Can all my items be blessed by a priest without intention?

[jocabed]

I asked my priest to bless the holy family figures which were in a bag.
During his prayers he only mentioned the figures, but I had grapes on the bag too.

Since he didn’t have the intention to blessed the grapes, I wonder if they were blessed too.

I was going to ask him to bless them too, but I didn’t want to interrupt him.
Does anyone knows if my grapes were blessed just because they were on the bag?
He didn’t use holy water.

Thanks and God Bless you.

 

[edward_george1]

Since he didn’t have the intention to blessed the grapes, I wonder if they were blessed too.

No. If he didn’t intend to bless, it wasn’t blessed. If he didn’t know there were grapes in the bag, they weren’t blessed, unless you asked him to bless everything in the bag.

 

[Anesti33]

It gives me pause that a priest should move to bless objects sight unseen which he has not inspected. Does the priest not have the responsibility to ensure that the objects being blessed are actually holy and worthy of being blessed? I mean, if I gift-wrap a pornographic DVD for Christmas and ask a priest to bless it, whose fault is that? What if I’ve deceived him about the gift’s contents? Is the item indeed blessed?

I understand that we must take account of circumstances such as a public blessing when the faithful all hold up our rosaries and the Holy Father blesses them from hundreds of feet away…

 

[LilyM]

It gives me pause that a priest should move to bless objects sight unseen which he has not inspected. Does the priest not have the responsibility to ensure that the objects being blessed are actually holy and worthy of being blessed? I mean, if I gift-wrap a pornographic DVD for Christmas and ask a priest to bless it, whose fault is that? What if I’ve deceived him about the gift’s contents? Is the item indeed blessed?

I understand that we must take account of circumstances such as a public blessing when the faithful all hold up our rosaries and the Holy Father blesses them from hundreds of feet away…

Well, at Mass fermented grape juice (aka wine) is blessed, so I see no problem with grapes.

I tend not to take the view that any object is in and of itself unholy - although a pornographic DVD would be mighty close to it … but then who knows, perhaps a blessing from a priest might inspire the person to throw it away or something?

 

[Don_Ruggero]

It gives me pause that a priest should move to bless objects sight unseen which he has not inspected. Does the priest not have the responsibility to ensure that the objects being blessed are actually holy and worthy of being blessed? I mean, if I gift-wrap a pornographic DVD for Christmas and ask a priest to bless it, whose fault is that? What if I’ve deceived him about the gift’s contents? Is the item indeed blessed?

I understand that we must take account of circumstances such as a public blessing when the faithful all hold up our rosaries and the Holy Father blesses them from hundreds of feet away…

Frankly, as a priest of Europe, I have never seen the sorts of bizarre and absurd scenarios in real life that are presented on this American website. They are beyond ridiculous and border on the ludicrous.

When a person brings to me religious objects to be blessed…no, I do not demand that they allow me to inspect them. Why would I? I ask what they are and bless them accordingly. If, for example, they are bringing a scapular and want investiture that is its own ceremony – which I do.

If a person brings a shopping bag filled with religious items, my intention circumscribes the blessing to the religious articles in the bag – or on or about their person. I am not blessing the cast that encases their broken leg or food or cosmetics in their handbag.

As for disguised pornographic materials — how is that even to be understood? It is absurd. When a blessing is given, for example, at a shrine like Lourdes or at a papal audience, as also when it is more individual, it is religious articles or objects of piety that are being blessed…not pornography or contraceptive devices or handbags or suitcases or overcoats or sporting equipment or weapons or kitchen utensils.

This scenario shows a radical misunderstanding of a cleric’s action in imparting a blessing – or what a blessing actually means or what is effected by the imparting of a blessing relative to having on one’s person pornographic materials.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

then I’d say you’re not much experienced in blessing stuff.

You would be very mistaken

 

[NevermoreLenore]

Your diatribe

This is pretty uncharitable. A priest sharing his experiences on the topic is not remotely a “tirade”. It’s a conversation.

 

[MNathaniel]

Frankly, as a priest of Europe, I have never seen the sorts of bizarre and absurd scenarios in real life that are presented on this American website. They are beyond ridiculous and border on the ludicrous.

While I don’t know much about this topic at all, what I reckon is happening for the questioner (unless it’s a scrupulosity thing?) might be what I experienced years ago in philosophy classes, where we were encouraged to think up the most extreme cases to test the limits and boundaries of a given principle.

I assume when a person asks a question like this, it’s not because they expect to encounter it in real life – it’s more that they’re trying to figure out the metaphysics of the universe, and find the edge of things.

I’m not saying you’re wrong to answer that certain questions are ridiculous, and honestly sometimes I’ve benefitted from being told to set aside my own idle or ridiculous questions. At the same time, just offering a circumstance I’ve been in where we were encouraged to ask questions that seemed ridiculous, in case it helps soften your impression of where certain questioners might (might) be coming from.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

what I reckon is happening for the questioner (unless it’s a scrupulosity thing?) might be what I experienced years ago in philosophy classes, where we were encouraged to think up the most extreme cases to test the limits and boundaries of a given principle.

The original questioner’s question is indeed a valid question, as Father @edward_george1 addressed, and addressed quite correctly.

My post was directed to a subsequent comment concerning someone furtively bringing a pornographic video for blessing. That is the issue that I was addressing.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Your diatribe centers around blessing religious articles, yet priests are often tasked to bless ordinary, everyday objects that are not by any stretch religious,

Aside from the fact that your response is not charitable to an experienced priest who was a well-liked regular on these forums for years:

Speaking as one who often has things blessed in a “group blessing” scenario at a large gathering like a church gathering, a shrine, the Vatican, etc, it is generally understood or even posted on a sign what the priest will be blessing. In some of these settings it is stated that the priest will be blessing sacramental items. In other settings it is advertised that the priest is blessing Thanksgiving food baskets, or pets, etc. The items that get blessed are those that the priest intends to bless. Sometimes a priest will say to get your items out or hold them up, but this is not necessary as he can bless them still in box or bag, however the blessing does not automatically cover the whole contents of the bag if there’s stuff in there he did not intend to bless.

If he is blessing sacramentals, and my bag contains a scapular, a sandwich, and a copy of 50 Shades of Grey, then only the scapular gets the blessing. If he is blessing animals, and I bring a box containing my pet turtle and a bag containing my Walmart purchases that I just bought next door, the turtle is what gets blessed, not my new knives from Walmart. It doesn’t mean the priest couldn’t bless the knife set, or that priests never bless knives, but rather that the priest’s intent governs even if he doesn’t see the item.

 

[sealabeag]

“Diatribe”?? I don’t see anything like that in the Father’s words. And I would have thought a little more respect would have been in order for a priest. Especially on a Catholic forum.