Sacramental objects

[angell1]

what’s the proper view on this. i see it becoming a bit superstituous in a way.

for example, how does crucifixes and miraculous medals differ from other things that are seen as good luck charms?

just for the record, i’m not opposed to objects being used. bronze serpent or moses’ staff come to mind.

but how do ours differ from other pagan religions for example. like hind objects or buddhist objects. or even ancient greek and roman statues?

sorry for my ignorance

 

[TK421]

You might be operating under the assumption that ancient pagans, Hindus, etc., were wrong to keep sacred objects. They were not.

Of course, if a person worships a sacred object as their god, then that is idolatrous, and a statue of Zeus may be a statue of a false god, however the practice of keeping sacred objects by itself is not at all wrong; it is beneficial for a person to immerse themselves in their faith in such ways. Sacred objects are used as a means of inspiring us closer to God, just as the Ark of the Covenant did for the Jews, and if it stays that way, then it is good.

 

[TK421]

Acts 17: 22-28:
**Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,

‘For we too are his offspring.’**

In Paul’s proclamation of the gospel to the Athenians, surrounded by the many statues of their deities, Paul does not merely fall short of condemning the use of religious art and statues, but he speaks highly of their religiosity. The focus of his proclamation is to extol that God is not the byproduct of human hands, or is bound by them, but that he is a living Deity.

 

[JerryZ]

what’s the proper view on this. i see it becoming a bit superstituous in a way.

for example, how does crucifixes and miraculous medals differ from other things that are seen as good luck charms?

just for the record, i’m not opposed to objects being used. bronze serpent or moses’ staff come to mind.

but how do ours differ from other pagan religions for example. like hind objects or buddhist objects. or even ancient greek and roman statues?

sorry for my ignorance

Well, There is a SUBSTANTIAL difference, the pagans would give eminence to the statue or an object of cult and believe it could posess “magical powers”.

The Catholic Christian on the other hand is merely reminded of the faith that abides in Him/Her.
If you carry a St. Christopher medal for example, it is not the medal that is “magical” rather it reminds you that you are asking for St. Christopher’s protection on your travels.
The pagan would believe the medal has magical power to protect him.

Hope this explains the difference clearly enough for you.
By the way we as Catholics are strictly forbidden to use or believe in any “good luck charms”, even reading the horoscope is NOT ok.
Trust in God is our commandment.

–

 

[angell1]

Well, There is a SUBSTANTIAL difference, the pagans would give eminence to the statue or an object of cult and believe it could posess “magical powers”.

The Catholic Christian on the other hand is merely reminded of the faith that abides in Him/Her.
If you carry a St. Christopher medal for example, it is not the medal that is “magical” rather it reminds you that you are asking for St. Christopher’s protection on your travels.
The pagan would believe the medal has magical power to protect him.

Hope this explains the difference clearly enough for you.
By the way we as Catholics are strictly forbidden to use or believe in any “good luck charms”, even reading the horoscope is NOT ok.
Trust in God is our commandment.

–

i don’t know if this is quite true. i odn’t know about enough other religions to say.

i’ve heard that they will also say that the object only resembles the thing in heaven but i’m not sure. perhaps someone more intelligent will have the answer.

and if the object has no power of its own, what’s the point in blessing it then?

and i think you mean st. christopher’s incercession for God to protect us? i didn’t think the saints could necessarily do anything on their own?

 

[JerryZ]

i don’t know if this is quite true. i odn’t know about enough other religions to say.

i’ve heard that they will also say that the object only resembles the thing in heaven but i’m not sure. perhaps someone more intelligent will have the answer.

and if the object has no power of its own, what’s the point in blessing it then?

and i think you mean st. christopher’s incercession for God to protect us? i didn’t think the saints could necessarily do anything on their own?

Hmmm what a reductionist view, there have been instances where a Saint has appeared to someone that was sick and was cured by the intervention of the Saint.
Catholics KNOW that all power and glory is OF GOD. But alas it seems that it pleases Him in using creatures to do His bidding.
Therefore any protection afforded by St. Christopher to us is ultimately coming from the source itself.
How can the Saint hear or see our petition?
Well again it goes back to where the Saint is. He is in the presence of GOD.
If the Saint intervenes. Well must have been OKyed by GOD too since all power comes from Him.

