Simony?

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aball1035

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Why isn’t buying scapulars and miraculous medals simony? It’s like buying graces it seems
 
I had to look it up so for those who don’t know, according to NewAdvent, ‘Simony is usually defined “a deliberate intention of buying or selling for a temporal price such things as are spiritual of annexed unto spirituals”’ (“Simony”).
 
The item is not a implement of magic, giving you grace on its own—rather it’s a reminder to you to do those things that you need to do. The grace comes from God, not the item.

My understanding is that blessed items should not be sold—someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
 
Simony is not the purchase or sale of the object itself, but the attempt to buy or sell the blessing. If you buy or sell a blessed object, it ceases to be blessed.

The rosaries, medals, scapulars, holy cards, etc. that are offered for sale in a Catholic gift shop are not blessed. They are not blessed until the purchaser takes them to a priest and has him bless them.
 
aball1035 said:
Why isn’t buying scapulars and miraculous medals simony? It’s like buying graces it seems
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The maker of an object is always entitled to a just wage.

We may purchase an object and reemburse the maker for their time and materials.

We cannot purchase the blessing.

Let’s say that I made two rosaries. I spend $20 in materials, and $30 in time. So I can charge $50 for the rosaries. No one, including the Church, would expect me to not be recompensed for my work.

Now let’s say that I had one rosary blessed by the Pope. I cannot charge anymore for the blessed rosary that I could for the one which was not blessed. To charge more WOULD be simony.
 
Brendan said:
The maker of an object is always entitled to a just wage.

We may purchase an object and reemburse the maker for their time and materials.

We cannot purchase the blessing.

Let’s say that I made two rosaries. I spend $20 in materials, and $30 in time. So I can charge $50 for the rosaries. No one, including the Church, would expect me to not be recompensed for my work.

Now let’s say that I had one rosary blessed by the Pope. I cannot charge anymore for the blessed rosary that I could for the one which was not blessed. To charge more WOULD be simony.
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I’m curious. If one mass produced rosaries and shipped some of them to Rome to be blessed by the Pope then shipped them to the same country as the others (I’m in the United States so I’m going to say there) would it be illicit to charge more to compensate for the additional shipping charges–but not the blessing?
 
ThomasToo said:
I’m curious. If one mass produced rosaries and shipped some of them to Rome to be blessed by the Pope then shipped them to the same country as the others (I’m in the United States so I’m going to say there) would it be illicit to charge more to compensate for the additional shipping charges–but not the blessing?
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I doubt it…it’s still a matter of recovering the cost, not making a profit on the blessing.
 
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