I have just been given some. Do you use a few or several grains and what do you use it for? Mine is in a plastic baggie right now, but I feel it should be in a better place! A salt shaker seems like a definite no no!
Also, does one take plain old table salt to a priest and ask to have it blessed?
How did this practice start? What is it significance?
Thus used non-superstitiously, modest amounts of salt may be sprinkled in one’s bedroom, or across thresholds to prevent burglary, in cars for safety, etc. A few grains in drinking water or used in cooking or as food seasoning often bring astonishing spiritual and physical benefits, as I have personally witnessed many times. As with the use of Sacraments, much depends on the faith and devotion of the person using salt or any sacramental. This faith must be Jesus-centered, as was the faith of the blind man in John 9; he had faith in Jesus, not in the mud and spittle used by Jesus to heal him.
Any amount of salt may be presented to a priest for his blessing, using the following official prayer from the Roman Ritual:
“Almighty God, we ask you to bless this salt, as once you blessed the salt scattered over the water by the prophet Elisha. Wherever this salt (and water) is sprinkled, drive away the power of evil, and protect us always by the presence of your Holy Spirit. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
As to where to keep it, just make sure it is in a specially marked container so that it isn’t confused with your table salt. I have been given blessed salt in film cans, baggies, zip-lock bags and canisters. With holy water, I get it from the church in an empty bottled water bottle then label it so I don’t confuse it with ordinary bottled water.
I have heard it is fine to drink the holy water and eat the salt. I even bought small mint candies one time from a church store that were made with water from Lourdes. I heard a story of people who had bad neighbors so they took blessed salt sprinkled it all around their property, and within a couple of weeks the neighbors moved!
Hey, thanks for this post. I have actually wondered this myself.
I have been given very little at a healing mass to eat. I am sure the link provided will clear this question up for me. I will go and read it now. Thanks again.
Yep, that happened with us! We sprinkled exorcised salt all over our neighborhood, over every driveway and prayed over every house. We buried blessed and exorcised Miraculous Medals on every street corner and on either side of our driveway and hid a green scapular in our wooded cul-de-sac. The bad apples left within a week or two and the neighborhood has improved drastically Praise God!
Blessed salt is great, but I would encourage you to go a step further and ask your priest to pray the exorcism prayer over it. Exorcised salt and holy water carry a more powerful message to the devil and his demons that it’s **not **OK for them to hang out around there!
I get whole cannisters of salt exorcised and label them accordingly, keeping some and giving some away (usually pouring into smaller containers). I sometimes put some in little containers to make it easier to access and take with me. I have sprinkled it out of the car window in dangerous intersections where my friends have had accidents. My one friend keeps a little baggie of it in her pocket to reach down and sprinkle it whenever the need arises. I have also sprinkled it around the mall, especially near a certain store that has a horribly oppressive atmosphere to it (a regular, secular book store that I always loved visiting). The next visit to the mall after sprinkling exorcised salt and praying, DH and I detected a much more peaceful atmosphere. Just a few suggestions/experiences to give you some ideas
Wow, this is freaky. My wife and I just signed a lease in a new apartment complex because of a problem with bad neighbors downstairs. Last week I had sprinkled blessed salt all around the common hallway, in particular near the doorway of these bad neighbors. Today I saw that they were moving out. It never occurred to me at all that there would be a connection between these two things until I read this thread. :eek:
So my question is: after sprinkling blessed salt around the house, is it wrong to vacuum - since the salt would be taken away as well?
No, of course it’s not wrong to vacuum! It’s important to keep our houses nice and clean. But what I do is vacuum first, and then sprinkle. And I only sprinkle very sparingly, about 5-10 grains or so per room. God would rather some blessed salt land in our vacuum cleaners than us not use it!
JustAnotherThou, I’m so curious to hear your joke!
Oh ok, it will probably not be as funny on here as it is in my head. Hopefully those who have read this whole thread will get it. Maybe it just came to my mind because my vacuum is horrible
Joke #1: (well funny reply to his question) Your vacuum may leave if you do!
Joke #2: At least your vacuum will be a blessed one!!
OK, sorry they are just not as funny in writing as they are in my head :shrug:
Hi. Where can I find the rite of blessing salt? I would like to understand this fully. I searched the web and many sites claim this is in the Roman Ritual. I don’t have a physical copy of the Rituale Romanum but from the online copies I found, only blessing of baptismal salt and blessing of salt for use in livestock are available. I would appreciate any help in the right direction. Thank you.
We have a priest that does the blessing with the exorcism prayers. Not may priest do that anymore. He also does oil and water at the same time. I know we once found the prayer on the internet.
I carry a small amount of salt and water with me all the time. we have used it in motel rooms and on camping trips. When I know we will be in contact with someone who is confrontational about the faith I bless myself and the kids. I have slipped all three into whatever I am cooking, especially when it just seems like the devil is making my house crazy with little spats and tiffs. I never use it without also saying a short prayer also. Oh and to avoid vacuuming it up I place it in corners where the vacuum doesn’t reach. I have even slipped it into the holy water font at Catholic Churches that have lots of abuses.
Hello again. Just wish to clarify my earlier post. I meant, there are numerous blessings of salt available online and many claim this is from the Roman Ritual. I am looking for a blessing that is actually from the Roman Ritual since I cannot find the official blessing for blessed salt (except for baptismal salt and salt for livestock). Just want to make sure the priest is blessing according to what is approved by the Church. Btw, I got solar rock salt which is very course (large particles). Is this ok?
Wow! Many thanks for this thread. My mom just gave me my first baggie of salt, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. My mom seems to me to be “off-the-deep-end” sometimes, so I wasn’t up for questioning her about it when she handed it to me along with my semi-annual replacement of holy water and oil. She just said, “Here, add this to your cooking” – I believe she means it to convert my husband, which I am VERY cool with. Never would have thought to sprinkle it, nor would I have imagined it could cast out demons in public places. How naive am I? I am going to bring it to work!!! I think she maybe didn’t give me enough…
I’m glad I read this thread. I had heard of blessed salt but never really knew what people did with it… I will have to add some to my cooking too! I’d love for DH to convert.
We cook with it, season our food with it (it’s on the table), sprinkle it in corners of rooms, and have it taped above every window and exterior door in the house.
It’s in my car, in the children’s car seats, around the perimeter of our house, and at the entrance to our sub.
I also had the rather prankish thought of sprinkling it in the foundation of the Baptist church going up next to our sub, but refrained.
I have seen this document and others with the blessing and claim that it comes from the Roman Ritual. Still, I cannot find this blessing in copies of the Roman Ritual. Can we be sure it is indeed the authorized blessing for salt? Perhaps from an older version of the Rituale Romanum?
That might be a great question for someone like Fr. Pacwa or Fr. Levis on EWTN. I know that you want one before Vatican II because the one after doesn’t include the exorcism prayers. Fr. Corapi spoke about it. If you could get ahold of an old brevery(sp?)
I may be in there.
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