Exorcised Salt?

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dallas_r

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I was going to ask my priest if he could exorcise my salt until I heard how many priests refused to do so. Should I still ask him to exorcise it? I’m fairly new to the parish so I don’t want to make a bad first impression by asking a silly question.
 
dallas_r said:
I was going to ask my priest if he could exorcise my salt until I heard how many priests refused to do so. Should I still ask him to exorcise it? I’m fairly new to the parish so I don’t want to make a bad first impression by asking a silly question.
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I would not put him on the spot as that’s rude. It would be prudent to call the office and ask him if this is a charism that he feels comfortable practicing. If it is, then follow up and ask when the best time would be. I would NOT recommend approaching him after Mass or during a parish event. While many people ask for blessings (for water or holy objects) and priests oblige, it is still very rude.
 
“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”

If you are interested in getting blessed salt, print this information out and present the blessing prayer to your parish priest. Ask him to bless the salt for you using the official prayer from the Roman Ritual printed above, (get a large amount - it will last a long time and you won’t have to bother him again!)

From: Blessings
 
MtnDwellar said:
“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”

If you are interested in getting blessed salt, print this information out and present the blessing prayer to your parish priest. Ask him to bless the salt for you using the official prayer from the Roman Ritual printed above, (get a large amount - it will last a long time and you won’t have to bother him again!)

From: Blessings
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No. If your local priest refuses, you don’t act like a toddler and demand they do it anyway. Call the dioceses to ask what priests are comfortable doing it. The prayers of exorcism can bring a priest into spiritual warfare that he may not want to contend with at the time, or may not feel capable of dealing with. We should never, ever force someone to engage in even the minutest detail fo spiritual warfare if they are not comfortable.
 
Only priests can bless objects for us, so I’m not sure why it would be inappropriate to ask? It isn’t unreasonable or unusual for a parishioner to ask a priest to bless something. And it definitely isn’t considered rude unless it’s demanded or asked in an otherwise rude fashion.

OP - my priests have a “to be blessed” box where parishioners can place things to be blessed. They place them in the box before or after Mass, the priest blesses the objects during the week, and then the following week parishioners can pick up the newly blessed objects from the “blessed” box, which is right next to the other box where parishioners drop stuff off. Next to the boxes is also the container of holy water that people can use to fill up their bottles. My parish doesn’t regularly advertise this, so it was almost a year before I learned of this system. Since you are new to the parish, call the appropriate party - parish office, pastor, sacristan, whoever the bulletin suggests - and ask how to get objects blessed. There may be something in place to make it as easy as possible for everyone. 🙂

On another note, the new rite doesn’t include the exorcism in the blessing of salt, holy water, or oil. You may consider finding a parish that has the Latin Mass near you to see if a priest there will bless the salt in the old rite, which includes the exorcism.
 
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It’s not rude to ask a priest to bless things or do spiritual warfare–part and parcel of being a priest. Granted, they do them at their own discretion, but there’s no harm in making a polite request.
 
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There is no harm in asking your parish priest to bless some salt as it is an ancient sacramental with in the Catholic Church. As Xanthippe_Voorhees states booking an appointment with the priest and asking the priest if he is willing to do this. Take the prayer that MtnDwellar has provided in with you.

May God bless you
THT
 
I bring the salt and the prayer that I want them to use. It’s the one in my 1962 missal that begins “I exorcise you, created element of salt, by the living God, by the true God, by the holy God…” etc. It’s easiest to come up after a weekday Mass (when they’re not busy or in a rush, like they are on Sundays) and say, “Hi, I was wondering if you could bless this salt for me. Here’s the prayer.” Because I make sure the prayer is in the missal, they’re able to recognize the source as being a good and reliable and approved source, rather than just words off the internet, because usually, they don’t have a whole lot of experience in blessed salt otherwise, unless they’re a very old priest. And for my very old priests, it’s usually been a very long time since the last person asked them to bless salt— unless you’ve got a FSSP priest in your area.

But I do usually get two or three cans of salt blessed at a time, so that I don’t have to bug them too frequently. 😉
 
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LoveTLM said:
Only priests can bless objects for us, so I’m not sure why it would be inappropriate to ask? It isn’t unreasonable or unusual for a parishioner to ask a priest to bless something. And it definitely isn’t considered rude unless it’s demanded or asked in an otherwise rude fashion.

