SPLIT: Use of sacramental by non-baptized?

[rcuk]

Hi All;

My wife is a Catechumen. I wasn’t sure from the thread so far- can I confirm that the Church does encourage use of the holy water on entering Church, and other sacramentals, for those looking to be baptised?

Thanks!

 

[FrDavid96]

Hi All;

My wife is a Catechumen. I wasn’t sure from the thread so far- can I confirm that the Church does encourage use of the holy water on entering Church, and other sacramentals, for those looking to be baptised?

Thanks!

The short answer is: yes.

“Encourage”? That would depend on the precisely what sacramental, and how far one wants to take the word “encourage.”

Making the sign of the cross with holy water when entering the Church, certainly yes.

Other sacramentals would have different answers, though. For example, the candle presented at Baptism is a sacramental, but that isn’t presented until the baptism happens, so I would not “encourage” catechumens to use these before baptism. I’m just looking for an obvious example here.

For most sacramentals: holy water, rosaries, crucifixes, medals, holy cards, etc. etc. (I suppose what we might call “everyday” or “typical” ones) that do not have a very specific meaning that would make them less-than-appropriate for catechumens, it would be “yes.”

 

[rcuk]

Thanks Fr. David! The holy water question was the crux of the matter.

As a newcomer to the faith, she is keen to carry it with her to remind her and get her through the working day.

Is there anything she can take/wear to work which will help her, but not lead to questions from colleagues? She works in a small company which is very secular. She wouldn’t be confident in defending her faith in these early stages and would rather keep it low key.

You mentioned holy cards?

 

[Jean_Anthony]

aaa

 

[svid2]

Pax Christi!

How about a blessed Green Scapular? It can be carried in a purse or wallet.

God bless.

 

[rcuk]

Sounds helpful . Are some to be worn and others permitted to be carried ‘nearby’?

 

[FrDavid96]

Sounds helpful . Are some to be worn and others permitted to be carried ‘nearby’?

I don’t see any reason why not.

If she wants to keep them in her purse, I can’t see anything wrong with that.

You asked earlier about holy cards. There are countless versions available.

Typically, they have an image of Christ, or a saint, or even some object (like a painting of a cross, or an image of a chalice or rosary) on one side, then a prayer on the other. These could certainly be carried in a purse and then she can take them out and say the prayer or just meditate briefly on the image.

They can also be useful to help “learn her prayers.”

Examples:
She can learn the Apostles Creed by having a holy card printed with the Creed and occasionally taking it out for prayer. Same for other prayers like an Act of Contrition or the Angelus (Regina Coeli in the Easter Season). One can find just about any standard Catholic prayer on holy cards.

 

[rcuk]

Thank you for this. Do these cards usually come blessed? Is it okay to have such things blessed? Thanks again.

 

[FrDavid96]

Thank you for this. Do these cards usually come blessed? Is it okay to have such things blessed? Thanks again.

That depends on where/how you get them. If you buy them in a store or online, they won’t be blessed; because once blessed, they cannot be sold.

If you get them from some other source, like a free rack in the back of a church, they might or might not. Just ask the priest whether they were blessed yet.

It’s certainly right to have them blessed by a priest. By all means.

If you have a store that sells Catholic goods, they will almost always have a selection of these unblessed cards for sale at a very small price.

Edit: Sometimes you can get them online and they’re already blessed. In that case, you might be paying for the cost of mailing them to you (and/or a free-will donation). A person can charge for shipping, but not charge for the blessed item itself.

 

[rcuk]

Thanks FrDavid. I’ll check at Mass this Sunday!