Disposal of dangerous/contaminated sacramentals?

[DarkLight]

I’ll put a disclaimer on this that I will at some point get around to asking one of our priests about this. It’s not urgent though and I’m curious what people have to say.

I have a box of blessed candles that has been through a house fire. Given various circumstances I really don’t think that burning them would be wise. I also don’t have anywhere I could bury them, and frankly I’d have questions about that too. Fire fighting chemicals plus whatever was in the wall of that old building means I’d rather not be breathing in whatever’s on them. Right now they’re bagged up and in storage.

Given the circumstances, what would be the most respectful way to dispose of such things?

 

[JosiahOaklin1776]

Do you live in a big city?

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Are you saying that the candles melted down into a blob of wax, or that they somehow survived the fire, and are just contaminated?

If they have ceased to be candles (i.e., if they melted), they have ceased to be sacramentals. They are just that, a big blob of wax.

If they are still candles, you might consider allowing them to melt naturally, such as leaving them in some disposable receptacle in the hot sun, then allow nature to take its course, allow them to cease to be candles, and then bag up the blob of wax with the receptacle, and throw both away.

You might mention the latter possibility to your priest, though he might think of it on his own.

Allowing sacramentals to return to nature is not irreverence in the least. I have had rosaries that became broken or chipped away so that they were not usable, and arguably were not even rosaries anymore. I put them between two cloths, reverently crushed the beads with a hammer, then took the “rubble” and scattered it in a corner of my garden. Again, if they were disarticulated already, I don’t think you could even call them rosaries anymore.

 

[DarkLight]

They survived the fire. They’re just potentially contaminated. They were on the side that received less heat, so they’re still intact. But with everything that was in the air, I don’t really trust burning or burying them. The roof caught and all of whatever was in it came crashing down and covered everything. I only pulled stuff out to document for insurance and wore a mask dealing with it.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I am glad you were not hurt in the fire. I hope you did not suffer severe losses.

I suggest taking the candles to your church, explaining the situation, and asking if the church can please dispose of them for you.

 

[DarkLight]

Pro tip: anyone who’s renting, buy renter’s insurance. It was fortunate I was out of town. Thank the Lord everyone made it out ok, but the complex and its contents were all a total loss. I was covered though, past my deductible, and the local town provided a lot of assistance to us as well.

I do intent to seek advice from a priest before making anything final. But I’m not in a rush here, given that they’re sitting in a storage unit anyway. So figured I’d get ideas here.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

They survived the fire. They’re just potentially contaminated. They were on the side that received less heat, so they’re still intact. But with everything that was in the air, I don’t really trust burning or burying them. The roof caught and all of whatever was in it came crashing down and covered everything. I only pulled stuff out to document for insurance and wore a mask dealing with it.

If my suggestion about leaving them in a receptacle in the hot sun, letting them melt, and then throwing away both receptacle and the wax (in a plastic or paper bag) isn’t feasible, I’d recommend, as @Tis_Bearself did, taking them to the church.