Sacramental confusion

[esieffe]

Recently I had a conversation with one of my spiritual mentors. We were discussing blessed objects such as medals, Holy water and so on. She told me blessed objects including those I mentioned were simply reminders with no power of their own. Fine. But this begs a few other questions.

It is well understood if you have a sacramental that has been broken, or for some reason, it has to be destroyed, the way to do it is to bury it, or burn it. One might respond to this "well the act of burying or burning is an act of respect, we just don’t throw it in the trash. Is that the thinking? If there is more to it then that please tell me.

If burning is simply a respectful way of disposing a blessed object that begs the last question. On another thread in Catholic Spirituality, someone says they may be in possession of cursed objects. There is a link to a CAF blog where a Priest says that cursed objects should be burned.

Do you see where I am going with this? If a blessed Rosary is damaged beyond repair, but is only a “reminder” what then is a cursed object? Why must it be burned? I guess what I am reaching for is are blessed objects augmented somehow by the Holy Spirit?

One night after showering, I took off my blessed St Michael medal and did not put it back on. Normally I wear it 24/7. I didn’t think anything of it. That night I had some awful disgusting and even what I would call evil dreams. I have been careful to keep it on since then. No awful dreams. What say you?

 

[esieffe]

BTW, I should have not used a Rosary in my list of examples. I know that it is a prayer tool, but one that can be blessed. [Just trying not to confuse an already complicated question ]

 

[z_0101]

Recently I had a conversation with one of my spiritual mentors. We were discussing blessed objects such as medals, Holy water and so on. She told me blessed objects including those I mentioned were simply reminders with no power of their own. Fine. But this begs a few other questions.

It is well understood if you have a sacramental that has been broken, or for some reason, it has to be destroyed, the way to do it is to bury it, or burn it. One might respond to this "well the act of burying or burning is an act of respect, we just don’t throw it in the trash. Is that the thinking? If there is more to it then that please tell me.

If burning is simply a respectful way of disposing a blessed object that begs the last question. On another thread in Catholic Spirituality, someone says they may be in possession of cursed objects. There is a link to a CAF blog where a Priest says that cursed objects should be burned.

Do you see where I am going with this? If a blessed Rosary is damaged beyond repair, but is only a “reminder” what then is a cursed object? Why must it be burned? I guess what I am reaching for is are blessed objects augmented somehow by the Holy Spirit?

One night after showering, I took off my blessed St Michael medal and did not put it back on. Normally I wear it 24/7. I didn’t think anything of it. That night I had some awful disgusting and even what I would call evil dreams. I have been careful to keep it on since then. No awful dreams. What say you?

BTW, I should have not used a Rosary in my list of examples. I know that it is a prayer tool, but one that can be blessed. [Just trying not to confuse an already complicated question ]

• Rosary is still a sacramental… at least that is what we’ve been taught in RCIA.
• Once blessed, always blessed, once again, that’s what we’ve been taught in RCIA.
• Sacramentals in and of themselves are not magical. However, once blessed, they carry with them the prayers of the Church. Furthermore, evil doesn’t like blessed objects, or for that matter, blessed people - ether thru a priest or deacon’s blessing, the blessing from a baptism (keeping it simple, I understand that there more to the sacrament than just a blessing), the blessing from a layperson, or even blessing ourselves.
• Destroying a blessed object, burning and burying. Think of the US flag. What does it symbolize? The states? The constitution? The ideas behind the country? The thousands of men and women that have placed their hopes, their dreams, even their very lives to support and protect the country for which that flag stands for - many Americans still recognize that this is what the flag carries; thus, to toss it in the trash is to profane what that flag represents; thus, we burn it (preferably) or bury it so that no one can desecrate it. To use your word, the meaning of the US flag is augmented by the blood and acts of those that have devoted their lives and have died to protect the country for which it stands. I personally prefer to have the flags burned in a proper ceremony
  Ceremony for Disposal of Unserviceable Flags- Am.Lgn.
  Chaplain: “Almighty God, Captain of all hosts and Commander over all, bless and consecrate this present hour.

