Is this simony?

[misstherese]

So I bought a medal with a piece of a missal kissed by the Blessed Virgin at Garabandal for about $8. There are promises attached to it like “the person who carries this will suffer their purgatory on earth” and “prodigies will occur when one wears this” I wasn’t focused on the miraculous qualities of it, but mostly that it came from Garabandal and it was even touched by Mary at all. Is this simony?

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

So I bought a medal with a piece of a missal kissed by the Blessed Virgin at Garabandal for about $8. There are promises attached to it like “the person who carries this will suffer their purgatory on earth” and “prodigies will occur when one wears this” I wasn’t focused on the miraculous qualities of it, but mostly that it came from Garabandal and it was even touched by Mary at all. Is this simony?

The problem isn’t simony; the problem is that this has become superstition.

 

[misstherese]

The problem isn’t simony; the problem is that this has become superstition.

Can you elaborate on this? If you are referring to the Garabandal apparitions, they themselves were approved by St Padre Pio and the mystic Blessed Marthe Robin. Again, I know I can just pray to God for the ability to suffer purgatory on earth. I only like to wear it as a devotion to Mary, as you would a Miraculous Medal. It is not considered superstitious to wear a brown scapular and it has similar promises. My only concern is if it is simony that I even bought it.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Can you elaborate on this? If you are referring to the Garabandal apparitions, they themselves were approved by St Padre Pio and the mystic Blessed Marthe Robin. Again, I know I can just pray to God for the ability to suffer purgatory on earth. I only like to wear it as a devotion to Mary, as you would a Miraculous Medal. It is not considered superstitious to wear a brown scapular and it has similar promises. My only concern is if it is simony that I even bought it.

Apparitions are approved by competent ecclesiastical authority – not by mystics.

Marthe Robin has not been beatified.

Purchasing a medal for $8 is not simony.

 

[misstherese]

Apparitions are approved by competent ecclesiastical authority – not by mystics.

Marthe Robin has not been beatified.

Purchasing a medal for $8 is not simony.

Excuse my mistake, I mean Venerable Marthe Robin. I am quite aware of it not being approved by the Church. However, I felt it noteworthy to mention that two very honorable servants of God believe the apparitions to be true.

 

[pianistclare]

As Father Ruggero says, these apparitions, of which we’ve seen extraordinary footage, are still not approved by the Church.

It’s not the medal, it’s your prayers that are important at this point
Regardless, this is the definition of simony:

the buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges, for example pardons or benefices.

There is no one in particular “selling” you privileges. And even so, who exactly do yo suppose is making those promises? No, this is not simony.

You bought a medal. It’s an object. Not a promise.
That’s it.

God bless.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Can you elaborate on this? If you are referring to the Garabandal apparitions, they themselves were approved by St Padre Pio and the mystic Blessed Marthe Robin. Again, I know I can just pray to God for the ability to suffer purgatory on earth. I only like to wear it as a devotion to Mary, as you would a Miraculous Medal. It is not considered superstitious to wear a brown scapular and it has similar promises. My only concern is if it is simony that I even bought it.

I would regard as superstition any type of promise guaranteeing, say, no Purgatory after death. And regarding the Scapular, I believe the Church no longer promotes the popular piety attaching certain “guarantees” associated with wearing it at the time of death.

 

[graciew]

Apparitions are approved by competent ecclesiastical authority – not by mystics.

Marthe Robin has not been beatified.

Purchasing a medal for $8 is not simony.

Father,may I ask ypu something?
I do not know whether it is the wording or the concept,but asking for suffering on earth,not accepting it,but asking for it,rattles me.
That alone makes me wonder .
Offering it up,yes. That I do understand.
Embracing life includes suffering,but asking for it? That I do not understand.

Is it OK to ask to suffer purgatory on earth?
Thank you in advance

 

[TheTrinitySaves]

This is not we catholics consider simony.

 

[BornInMarch]

That’s not Simony.

Simony would be if you tried to buy a church position. Like if you offered a Bishop a large amount of money in exchange for placing you in charge of a parish.

 

[graciew]

That’s not Simony.

Simony would be if you tried to buy a church position. Like if you offered a Bishop a large amount of money in exchange for placing you in charge of a parish.

That would be bribe…wouldn’t it?

 

[thistle]

Modern Catholic Dictionary:

SIMONY. A sacrilege that consists in buying and selling what is spiritual in return for what is temporal. In simony the person tries to equate material things, such as money, with spiritual things, such as divine grace, and treats the latter as though he or some other human being had full ownership of what really belongs to God. The term “simony” originated with the biblical account of Simon Magus, who sought to purchase from St. Peter the spiritual power derived from the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18). Simony includes both agreements that are illicit by divine law and those which the law of the Church forbids as greater protection and reverence for spiritual goods. Thus to promise prayers only in exchange for a certain sum of money is simony forbidden by divine (natural) law. To confer sacred orders or obtain some position of authority in the Church in return for money or its equivalent is simony forbidden by ecclesiastical law. When simony is against the divine law, it is always a grave sin. Its gravity in other cases depends on the serious nature of what is bought or sold, and on the degree of scandal given. (Etym. Latin simonia, after Simon Magus.)