OP - my priests have a “to be blessed” box where parishioners can place things to be blessed. They place them in the box before or after Mass, the priest blesses the objects during the week, and then the following week parishioners can pick up the newly blessed objects from the “blessed” box, which is right next to the other box where parishioners drop stuff off. Next to the boxes is also the container of holy water that people can use to fill up their bottles. My parish doesn’t regularly advertise this, so it was almost a year before I learned of this system. Since you are new to the parish, call the appropriate party - parish office, pastor, sacristan, whoever the bulletin suggests - and ask how to get objects blessed. There may be something in place to make it as easy as possible for everyone. 🙂

On another note, the new rite doesn’t include the exorcism in the blessing of salt, holy water, or oil. You may consider finding a parish that has the Latin Mass near you to see if a priest there will bless the salt in the old rite, which includes the exorcism.
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I didn’t say that it’s inappropriate to ask Priests to bless things, my previous post just cautioned the OP against being rude. Blessings are part and parcel of being a Priest in 2017.

It sounds like your parish has an EXCELLENT way of dealing with blessed objects. It can be very taxing for a Priest to need to drop everything before and after Mass and all throughout church events to administer blessings. Part of their job, yes, but rude none the less and disrespectful of their personal needs.

What I was referring to in my post was the right of exorcism. That’s not part of the current materials that Priests go to and while a good priest will be aware of it. It is completely unreasonable, therefore to expect a Priest to pray a prayer of exorcism from a missel that they may be completely unfamiliar with. Telling a Priest he must do it would be completely unacceptable.
 
midori said:
But I do usually get two or three cans of salt blessed at a time, so that I don’t have to bug them too frequently. 😉
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Actually you can just take a pinch of your blessed/exorcized salt and put it in the new jar and give it a little shake. Same with Holy Water. Put a drop in the new continer and you’re all set.
 
Please forgive my ignorance - I see posts here talking about both blessing and exorcising, but I understand these terms to mean different things. Are they actually interchangeable? 🤨
 
No.

If it was a video game, it’s sort of like the difference between a Level 1 blessing and a Level 10 blessing. 🙂

Take, for example, Holy Water. There are about three different ways for a priest to make Holy Water: one is a normal blessing with a few words and the sign of the cross; one is in the context of the Mass; and one is the exorcised water used with exorcised salt. Most priests will just do the first, because it’s short and sweet and quick, but there are some priests who make sure they have exorcised holy water in their church.
 
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Why does one have salt blessed? What do you do with it? I understand holy water, but salt?
 
I use mine for cooking as well-- “Please bless those who eat my food.”

You can also use it to bless locations, in a manner similar to sprinkling holy water in places. So I might use it in doorways, on windowsills, or along the property line.

One of the versions of the exorcism prayers goes–
O salt, creature of God, I exorcise you by the living (+) God, by the true (+) God, by the holy (+) God, by the God who ordered you to be poured into the water by Elisha the prophet, so that its life-giving powers might be restored. I exorcise you so that you may become a means of salvation for believers, that you may bring health of soul and body to all who make use of you, and that you may put to flight and drive away from the places where you are sprinkled; every apparition, villainy, turn of devilish deceit, and every unclean spirit; adjured by him who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire.
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You stated “only priests can bless objects for us.” Deacons have the authority to bless a number of sacramentals.
 
It’s not our business to question the charism of a priest. The fact is that the Vatican has given them new prayers and therefore gave them a choice. It is reasonable to ask them to, but not to demand they do.
 
You’re saying that there “is no good reason” why a priest would not want to use an older prayer of exercism that he is unfamiliar with vs the newer, propagated blessing that he likely has memorized.

I’d go so far to say that the most spiritually in-tune priests I know would not recite a prayer that they were unfamiliar with, especially one that delves into spiritual warfare. Granted, these priests are likely familiar with the prayer, but they may want their own copy—or a millon other reasons why they’d refuse a person face to face.

Using words like “must” and “odd” and “should” puts priests who are discerning what they do in an extremely awkward position. The Bishops, at least in the US, give them the right to refuse. Should they, they should not be pressed, questioned or doubted in any way.
 
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If you have any nearby, go to a FSSP priest. He will be more than willing to bless and exorcise your salt according to the old books. A potent spiritual weapon indeed.
 
I must say that your pastors reply both saddens and disturbs me. Personally I cannot understand why a good pastor would refuse such a wonderful & powerful sacramental to one of his faithful. I have a 2oz jar and use it on a weekly basis. Getting more is a nonissue. When my grandkids come over they will use that & holy water to bless my flat for me. I tell them it’s their “job” and they now have mom and dad using both of these sacramental regularly. Spiritual warfare is serious business. A pastor that refuses his flock weapons is not a man I wish to be around.
 
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