About item "blessings"

[VeritasLuxMea]

I understand the purpose of holy items, whether as prayer aides or as “reminders” of God’s presence. But if that is all that they are, then what is the purpose of getting them blessed in the first place?

And if someone ascribes “power” to them (.e.g., someone claiming that a blessed St. Christopher medallion is “keeping them safe”), then is that not idolatry?

And what of home blessings? Are we to believe that a home is safer because a Priest blessed it? I don’t see why that would be the case. Did Jesus give Priests the power to offer “protection” to homes? I would assume such “protection” would be derived from God directly and not from Priests?

 

[R_C]

God is the only one who blesses.

Ordained ministers (bishops, priests, and to some extent deacons) are by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders acting in persona Christi therefore they do not simply invoke God’s blessing (like a lay faithful would do, say, before lunch or by the sign of the cross) but actually blesses, acting in the person of Christ.

Blessing an object elevates it to a sacramental, consecrated solely for God’s praise. Depending on the proper blessing, the sacramental may also receive an exorcism (ex. holy water, the crucifix of St. Benedict), and its imposition may bring us specific benefits (ex. blessing and first-time imposition of a Carmelite scapular incorporates us into the family of Carmel).

Since we are called to offer everything to God for His praise, the Book of Blessings has liturgies for almost all circumstances, places, and objects. Any object blessed is consecrated (as long as used or inhabited by the faithful requesting the blessing) and yes, it is safer, for the presence of the Holy Spirit, who blesses, is incompatible with the presence of Satan, and the stronger one necessarily drives away the weaker one.

I exhort you to read the First Commandment on the Catechism to correct your notion of idolatry. At most, it may be superstition to assign to the object itself any power. However, one may say that a sacramental (ex. a crucifix, a medal of a saint or the Blessed Virgin, or the medal of St. Benedict with an engraved exorcism) do aid in keeping us safe not in themselves, but by the pious intercession of the saint represented, of the Blessed Virgin, or of our Lord. Remember that Christ used all sorts of materials to perform wonderful signs, f. ex. he put mud and saliva on the eyes of a blind man, and sent him to wash his face at a certain fount. Neither of these elements had any power per se: but the faith of the person and the intercession of the minister are what unite the faithful more closely to God in the order of grace.

On a side note, while - again - objects per se have no power, it has been witnessed both in the lives of the saints and in some modern writings, that the adversary is indeed driven away by sacramentals: he has been often driven away, for instance, by sprinkling holy water, by placing or wearing a blessed crucifix, by the prayer of the Rosary, by the exorcism engraved on the blessed medal of St. Benedict, by the simple pronunciation of the Holy Name of Jesus (even if spelled out or reversed). Neither these objects nor our words have any “power”: it is God who acts through them, by His will and thanks also to our faith.

 

[JerryZ]

I understand the purpose of holy items, whether as prayer aides or as “reminders” of God’s presence. But if that is all that they are, then what is the purpose of getting them blessed in the first place?

And if someone ascribes “power” to them (.e.g., someone claiming that a blessed St. Christopher medallion is “keeping them safe”), then is that not idolatry?

And what of home blessings? Are we to believe that a home is safer because a Priest blessed it? I don’t see why that would be the case. Did Jesus give Priests the power to offer “protection” to homes? I would assume such “protection” would be derived from God directly and not from Priests?

Jesus gave the apostoles and the priests the charisma to bind and loose, evict demons and even effect cures.
In that context the blessing of the home has that purpose in mind it is not voodo magic but a mandate by Jesus himself.

By the same token blessed articles and relics have the same effect.

Don’t people get cured miracoulously when in contact with Relics?
In the OT a dead person was resucitated when his body touched the bones of a Prophet.
It’s right there for you to see that yes this articles do have supernatural power that comes from GOD!

 

[fred_conty]

Below are some explainations of sacramentals.

Enterview with an Exorcist by Fortea, P 66

“Actually though, a merterial object - holy water, holy chrism, etc. - can torment or expel
demons because the church has given a spiritual power to this object by blessing it.
In other words, the church, with the power she has received from Christ, can join a
spiritual effect to an object. Of course, the object itself has no power, rather, the power
lies in that of Christ Himself which has been placed upon the particular object.”

From the catechism:

SACRAMENTALS

1667 “Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy.”

The characteristics of sacramentals

1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops’ pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism).

1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a “blessing,” and to bless. Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).

1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. “For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God.”

Various forms of sacramentals

1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father “with every spiritual blessing.” This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.

1673 When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing. In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. The solemn exorcism, called “a major exorcism,” can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.

 

[fred_conty]

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=8411720#post8411720

Posted by: TimothyHOn: Sep 28, '11 6:29 pm
Remember that the earliest Christians were willing to die for the bones of the saints and other articles of faith. So extraordinary were the mighty deeds God accomplished at the hands of Paul that when face cloths or aprons that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. (Acts 19:11)Many miracles have happened and continue to happen at places where relics were stored, by touching things which touched holy people, and by coming in contact with things which were blessed - sacramentals. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” … The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” (Mark 5:28-30,33-34) What some see as a potential problem, other’s see as a loss of faith in the supernatural - that God is is a spirit who transcends creation, controls matter, and even holds it in existence. And so I’ll cut to the chase… What of the Eucharist? The way I look at it is, if a priest can command that the Holy Spirit change bread and wine into the body and blood of the Second Person of the Trinity - Jesus Christ - then surely satan can be made to flee when he sees that I hold in my hand a rosary blessed by that very same priest and used to pray to the Mother who made that seme flesh present. St. Benedict made the sign of the cross over a glass of poisoned drink and the glass cracked and the drink spilt. God worked through Mose’s and Aaron’s rod. God created matter. God controls matter. Jesus walked on water. And I have enough faith in that to carry a rosary and wear a miraculous medal. I don’t see a problem.
-Tim-************