Blessed Salt

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OraEtLabora1965

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How do I get blessed salt? Can I just purchase regular salt from the grocery store and ask a priest to bless it?
 
Cristian_B said:
And what will be the purpose of that blessed salt?
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Same as any other blessed object, like holy water; a sacramental used to remind us of our own obligation to be holy for the Lord and to bless His Holy Name. No ‘magic’ properties. Heck, you believe in blessings, right? They’re Scriptural. I love the blessing of Aaron.
 
Blessed salt is a sacramental of protection.

The 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”
 
I understand the value of having blessed salt around, but is there any particular kind that is favored? Such as table versus sea salt?

ChadS
 
OraEtLabora1965 said:
How do I get blessed salt? Can I just purchase regular salt from the grocery store and ask a priest to bless it?
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Make certain the priest blesses it with the full blessing from the old ritual, and not just a sign of the cross.

Some priests might not even have those books, but it’s good to prompt them about it if they don’t even if you have to listen to a lecture about it not being magic, which one almost invariably hears every time you try from some priests and people to get a sacramental blessed. :rolleyes:

Or you get it from a place like the one above, blessed ahead of time.
 
Shin said:
Make certain the priest blesses it with the full blessing from the old ritual, and not just a sign of the cross.

Some priests might not even have those books, but it’s good to prompt them about it if they don’t even if you have to listen to a lecture about it not being magic, which one almost invariably hears every time you try from some priests and people to get a sacramental blessed. :rolleyes:

Or you get it from a place like the one above, blessed ahead of time.
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I printed the blessing out, bought a two pound box of Kosher salt and took it to seven churches before returning to my parish (where I started) looking for a priest. No one home anywhere. When I complained about not finding a priest at seven local churches the secretary informed me that there was a retired bishop living upstairs. I handed her the prayer and the box of salt. I use it in cooking (it’s appropriate to do so) and I use it to bless my home and work, and drive away evil spirits. I can feel that it has worked. I sprinkle it at doors and windows.
 
OraEtLabora1965 said:
How do I get blessed salt? Can I just purchase regular salt from the grocery store and ask a priest to bless it?
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Yes, that is a common practice in different parishes that I have attended (for those who desire to incorporate the salt into their spirituality).
Cristian_B said:
And what will be the purpose of that blessed salt?
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Historically, salt has been used as a disinfectant and preservative. With this in mind, there is an old tradition within Christianity to have a priest bless it with a special exorcism prayer (which the OP cited in Post #5). The idea is that blessed salt does on a spiritual level what regular salt does on a material level. The exorcized salt can be added to holy water, or it can simply be sprinkled in places. It can even be consumed.
Shin said:
Some priests might not even have those books…
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Don’t worry about that; all priests have the proper prayer. It is in the Sacramentary (on page 359 in the current English version) as part of the sprinkling rite when used as the Penitential Rite for Mass. It is considered an optional addition. For example, it is currently the Easter Season and many priests at the beginning of Sunday Mass will bless a bucket of holy water (while saying, “Dear friends, this water will be used to remind us of our baptism…”). He will then walk around sprinkling people. During the actual blessing of the holy water, he has the option of blessing some salt and adding it to the water prior to the sprinkling.
Shin said:
…but it’s good to prompt them about it if they don’t even if you have to listen to a lecture about it not being magic, which one almost invariably hears every time you try from some priests and people to get a sacramental blessed. :rolleyes:
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This sort of thing can, indeed, be frustrating, can’t it? Fortunately, there are still other priests out there who are “old school”, especially among the younger ones, meaning that they have adopted a more traditional mindset concerning sacramentals. I know of a priest who routinely blesses salt for parishioners and always uses the formula from the Sacramentary. And if he notices someone wearing a St. Benedict medal, he will ask, “Did you ever have a priest or deacon put the special exorcism prayer on that?” (he keeps a copy of that prayer in the sacristy in case the answer is “no”; this is not the same exorcism prayer used on salt, of course). In other words, he takes sacramentals used in the context of spiritual warfare very seriously.
ChadS said:
I understand the value of having blessed salt around, but is there any particular kind that is favored? Such as table versus sea salt?
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The rubrics in the Sacramentary simply call for “salt.” So it can be regular table salt or sea salt.
sail1993 said:
I printed the blessing out, bought a two pound box of Kosher salt and took it to seven churches before returning to my parish (where I started) looking for a priest. No one home anywhere. When I complained about not finding a priest at seven local churches the secretary informed me that there was a retired bishop living upstairs. I handed her the prayer and the box of salt.
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Here is a helpful suggestion for the next time that you need salt blessed. Arrive at Mass early, give the box of salt to the sacristan and ask him to have the priest bless it. As I mentioned above, the book that has the blessing is the Sacramentary. Therefore, seeing as the Mass is about to be celebrated, both the book and a priest will be there. Then pick up the salt from the sacristan after Mass. Of course, you can directly ask the priest yourself, but in some places it is easier to do this through the sacristan.

…I just realized that this thread is about a year and a half old. Well, hopefully what I’ve posted may still come to the attention of those who originally participated in this discussion as well as be helpful to future people reading it.
 
My priest refused to bless my salt. Said that the Church has moved on from those practices. However, I could bless it myself. I think it is sad that our priests will not provide services like these. It is such a small thing to bring comfort and encourage the practice of our faith.
 
hrwg said:
My priest refused to bless my salt. Said that the Church has moved on from those practices. However, I could bless it myself. I think it is sad that our priests will not provide services like these. It is such a small thing to bring comfort and encourage the practice of our faith.
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Are you a deacon?
 
hrwg said:
My priest refused to bless my salt. Said that the Church has moved on from those practices. However, I could bless it myself. I think it is sad that our priests will not provide services like these. It is such a small thing to bring comfort and encourage the practice of our faith.
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Good grief. The blessing of salt is actually an optional part of the sprinkling rite if he would open his Sacramentary. It’s common on EWTN for the priest to bless salt (rather than the water) and then add it to water for the sprinkling rite.
 
ElToro said:
Good grief. The blessing of salt is actually an optional part of the sprinkling rite if he would open his Sacramentary. It’s common on EWTN for the priest to bless salt (rather than the water) and then add it to water for the sprinkling rite.
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I move a lot so this is disappointing. I currently live in Chicago. I am having a bad experience with the priests at St. Vincent DePaul Church. When I lived in London the priest had no problem blessing salt. This is just one of the many places I have lived. I was told once that Chicago is having a priest problem, but I never thought anything about it because only one person said it. However, I am finding that these problems are not confined to only one priest. This is not the only Church I have attended in Chicago. Like I said I move frequently. I am hoping to move again into a better parish. I feel bad for the students that attend St. Vincent DePaul University connected with this church. I wonder what sort of Catholic instruction they are (or maybe are not) receiving. 😦
 
hrwg said:
No, I am a lay person.
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I hope this doesn’t come as a surprise or offend you, if you are not an ordained minister you have no authority to validly bless sacrementals. As a father or mother you can bless your children because you are in authority over them, but the blessing you impart on sacrementals do nothing for what the sacremental is intended to do. If you want blessed salt to fight spiritual battles you want someone with the authority to impart the blessing of God. The evil one knows what authority means, we also need to know.
 
I like to get my salt blessed and exorcised. Any priest can do this.
 
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