Also;
Blessing the object serves to make a personal bond between what the object represents and the spiritual connection to Heaven.
A Crucifix represents what Jesus did for us, by blessing it we recognize the true value and importance of that event and converts a simple object made of wood and perhaps some clay into a vivid and personal manifestation of the love of Jesus for us.
Again it does NOT impart any magical properties to it.

I am sorry if my answers are not intelligent enough for you.

–

 

[tawny]

Sacramental objects such as a crucifix or miraculous medal or patron saint medals are mindful symbols of our faith. The crucifix reminds us that Christ suffered and died for us. The miraculous medal reminds us that Mary is the Mother of God and through her fiat she became the vessel of the incarnation of Christ. The patron saint medal reminds us that through the communion of saints we have intercessonaries to God.

 

[in_servitude]

Sacramentals - like a blessed crucifix - are of the same nature as Jesus.

If we could travel back in time with lab equipment, and take x-rays of Jesus, the results would be the same as any other person’s x-ray. The same goes for whatever worldly scientific test we could do.

Yet, we know that Jesus, being God, was not of the same form as the rest of us.

It is very important that all of our sacraments and sacramentals have this same Christ-like nature. They should appear the same as their regular counter parts. Holy water - if put through laboratory testing - should appear the exact same as regular water. If it didn’t, then it would not be in conformity with the nature of Jesus.

When a crucifix is blessed, it is not the same physical crucifix with spirituality sprinkled on top. No. Rather, it has actually changed form.

For the spiritually connected, there will/should be experiences where holy water - or whatever other sacramental - did bring about a supernatural effect. This is also in keeping with the nature of Jesus. We know that Jesus would, at times, perform miracles. Not always, but it would happen at times.

In the case of the Eucharist, after the priest has consecrated the bread and wine, it also changes form. It becomes the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ. It is very important that the host in the species of bread would test out to be physical bread in every type of test (same for the species of wine). And, you may know that miracles happen from time to time when the Eucharist has a supernatural event associated with it.

For people that believe in “magical items”, as I understand them, those items possess power in and of themselves apart from God. Sacramentals, however, create a connection with God - and any supernatural affect is due to a relational experience with God.

With both the sacraments and sacramentals, it is about a relationship with God.

 

[fred_conty]

what’s the proper view on this. i see it becoming a bit superstituous in a way.

for example, how does crucifixes and miraculous medals differ from other things that are seen as good luck charms?

just for the record, i’m not opposed to objects being used. bronze serpent or moses’ staff come to mind.

but how do ours differ from other pagan religions for example. like hind objects or buddhist objects. or even ancient greek and roman statues?

sorry for my ignorance

Here is an explaination of sacramentals and their effect on demons, Interview With An Exorcist, by Fr. Fortea.

“How can something material have an influence on something spiritual? It would seem that these two realms are so distinct, so independent, that something material should not have any effect on a demon, much less expel him. Actually, though, a material object - holy water, holy chrism, etc. - can torment or expel demons because the Church has given a spiritual power to this object by blessing it. In other words, the Church, with the power she has received from Christ, can join a spiritual effect to an object. Of course, the object itself has no power; rather, the power lies in that of Christ Himself which has been placed upon the particular object.” Page 66.

 

[fred_conty]

The scapulars and medals that our mother Mary herself gave to us do have a special power of grace which she promised if they are used and treated in the manner she requested. So they put those persons, who use them as she said, under her special care and protection. So these sacramentals have the special backing of Mary, the mother of God, as well as the backing of the church on earth, which happens to be the spouse of Christ.

It is like the bible once said about a certain town, that Jesus could not do any healing there because of their lack of faith.

Mary said this about the miraculous medal, namely, that the graces will come only if asked for, and also will come in proportion to the faith individuals have in her to keep her word to them. (The real question is, why wouldn’t she keep her word…immaculate(pure) heart(loving)…would she break her word now?)