed is one that I can pray to.