Within Bless Me, Ultima, the emphasis upon religious faith and Catholicism is a central theme throughout the book. Antonio’s mother is constantly praying, conducting rituals, and expressing her welcoming of Antonio’s religious upbringing. Antonio, being brought up with his mother, sees and cherishes this faith, as he too begins to practice and harness the spirit of God. However pleasant this may seem at first, the novel addresses major shortcomings and unanswered questions with regards to Catholicism and theology in general. We see strong criticism from Florence, Tony’s friend who unfortunately and ironically drowns. Investigating pages 196-199, Florence raises questions as to the vast amount of inequality, injustice, and social hardships. On page 196, Florence asks, “how can God let this happen to a kid, I never asked to be born. But he gives me birth, a soul, and puts me here to punish me. Why? What did I ever do to Him?” Antonio then thinks to himself, “For a moment I couldn’t answer. The questions Florence posed were the same ones I wanted answered. Why was the murder of Narciso allowed? Why does evil exist?” (196).
Through this dialogue, we see Antonio’s reluctance to fully submerge himself within his faith. Like Florence, Antonio has substantial reservations about Catholicism and the credibility of God. With the illnesses, the deaths, the tribulations within his community, Tony begins to seriously question his devotion with his faith. Florence is the character who ‘materializes’ Tony’s thoughts… by this, I am talking about how these questions lingered within Tony, but it was Florence who was the one who actually brought them into their conversation. The dauntingly large and seemingly impossible task of ascertaining the reasons behind human suffering and evil is what leaves Tony nearly dumbfounded.
Later in the novel, we see more reservations about Tony’s faith in Catholicism. On page 222, Tony states, “After Easter I went to confession every Saturday and on Sunday morning I went to communion, but I was not satisfied. The God I so eagerly sought was not there.” These unanswered questions have a profound affect upon Tony and his beliefs; and is a substantial turning point of the novel. This is where Tony begins to question what he has been taught, thus constructing a more individualized and intellectual world-view. It is the maturity of Tony that we see through this religious criticism and investigation. As we have discussed the novel being that of a ‘coming of age’ story, here we see this motif in action: we see Tony growing, maturing, and becoming more cognizant of discrepancies between reality and spirituality. Is Tony’s doubtfulness of Catholicism constructive for his maturity? Or is it detrimental due to its destruction of his faith? Regarding the former, the critical analysis and questioning may be seen as imperative for intellectual development and advancement… Questioning and criticizing is how we get to truth, and truth is what leads to knowledge, right? On the other hand, nearly everything Tony has learned about faith comes crashing down — it seems to all be an illusion; some fabricated story that is supposed to bring comfort. What do you think?
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Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1972. Print.
We can all relate to Antonio’s struggle to maintain his faith in a world full of evil. With a mysterious concept such as God, we would not be human if we did not question it. As mentioned, without inquiry truth cannot be discovered. A lot of times when we question or challenge God it allows us to grow in faith or fall out of it completely. In the Catholic faith young men and women have to go through confirmation. A major part of this ritual is a questioning of one’s personal beliefs. If a young man or woman decides after deliberation that they still want to continue with the Catholic faith then they get confirmed. While Antonio is only getting his first communion, he experiences a similar challenge of faith. Antonio is strong willed in that he does not simply accept social norms. Many people that are Antonio’s age or even older would not question faith because it a social institution that brings community and comfort to individuals.
This blog points out interesting elements of Antonio’s struggle with his religion and belief system. Antonio is given 4 main powers to believe in: Ultima’s powers (that of witchcraft), catholicism (that he learns from mother and school), the golden carp, and the llano/the land (that which he learns from his father’s side, the vaqueros). Throughout the book, Antonio experiences each of these facets has questions in regards to all of them. With experiences such as witnessing death multiple times, seeing Ultima use her powers, and so forth, Antonio struggles with his personal identity as well as his belief system all while being only seven years.
Reading this blog post intrigued me to think about times when I have felt confusion or doubt about my faith, just like Antonio. Growing up in a Catholic home and parents who valued the Catholic traditions, I can relate to Antonio. It is as if from birth, we think we are meant to be Catholic, and that is all what there is to it. Our parents showed how “it should be done” and we are not supposed to question it. However, as you grow, we start to enter the questioning phase of life. Antonio first thought about questioning his faith when he was brought out into the real outside world. There are so many hardships and evil. There is plenty of confusion of unanswered questions about God, but think about it; what is faith? I have thought about this question for the past few years. Faith is believing. Faith is about believing without any actual proof. Faith is not necessarily a way to gain knowledge, but rather a way to gain spiritual inner strength. If Tony chooses to go onto a fully knowledgeable life without the need for spirituality, than there is no need to have faith. On the other hand, if he wants to keep part of his roots and possibly find comfort in believing that there is an all mighty God who loves eternally and will take care of him, then believing in his faith is the way to go. Having small questions about one’s faith is pretty normal, but not to an extent where one thinks of denouncing it.
I love the way this blog was written. I believe the doubts and questions Tony has throughout the novel speak to his intelligence and capability to have an open mind. Tony has been raised with so much religion in his life, as a child this may be easy to simply accept and believe. However, as Tony grows older it is obvious that his capability to understand where others are coming from is also growing. It is his empathy that allows him to relate to the questions Florence has about God, empathy which was no doubt taught to him through Catholicism. Although it is easy for some people to simply believe all they’re told without investigating or questioning, I believe those who do question will find a stronger relationship with God or themselves. Tony does not lose all faith, he simply begins to wonder why things happen. As his father explains, some things you understand with age.