Just how important is the form when reciting a specific blessing?

[WoundedIcon]

I ask because my priest made a few mistakes when he blessed my St. Benedict medal. I was having him recite the prayer off of my iPod Touch and he missed a few signs of the cross, stopped too early because he didn’t know there was more if he scrolled the screen, dipped it in the holy water too early, and didn’t finish with the sprinkling of holy water because he figured he’d already did that.

 

[YoungTradCath]

I always thought of it logically. Say, for example, that there was a list of ten saints whose intercession a priest invokes in a blessing. If he only invokes five of the saints but forgets the other five, then yes, all ten could technically be interceding, but is that guaranteed? No. My example, I think, is analogous to this situation. The medal is blessed, no doubt. But if there was no value in doing the whole blessing, then there wouldn’t be a whole blessing! My advice is to print out the blessing and get a different priest to bless it again, using the whole formula. It won’t hurt anything, and can only help. Having the whole thing on paper makes it much clearer, especially with an older, technologically-deficient priest.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

A question similar to this was posed to my priest, who is also a canonist. It was to do with the final blessing of Mass and the priest not saying it properly. I suspect it is the same in this instance.

He said as long as the intent to bless was there, the blessing would have occurred.

 

[twf]

I would agree with YoungTradCath. The priest intended to bless the medal, and as an ordained priest, he has faculties to bless objects… the medal is, without a doubt, blessed and therefore to be treated as a sacramental. That being said, by invoking her Christ given authority of binding and loosing, the Church gives us particular blessings for specific purposes. The confer those particular blessings, I would suspect that the priest would have to use the form promulgated by Holy Mother Church as he is acting on her behalf as her minister. It is possible that the particular blessing for the medal was not conferred - but a general blessing certainly was. On the other hand, as the priest intended to confer the particular blessing and attempted the ritual to the best of his ability (as we must assume in charity), it is possible that it was fully conferred…the form of sacramentals is not as rigid as the form of the sacraments. Perhaps a priest can clarify.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Wow. I hope you made an appointment with your priest for this blessing and didn’t just walk up to him after Mass (or worse right before Mass) with your iPad and then complain when everything didn’t go exactly as you imagined.

Of course the medal is blessed. Yes, the church has written out specific prayers for different blessings, but the blessing is conferred even if everything doesn’t work out like a script in a movie.

We did indeed walk up to our priest after Mass once to have a family member enrolled in the Brown Scapular - complete with a little bottle of holy water and the words of the blessing printed out. He did it, but also made it clear that for something like that we should alert the priest ahead of time. That allows him to prepare and ensures that the form will be followed more completely. And it is simply good manners to respect the time of the priest before and immediately after Mass.

In your case OP, I recommend that you don’t let this worry you. The medal is blessed; do not turn this into a scrupulous concernt that causes you to chase after a “perfect” blessing as if it were a talisman.

 

[WoundedIcon]

Wow. I hope you made an appointment with your priest for this blessing and didn’t just walk up to him after Mass (or worse right before Mass) with your iPad and then complain when everything didn’t go exactly as you imagined.

Of course the medal is blessed. Yes, the church has written out specific prayers for different blessings, but the blessing is conferred even if everything doesn’t work out like a script in a movie.

We did indeed walk up to our priest after Mass once to have a family member enrolled in the Brown Scapular - complete with a little bottle of holy water and the words of the blessing printed out. He did it, but also made it clear that for something like that we should alert the priest ahead of time. That allows him to prepare and ensures that the form will be followed more completely. And it is simply good manners to respect the time of the priest before and immediately after Mass.

In your case OP, I recommend that you don’t let this worry you. The medal is blessed; do not turn this into a scrupulous concernt that causes you to chase after a “perfect” blessing as if it were a talisman.

Well, chalk one up to bad social skills and obliviousness. I honestly figured it’d be easier on the both of us to just get these kind of things out of the way at Mass, as it feels kind of silly to make an appointment for a minute of prayer. Not to mention I’ve never had them turn me away, which kind of kept me oblivious. I’ll probably just round up a couple things at once from now on and make an appointment.

-To all of you-

Blessings do vary in power depending on the prayer used and the merits of the the clergyman imparting the blessing. Which does have me worried about my holy water, because the prayers have been changed drastically post-VII. I mean, there’s actually no such thing as “holy water” like we would consider the Eucharist something in and of itself regardless of what kind of person the priest is and what prayer has been designated for the consecration (I think one liturgy doesn’t even have words for the consecration, but has it merely implied.) The Church created holy water and decides what it is. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is a blessed object is only as good as it’s blessing.

 

[Leon_Bloy]

Mrs Sally, with all respect, I think you misunderstood the OP. He wasn’t “complaining” about what the priest did - he was only trying to find out if his blessing had been done properly in case it needed to be done over. Asking the priest after mass is fine since if he is too busy he can say “make an appointment.” The priest is completely free to say “later,” or “no,” as he pleases, isn’t he? As long as one respectfully *asks *if it’s ok, as it seems the OP did. Anyway…

I have thought much about this exact same problem, which has happened to me - and actually, with St. Benedict medals, as well.

The question is not “are the medals blessed.” Yes, they are, since the Enchiridion of indulgences, which declares a partial indulgence for devoutly using a blessed object, states that a simple sign of the cross is “sufficient” for the blessing (as long, obviously, as the priest was also intending to bless the thing when making that sign of the cross). But things like St. Benedict medals are also exorcized (like holy water in the EF), which is another matter.

I do agree with others like Mrs. Sally that there’s a danger of scrupulosity here, though. But it also shows the OP’s great faith that when the priest does the blessing, what’s asked for is also given. Perhaps he could simply tell another priest what happened, and how important this is to him, and let that priest decide if it should be done over. It might make sense to ask a priest you know particularly well. Many priests educated in the last few decades (this has improved drastically lately) are not as well informed as they could be about the various kinds of blessings and sacramentals that are out there.

