Disposing of blessed items?

[cgoodson2002]

I am a retired librarian, organizing my parish library. Someone dropped off some very old missals (1930s) in terrible condition, not appropriate for adding to the collection. I am a convert so I am not sure about whether they might have ever been blessed or not. Was it customary to get a missal blessed? And if they are (or may be) blessed, what are some appropriate ways of disposing of them? I brought them home, not wanting to cause scandal in my parish by putting them in the trash, but can I put them in the trash here at my house? Or do I need to do something else?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

The USCCB’s Secretariat of Divine Worship addressed a similar situation with the release of the new Roman Missal:

Whether or not the Sacramentary has been blessed by an official rite, it is appropriate to treat it with care as it has been admitted into liturgical use. Its disposal should be handled with respect. The Secretariat recommends burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church grounds, or perhaps in a parish cemetery if there is one. Some have even suggested following a custom used in various Eastern Churches whereby liturgical books or Bibles are placed in the coffin of the deceased as a sign of devotion and love for the Liturgy. In lieu of burying old liturgical books, they could be burned, and the ashes placed in the ground in an appropriate location on church grounds. It is advisable to retain a copy of the Sacramentary for parish archives or liturgical libraries.

The general options appear to be burial on church grounds or in a cemetery, or burning them and disposing of the ashes on sacred ground.