Santa Muerte Devotion 101: Answers and Explanations for Curious Readers and New Devotees
Digital Web Book by Arnold Bustillo
Buy the paperback at https://amzn.to/41gmMKg
Digital Web Book by Arnold Bustillo
Buy the paperback at https://amzn.to/41gmMKg
Is Santa Muerte a Saint of Criminals?
Yes.
But she’s also a saint of homemakers and a saint of breadwinners. She’s a saint of children and a saint of parents. She’s a saint of artists and a saint of soldiers.
Remember that Santa Muerte accepts us all - and since there are criminals among us, then Santa Muerte would, by default, also be a criminal’s saint. One reason why some criminals pray to Santa Muerte is precisely because she does not judge them. She does not hold their bad choices against them and promises to always accept them.
We are not puppets of the Santa Muerte, and we each exist with independent agency and free will. For the most part, it would seem like the Santa Muerte allows us to go about our business here on Earth, and only interferes when (1) she wants to usher us into the afterlife, (2) when she feels like granting a petition, or (3) when she feels like sharing blessings with her devotees. For the rest of us who must share this world with criminals, note that this chapter does not seek to excuse the criminal behavior of devotees. Just as we each have the choice to obey the law or ignore it, we as a society also have the choice to implement and enforce consequences for those who choose to ignore our laws.
Will the Santa Muerte hear the petitions of professional criminals? Yes, because she hears all petitions. Will the Santa Muerte grant protection and success to criminals? Maybe, but death is a force that cannot be commanded, and the buck stops with Santa Muerte - only she will decide what petitions are granted, and for how long someone can get away with living a criminal life. I like to think of Santa Muerte as a loving mother or grandmother. Just as our mothers and grandmothers will always love us, no matter how much we screw up, even those that love us can get tired of bailing us out and decide to let us learn our lessons the hard way. Considering the relatively short lifespan of career criminals, it would appear that even Santa Muerte eventually gets tired of criminal antics.
Perhaps the biggest mistake anyone can make is to judge an entire community on the actions of those on the criminal fringes. There are members of the Italian and Irish mafias who wear crosses and identify as Catholic. There are members of the Japanese yakuza who pray to ancestors and nature spirits and identify as followers of Shinto. Is Jesus the reason why Italian and Irish mobsters kill people? Are the ancestors and nature spirits the reasons why the yakuza kill people? Of course not. These are criminal organizations made up of people from specific regions. It is the people in these organizations that bring their spiritual beliefs into their criminal behavior, it is not the spiritual beliefs that spawn the criminal behavior. Mexican criminal organizations consist of Mexicans - Santa Muerte as we know her today was born from Mexico. A group of Mexicans praying to a Mexican folk saint is not a sign of inherent criminality - it’s basic sociology.
But she’s also a saint of homemakers and a saint of breadwinners. She’s a saint of children and a saint of parents. She’s a saint of artists and a saint of soldiers.
Remember that Santa Muerte accepts us all - and since there are criminals among us, then Santa Muerte would, by default, also be a criminal’s saint. One reason why some criminals pray to Santa Muerte is precisely because she does not judge them. She does not hold their bad choices against them and promises to always accept them.
We are not puppets of the Santa Muerte, and we each exist with independent agency and free will. For the most part, it would seem like the Santa Muerte allows us to go about our business here on Earth, and only interferes when (1) she wants to usher us into the afterlife, (2) when she feels like granting a petition, or (3) when she feels like sharing blessings with her devotees. For the rest of us who must share this world with criminals, note that this chapter does not seek to excuse the criminal behavior of devotees. Just as we each have the choice to obey the law or ignore it, we as a society also have the choice to implement and enforce consequences for those who choose to ignore our laws.
Will the Santa Muerte hear the petitions of professional criminals? Yes, because she hears all petitions. Will the Santa Muerte grant protection and success to criminals? Maybe, but death is a force that cannot be commanded, and the buck stops with Santa Muerte - only she will decide what petitions are granted, and for how long someone can get away with living a criminal life. I like to think of Santa Muerte as a loving mother or grandmother. Just as our mothers and grandmothers will always love us, no matter how much we screw up, even those that love us can get tired of bailing us out and decide to let us learn our lessons the hard way. Considering the relatively short lifespan of career criminals, it would appear that even Santa Muerte eventually gets tired of criminal antics.
Perhaps the biggest mistake anyone can make is to judge an entire community on the actions of those on the criminal fringes. There are members of the Italian and Irish mafias who wear crosses and identify as Catholic. There are members of the Japanese yakuza who pray to ancestors and nature spirits and identify as followers of Shinto. Is Jesus the reason why Italian and Irish mobsters kill people? Are the ancestors and nature spirits the reasons why the yakuza kill people? Of course not. These are criminal organizations made up of people from specific regions. It is the people in these organizations that bring their spiritual beliefs into their criminal behavior, it is not the spiritual beliefs that spawn the criminal behavior. Mexican criminal organizations consist of Mexicans - Santa Muerte as we know her today was born from Mexico. A group of Mexicans praying to a Mexican folk saint is not a sign of inherent criminality - it’s basic sociology.