"Blessing" at home

[BIB_MT]

I wasn’t sure which forum to post this on, hope it’s okay here.

I’m re-doing our Christmas/Advent festivities and we’re doing an Advent Wreath for the first time ever as a family. I was reading online some prayers you can say and do a “blessing” for the wreath, usually with the head of the house (husband) doing the blessing.

Is this in any way different than when a priest blesses an object?

My concern is that I like to minimize the blessed objects (by priests) we have in our home because with small children, things tend to get broken and “abused”. If it’s not something I can keep out of their reach, I don’t like it to be blessed. I know there are certain “rules” for how you must treat and get rid of blessed objects (burn or bury them for example).

So is it the same thing when the head of house blesses something as when a priest does? Should anything ever happen to the wreath, would it need to be disposed of properly with fire/burial? Or is this type of blessing more informal and not the same?

I’m a convert so just learning about these sorts of things. Thanks.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

I would not worry about the disposal of a wreath. The blessing would actually be for the family members resident in the home.

 

[St_Francis]

There is a blessing done over the wreath as you light the candle(s), but not of the wreath.

What I did about blessed objects was I first taught the children for a short time to handle them gently and treat them with respect, and then I got them blessed. Don’t wait until the children are “old enough,” start teaching them when they are young so it will be more engrained in them. God won’t be upset at the loss of a few blessed objects–Christ Himself asked that the children be brought to Him

Oh, I did however start with very inexpensive types as that figured into our budget at the time.

 

[EasterJoy]

I was taught that things are blessed in two ways: by a formal blessing, and by use.

For instance, if a chalice has been used by a priest at Mass, it has been blessed by use whether or not it was ever formally blessed. Likewise, a rosary that has not been blessed by a priest but has been used to pray the rosary is blessed by use, and ought to be treated with the same respect as if the rosary had been blessed by a priest.

The floral arrangements used in a church are a different matter, however. They not blessed as sacramentals, presumably because they are inherently disposable and are not kept on after their initial use.

This is reflected by the difference in the blessing of an Advent wreath:
Lord God, your Church joyfully awaits the coming of its Savior, who enlightens our hearts and dispels the darkness of ignorance and sin. Pour forth your blessings upon us as we light the candles of this wreath; may their light reflect the splendor of Christ, who is Lord, for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

vs. the blessing of palms for Palm Sunday:
Almighty and Loving God, it is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise for the acts of love by which you have redeemed us through Christ Jesus our Saviour. The Hebrews acclaimed Jesus as the Messiah and King with palm branches in their hands, crying “Hosanna in the highest”. We pray you, O Lord, bless these branches and make them holy. May we also, carrying them forth from this place and crying out “Hosanna in the Highest” and “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”, acclaim Jesus as our Messiah and King and follow Him in the way that leads to eternal life. Amen.

In short: You can throw out an Advent wreath as you would any other decoration, because it is not a sacramental.

PS The Liturgy and Sacraments forum is an excellent place to post this sort of questions. That is where the actual professional liturgists post. They’ve really taught me a lot!

 

[BIB_MT]

Thank you everyone! Makes perfect sense- the difference between blessing the objecting and “blessing us”.