How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Such was his reputation that Pilon had once said, "If that Jesus Maria had gone into the Church, Monterey would have had a saint for the calendar, I tell you." (10.4)
Jesus Maria is such a goody-two-shoes, always helping everybody out, that his friends consider him to be a saint. In the Catholic Church, each day on the calendar is assigned to a saint, so that's why Pilon says that Monterey would have had a saint for the calendar if Jesus Maria had become a priest.
Quote #8
It is true that for a time they had dreamed of how much wine it would buy, but after a while they lost the conception of it as legal tender. The hoard was aimed at a gold candlestick, and this potential candlestick was the property of San Francisco de Assisi. It is far worse to defraud a saint than it is to take liberties with the law. (12.2)
The fact that the Pirate's money is intended to buy a candle for Saint Francis makes the money holy. This money is transformed from something ordinary and dirty into something so special that it's untouchable. In a way, that's what the novel itself is about: making these ordinary characters into something special, revealing how they are "holy."
Quote #9
For a time the Pirate sat looking at the altar, but it was too remote, too holy to think about very much, too unapproachable by a poor man. His eyes sought something warmer, something that would not frighten him. And there, in front of the figure of Saint Francis, was a beautiful golden candlestick, and in it a tall candle was burning. (12.77)
Inside the church, where there are social norms (like dressing up nicely and not bringing your dogs in), Danny's friends don't feel particularly comfortable. They're so poor that they don't feel welcome, but by buying the gold candlestick, the Pirate has found a small part of the church where he belongs.