Question about wearing Sacramentals

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Dear brothers and sisters,
Hi, how are you? my name is Gabriel and I’m new here, and I hope we get along. So, for my first topic I wanted to make a question about Sacramentals. I’m kind of new at Catholic Church, I was raised Catholic but after my first Holy Communion in 2002 I stopped attending mass until 2015. In time I joined a parish near my home. Ever since I started to approach Catholic faith I practiced some devotions, like praying the rosary, I got enrolled in the brown scapular the feast day of O.L. of Mt. Carmel, so I wore the brown scapular, along with a couple medals and a crucifix. Soon, my priest would tell me I should refrain from wearing these sacramentals, as he thought I wore them as if they were talismans, that’s what he said, and I never got the chance to let him see I did it with devotion, I even consecrated myself to the Virgin Mary on the feast day of O.L. of Mt. Carmel in 2016 together with other brothers and sisters, most of them were enrolled in the brown scapular that day, I made scapulars for everyone that time, and one for me. And right after this event he told me that I wore sacramentals as talismans. Just to let you know, beyond any devotion to Our Lady in her many advocations, I know the real value of a devotion to her is to imitate her evangelical virtues of love, humility, service and complete availability to Our Lord, and in spite of my many limitations I try to live my life like this everyday, I serve at my parish, and go to mass as often as possible, as I want to know what Our Lord wants from me and in my littleness I’m in need of his Mercy. I stopped wearing my scapular more than a year ago. Also I found a crucifix very similar to those antique brass and ebony crucifixes which I really liked, a plastic version, a little bigger than average crucifixes, I got it and started wearing it on my chest, my priest never saw it because I tend to put it under my t-shirt before I enter the temple, but one day I forgot to do so and he saw it, in front of a bunch of people he asked me so ironically “Gabriel! Were you ordained a Bishop!?” It was quite embarrassing.

I understand the value of sacramentals, I know they’re not magical or something and as for the brown scapular and crucifixes, I know they won’t be of any help if I don’t live my life according to the Gospel.

So. Is it that wrong to wear sacramentals?

Thanks in advance! God bless you all!
 
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gabrielcannizzo said:
So. Is it that wrong to wear sacramentals?
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No.
You and your priest may have had a misunderstanding. Or he may just have a big hangup about sacramentals, which is too bad, but priests are human and maybe he has also seen others misusing them so he has developed some dislike of them.

If you want to wear one or two sacramentals, realizing they are not “magic charms” and as a devotional practice, then I would suggest that you wear them under your clothes, and then they are between you and God, and you won’t get remarks from the priest.

I wear a Brown Scapular and a plastic Miraculous Medal as part of my devotions to Mary. I also try to live my life according to the Gospel, and I do not treat them like magic charms. If I have to take them off for some reason or once when I accidentally took them off with my outer clothing and didn’t realize I had taken them off and then left on a trip for a few weeks, I have confidence that Mary will still understand the intention. I put them back on a few weeks later when I returned home.
 
Thanks for your answers! They are of much help. I don’t wear them for the looks, but for instance, before getting myself this crucifix I had a good look on the other ones sold at that store and picked thia one because I liked it more than the others, does that count as wearing it for the looks? in fact, due to the things my priest told me sometimes I’m concerned it’s too flashy.
So I guess I’m gonna start wearing it under my clothes at all times.
 
Is it also possible you might be wearing so many that you jingle every time you walk? Wearing too many “catholicana” may also raise concerns. Usually, most people discreetly wear a small medal or cross, and a small brown scapular tends to go inside one’s regular clothes.

While Father should not put you on the spot, distinctive crucifixes (called pectoral crosses) are indeed customary with bishops. Laity typically do not wear them visibly; if they want a crucifix, laity often use pins or small, one-inch versions around the neck, not hanging down to the chest.

You may not wear them for the looks and no one here would doubt the sincerity of your devotion, but for laity who are in the world despite not being of the world, one still needs to be discreet in what one wears. There can be such a point when wearing too much devotional objects can be construed, and not unfairly, as “odd.”
 
I guess I wore too many sacramentals in the past. Now just my crucifix. I investigated about these kind of crucifixes and at a web shop run by Carmelite sisters, I read these are also meant for personal devotion. Thanks for your answer.
 
Since you are a server, and thus involved in the church ministry, the priest might also be more concerned about your proper formation more than he would be if you were just someone he didn’t know very well who was in the pews from time to time. So maybe his expressing these statements is just him taking an extra interest, trying to make sure you don’t go in a wrong direction.
 
Yes, absolutely. And I appreciate his advise, he has helped me a lot during this years in my spiritual growth. And just as you say, he doesn’t say these things to other faithful in the Parish. I’m quite confused by this. Maybe this preference for certain crucifixes is really a thing for the looks.
 
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I get what you say. Well, I’ll put this matter in my prayers for the first time. I never gave it too much attention I suppose. I’m also going to ask another priest for advise. Thanks for your answers
 
OK, so my advice would be to be obedient to your priest and then try to speak with him, and explain all that to him.
 
What kind of a temple is it? The Catholic Church does not have temples
 
I certainly don’t know what you mean, but isn’t the word temple associated to Churches in general? I’m not a native English speaker, I speak Spanish, and here in my country the word “temple” (templo) is used to speak about Churches, often to referr to the inside of a Church, be it a Cathedral, a Basilica and so on.
 
Thanks for the remark! In Spanish it’s not quite common. We definitely do not call our Churches “temples” but, at our Parish, when we’re in a place other than the Church (the backyard, the kitchen, the office, etcetera) we use to call it “the temple” others call it “the chapel” and so on. It’s good to learn the difference. Thank you!
 
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Put that brown scapular back on and never take it off, and always love and honor Our Lady.
 
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