Marx helps us notice how objects can appear to have "power" in themselves, even though their value and worth come from the human labor that went behind in crafting these objects. According to Marx, this concept is more applicable to commodities, which are items created through work and traded within economic systems, than it is to just objects as symbols. His primary interest is on how labor creates value, which is subsequently hidden when things appear to have authority or worth on their own. Taking an example from the objects within the Basilica, the Papal exhibit is a great fit.  Once given to the Basilica, many of these items, which were formerly a part of global supply chains, are essentially taken out of the public market. Even while the labor they contain is still present, their monetary value becomes meaningless. The worth of these objects come from the human labor behind it, and not who uses it. However, this takes place inside a much broader structure in which the Catholic Church controls enormous wealth and assets throughout the world, operating as an economic organization while continuing to function outside of standard business sense. The question of whether such manifestations of material wealth help to enhance the divine or run the risk of hiding the labor and economic institutions that made them possible is a crucial theological one.

Mauss argues that gifts are not just private generosity and a one all be all, but instead is the very foundation of social bonding. To give, to recieve, and to give back. According to Mauss, civilizations are built upon the need to give, receive, and reciprocate. He characterizes these as three fundamental social duties rather than choice behaviors. In Mauss's lens, gifts build relationships and are not just transactions. The Basilica can be interpreted through these lens because of what happens within it. The Basilica itself is sculpted by contributions from popes, national and international churches, and private contributors who provide chapels, mosaics, holy objects, and architectural features as offerings to the sacred vicinity. "Offering and response". Visitors come and "give" prayer, time, devotion, candles, enrollments, and donations" while the Basilica "gives back" ministry, ritual access, sacred spaces, and other forms of public display and remembrance.  Additionally, these exchanges are officially recognized by national dedications, donor plaques, and designated chapels that both publicly thank the gift and record the act of giving. By providing spiritual prominence, inclusion in holy space, and permanent memory in exchange for these contributions, the Basilica satisfies Mauss's duty of reciprocity. The whole point of this is not to make faith a "business" but instead that religious life often works through gift-like exchange, from materials to symbolic/spiritual. Where this "giving" builds belonging and relationship for all. These gift exchanges establish long-lasting connections that unite people, churches, and the worldwide Catholic community rather than serving as business dealings.

Winnicott's concept of transitional objects describes how people use objects as this "gray zone" between transitioning of points in life. Between inner emotion and outer reality. (ex: a kids blanket). And we can see exactly that in the Basilica through the "Our Mother of Africa Chapel" which centers a sculpture of Black Mary holding a child. This directs the narrative of the relief/suffering and remembrance of African American's experience of slavery in the United States and around the world. This Chapel showcases Mary as a pillar of hope, holding the Child is a symbol of freedom and a new beginning, just as how Christ came to free us from sin and allow us to have a new beginning and life through him. Winnicott's theory can help explain why a mother and child image can feel so powerful and emotionally connecting for those even arriving from different backgrounds. Winnicott's transitional objects offer this "in bewteen zone" where the inner feeling of fear, hope, and grief, turns to the public display of remembrance and forwardness