“We thank Thee for our Country and its Flag, and for the liberty for which it stands. “To clean and purging flame we commit these Flags, worn out in worthy service. As they yield their substance to the fire, may Thy Holy Light spread over us and bring to our hearts renewed devotion to God and Country. Amen.”

Allow me now to extend this concept in a way to the blessed sacramental. It’s not just the holy water that augments the item, once blessed, it carries the prayers of the Church and what she stands for… Not just a single prayer, the prayers of the entire Body of Christ, to protect, strengthen, and bless the wearer and/or user of the blessed item thru the action of the holy spirit - every time they use the item. Listen to the blessing (or read it, Blessing of and investing a miraculous medal or Blessing of a rosary ) consider the words that are used - bless the user of this (item) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (that last link goes to a whole listing of blessings and BTW to the online version of the LOTH - I bought their app on the advise of a priest… IMHO, well worth the money!) .

My breviary is blessed, as is the medal of St. Pope J.P.2 that hangs from the zipper on the cover, my rosaries are blessed, and so forth. They carry the prayers of the Church; thus, if I had to destroy them, I would not toss them in the trash anymore than I would the flag, such an act of throwing the blessing of the church away is a profanity. As for burying or burning, not only does this prevent someone from desecrating the object, it is an act of returning the item’s materials back to God’s creation.

• Cursed objects. These carry the harmful prayers and intent of those that would cause harm to those that would have the item and often will have an attachment to evil because of this act. Why burn… simplest is that burning absolutely prevents anyone else from being harmed by the object. One could bury it; however, say it’s plastic or cement wherein the degradation of the item to its base elements could take centuries. Where someone finding a buried sacramental would not encounter potential spiritual harm encountering a buried cursed item might place that same person in evils line-of-fire so to speak; thus, better to burn it to prevent that potential harm.

++ These are simplest explanations I have… otherwise I’ll hit that 6K limit!

 

[esieffe]

That was a great explanation z101 thank you so much! I knew blessed items were not “magic” so to speak, but I also knew that there was more to it then that.

I have a friend that owns an antique shop in Houston. He is a pretty down to earth guy. He has never had any spooky experiences until once they got some sort of wash table cabinet. Very old. He says he did not like it right away, but had no reason for it.

The door kept opening. Now I have the same type of antique, and the door does the same thing, the latch is worn out, but the latch is not on my friends furniture. He fiddled with it to see if changing floor pressure, that type of thing would open it. It would not. He lives behind the shop. The animals have free run at night when the shop is closed. They would not go in the room where it was. The doors kept opening.Someone actually bought it, and he was completely relieved when it was gone.

Thanks again for your reply.

 

[z_0101]

I have a friend that owns an antique shop in Houston. He is a pretty down to earth guy. He has never had any spooky experiences until once they got some sort of wash table cabinet. Very old. He says he did not like it right away, but had no reason for it.

bad juju
I poke fun;however, I know the seriousness.
We moved into a new house while we were in RCIA.
Our dog would not, go into the hallway leading to bedrooms… not even on a leash.
Every-time she would walk past the door to the hallway, she’d tuck her tail, raise hackles, and growl… sometimes baring teeth. This is a Lab… these are not vicious animals - these are run and fetch until they pass out puppies.
The dog would try to stay between us and that hallway whenever she could… but she wouldn’t go into it unless you picked her up and carried her into one of the rooms and then she’d stay there… facing that hallway, a low growl the entire time. I was beginning to think that we had an issue with the dog - that’s the rational explanation, that she was sick.
I told the assistant pastor what was happening, (frankly heart broken that we might have to put the puppy down)… he grabbed the book of blessings and the holy water aspergillum - grabbed me and he drove… and we went from from to room to room thru the entire house with the blessing for each room… thought we were going flood the house with holy water.

The dog… she stuck next to Father… she even went into the hallway with him - glued to his leg and growling the entire way… until the blessings were done… and then, she was fine… back to her puppy-bouncing-toss-the-ball Lab (anyone that has a Lab knows how happy they usually are). He even blessed her, appears St. Francis has a soft spot for animals and pets.

The dog has never growled at that hallway since and she follows the kids all over the house.

Now I tell you… if I didn’t believe in evil spirits before, I would have after seeing that!