If sacramentals were to lose their blessings (“the blessing removed”) each time the wearer committed a mortal sin , it would present us, one surmises, us with several interesting scenarios :
- Most wearers of religious medals would be free to discard them after committing a mortal sin since they would no longer hold any effect or value.
- Once the wearer of the medal went to confession and was absolved of the mortal sin they committed , the blessing would return to their sacramental.
One good example of the permanence of particular blessings attached to sacramentals is the rite for
blessing and enrollment in the brown Scapular. When a scapular becomes worn, and the individual requires a new one, there is no need to have the new scapular blessed - the blessing from the rite of imposition is automatically conferred to the new scapular
Another a point from which we can backtrack to glean the answer : When blessed objects/ sacramentals are being disposed of, they are either to be burned or buried ; which wouldn’t be necessary at all if the blessing were no longer applicable.
There is also the question of wearing a medal which had been previously blessed for another’s use:
Even in the blessing of the medal of St Benedict, it would seem that the blessing, per se, is not affected by a new (say, for example) wearer of a previously blessed medal :
" . . .Let us pray. Almighty God, the boundless source of all good things, we humbly, ask that, through the intercession of St. Benedict, you pour out your blessings + upon these medals. May those who use them devoutly and earnestly strive to perform good works be blessed by you with health of soul and body, the grace of a holy life, and remission of the temporal punishment due to sin. . ."
Still, it’s easy to see
why the new wearer needs to be aware or made aware that the object is blessed. Otherwise, how could they know what they’re asking for or expecting ? In such cases, religious/devotional objects which are passed on to a new owner and which had been previously blessed, can be *re-dedicated *to the new owner/wearer, by blessing the object in that person’s presence.
Neither is one to split hairs over how
“devoutly” or * “earnestly”* one is using the sacramental. They key is to* persevere*.
So
no, the blessing of a sacramental is not contingent on our spiritual conduct - on whether we sin. Rather, sacramentals’ blessings are there to help us precisely because we
are sinners.