The most important part of the St. Benedict medal blessing is the beginning paragraph, as I recall, so they would be both blessed and exorcized… but do watch out for the evil one’s traps and the introduction of doubts in your mind where there should be none.

 

[Leon_Bloy]

Oh - one other thing. I have a serious question regarding blessings that I haven’t found an answer to.

The old Roman Ritual says in the “rules” at its beginning regarding blessings that the blessing is “invalid” (not just illicit, but invalid) if the proper “form” is not used. So where does that leave things? Isn’t the form the prayer?

 

[porthos11]

Oh - one other thing. I have a serious question regarding blessings that I haven’t found an answer to.

The old Roman Ritual says in the “rules” at its beginning regarding blessings that the blessing is “invalid” (not just illicit, but invalid) if the proper “form” is not used. So where does that leave things? Isn’t the form the prayer?

For the most part, the priest invoking “Bless this object” while making the sign of the Cross over it makes it blessed.

However, with the St Benedict medal, there are exorcisms. I sure would want those said properly.

 

[Leon_Bloy]

Porthos, thanks - and in general, I think what you say is correct. But - why would the old Rituale say it’s invalid if the “form” is not used? Is “form” limited to the sign of the cross? It doesn’t say that… suggests that the entire prayer, sign of crosses, etc., as prescribed are required…

 

[porthos11]

Porthos, thanks - and in general, I think what you say is correct. But - why would the old Rituale say it’s invalid if the “form” is not used? Is “form” limited to the sign of the cross? It doesn’t say that… suggests that the entire prayer, sign of crosses, etc., as prescribed are required…

It might be valid; it’s possible the Ritual may have a “catch all” form at the back of the book or something, which can be used to bless anything. I would suppose that if Father used that bless a crucifix, for example, it would indeed be blessed, even if Father did not use the full form for the blessing of a crucifix.

I don’t know enough of the 1962 Ritual to know for sure.

 

[WoundedIcon]

Porthos, thanks - and in general, I think what you say is correct. But - why would the old Rituale say it’s invalid if the “form” is not used? Is “form” limited to the sign of the cross? It doesn’t say that… suggests that the entire prayer, sign of crosses, etc., as prescribed are required…

It’s because creating sacramentals involves the authority of the Church itself. The forms for the prayers are considered to be prayers belonging to the Church and are efficacious on the basis of said authority. Unlike, say, a lay person’s prayer for someone else to be blessed - which is only as effective in so far as God wants to answer it (which brings in that individual’s personal merits, etc.) - God gave the Church the right to have these prayers answered and the clergy share in that authority insofar as the Church allows them.

Oh, and in the old Roman Ritual sometimes there were other aspects to the form aside from the prayer itself. Like how the priest was required to wear a purple stole (I think, I’m bad at identifying vestments) while creating Holy Water. So think of the form as basically everything involved in the particular ritual for the blessing. I don’t know what the rules are in the in the current Book of Blessings however.

I guess this is where a person could get away with being a little scrupulous.

 

[fred_conty]

Well, chalk one up to bad social skills and obliviousness. I honestly figured it’d be easier on the both of us to just get these kind of things out of the way at Mass, as it feels kind of silly to make an appointment for a minute of prayer. Not to mention I’ve never had them turn me away, which kind of kept me oblivious. I’ll probably just round up a couple things at once from now on and make an appointment.

-To all of you-

Blessings do vary in power depending on the prayer used and the merits of the the clergyman imparting the blessing. Which does have me worried about my holy water, because the prayers have been changed drastically post-VII. I mean, there’s actually no such thing as “holy water” like we would consider the Eucharist something in and of itself regardless of what kind of person the priest is and what prayer has been designated for the consecration (I think one liturgy doesn’t even have words for the consecration, but has it merely implied.) The Church created holy water and decides what it is. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is a blessed object is only as good as it’s blessing.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=623535

Can. 1166 Sacramentals are sacred signs by which effects, especially spiritual effects, are signified in some imitation of the sacraments and are obtained through the intercession of the Church.

Can. 1167 §1. The Apostolic See alone can establish new sacramentals, authentically interpret those already received, or abolish or change any of them.

§2. In confecting or administering sacramentals, the rites and formulas approved by the authority of the Church are to be observed carefully.

Can. 1168 The minister of sacramentals is a cleric who has been provided with the requisite power. According to the norm of the liturgical books and to the judgment of the local ordinary lay persons who possess the appropriate qualities can also administer some sacramentals.

Can. 1169 §1. Those marked with the episcopal character and presbyters permitted by law or legitimate grant can perform consecrations and dedications validly.

§2. Any presbyter can impart blessings except those reserved to the Roman Pontiff or bishops.

§3. A deacon can impart only those blessings expressly permitted by law.

Can. 1170 Blessings, which are to be imparted first of all to Catholics, can also be given to catechumens and even to non-Catholics unless there is a prohibition of the Church to the contrary.

Can. 1171 Sacred objects, which are designated for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated reverently and are not to be employed for profane or inappropriate use even if they are owned by private persons.

Can. 1172 §1. No one can perform exorcisms legitimately upon the possessed unless he has obtained special and express permission from the local ordinary.

§2. The local ordinary is to give this permission only to a presbyter who has piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life.

I am not a Canon lawyer but look in at the red font. Also the restriction of blessing St. Benedict medals on St. Benedict’s feast day has been lifted to any day of the year.

This strange attitude that some have is contrary to what the Bishop’s want. If you have the traditional blessing they are obliged to bless the medal that way.