The Blessing of Any Object

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Hello. I am curious as to how sacramentals work in the sense that they are only ordinary objects unless they are blessed by a priest, bishop, etc. With that in mind, my question is such: can any object of my choosing be considered a sacramental so long as it is blessed? If not, is there any criteria? Or better yet, are there any resources that can further inform me on the topic? I thank anyone in advance for answering.
 
Well, a priest will bless a number of things, but if you want a sacramental, you need to choose some particular worthy thing that is a holy reminder that instills devotion and reminds us of our Catholic Faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Saints.

Rosaries, medals, crucifixes, holy images, scapulars, and the like.
 
Well… sacramentals are not limited to objects. Even certain rituals are sacramentals. However… though I once thought otherwise… no there are rules. There are blessed things that are not sacramentals. Like you can get a car, skateboard, or animal blessed. But clerics are usually pretty prudent about this because people often ask out of superstition. I had some hoodies once that were blessed and one had Latin prayers embroidered on it. It depends how innocent it is. Like is a cleric going to deny blessing a girl’s dolly? Even so… They are not proper sacramentals… There are rules.
 
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I almost avoid getting any object “blessed” because I don’t understand what that accomplishes. Blessing a rosary does what, exactly?

Here’s a local priest blessing a horse. Ditto. What does that accomplish? (I can’t upload an image, sorry, take my word for it.)

If my rosary breaks, what do I do with it?
 
incorporates it into the spiritual treasury of the church… sacramentals are partially physical objects so there is the notion that whatever matter is there is now set aside for reverence. Benedict medals used to be exorcised to remove any trace of the demonic from the physical property of the medal. Having something blessed is like having a prayer attached to something for a specific purpose. Sometimes a sacramental’s associated promise or indulgence has a blessing as a requirement for its efficacy. It is well known in tradition that blessed objects ward off the demonic.

Edit: depending on how a sacramental is revered determines whether or not it needs to be blessed again or has been turned to something discarded through scandal or sacrilege.

Most typical cases it does not need to be blessed if it breaks it only needs to be repaired… regardless a rosary breaking is still sometimes seen as a bad omen.
 
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B_Calhoun said:
Hello. I am curious as to how sacramentals work…
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Here’s a wonderful explanation. Worth reading every word.

BLESSINGS AND OTHER SACRAMENTALS

INTRODUCTION
A subheading to the above heading could well be: “The Sacramentals–Christ in Daily Life.” In the ordination service, the Church, through the bishop, anoints and blesses the hands of the newly made priest, accompanying the action with these words: “May it please you, O Lord, to consecrate and sanctify these hands by this anointing and our blessing; that whatever they bless may be blessed, and whatever they consecrate may be consecrated in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” By this and other ceremonies in the rite for ordination the young priest has it impressed on him that his sacramental ministry, namely, the power to offer sacrifice, the duty of preaching the word of God in Mass and of distributing the Bread of life to the people, the duty of administering the other sacraments, the duty of dispensing blessings and other sacramentals–that all these constitute the main reason for his being what he is, a mediator between God and men, the dispenser of God’s mysteries.

For a priest all else must be kept subordinate to his sacramental ministry. In the first age of the Church the apostles, as soon as they discovered that other works were interfering with their strictly priestly ministrations, ordained other men as deacons or assistants, whose function it was to take over a large share of those activities not absolutely required of pastors of souls. So nowadays too the priest can find auxiliaries to aid him in the office of teaching, in the good work of visiting the sick and seeking out the stray sheep, in tending to the needs of the poor and the widows and orphans, in keeping files and financial books, in running parish organizations and recreational programs. But he cannot turn over to them his sacramental powers, neither the greater ones of consecrating at Mass, of baptizing, of absolving, of anointing, nor even the lesser ones of bestowing on persons and objects the official blessing of the Church. Her sacramentals, then, ought not to be “the twentieth-century stepchildren of Mother Church,” as someone has referred to them.

(continued)
 
If it is true that in the world of today conditions are not conducive to a high evaluation and appreciation of the seven sacraments of Christ, then surely it can be admitted all the more readily that the sacramentals fare even worse. If a certain measure of humility and simplicity is needed by man to recognize God at work with, and in, and for us in the greater mysteries, the Eucharist and the other sacraments, it is required even in greater measure to recognize His action in those consecratory acts which are lesser than those seven, namely, the sacramentals. Pride and sophistication are a hindrance to understanding that God, when He created the universe, consecrated all creation, not alone man, but every lower form; and that Christ, in redeeming the world after the Fall, removed the curse fallen on creation, not only from man but from the lesser species as well. Thus for a long time the sacramental acts such as the many consecrations and blessings of the Church have been, if not actually disdained, looked upon with apathy and indifference by her children. So much so that some are apt to be disedified rather than edified when they are made aware that the Church has a mind to speak a blessing on horse, silkworm, bonfire, beer, bridal chamber, medicine, or lard.

God’s ultimate purpose in creating the world is the manifestation of His goodness and excellence, and a communication of them in part to His creatures. Consequently, creation’s first reason for existence is to glorify the Creator. Human beings fulfill this obligation to glorify God by living in conformity with the laws which govern human existence, but they do so more nobly still in those positive acts of religion, sacrifice, sacraments, social and private prayer, consecrations, and blessings. For in this latter way man does not praise God in isolation, but he is united with the praise which his elder brother, Jesus Christ, everlastingly renders to the Blessed Trinity. Irrational creatures fulfill their obligation also in their existence and functions, according to the laws that govern their nature. This is their silent voice of praise. But lower creation too is destined to take part in the direct and positive act of praising the Creator. The psalms and canticles leave no doubt about this. The fall of man caused lower creatures to be separated from God, for they were bound to God through mankind. And they became once more consecrated in the redemption, not purely for their own sake, but for the purposes of higher creation. Therefore, in union with man, and in union with the God-man, the rest of creation participates in the praise which without ceasing raises its voice to the adorable Trinity. In the Epistle to the Romans St. Paul records that the complete emancipation of creation will not be effected until the end of time. But ever since our Lord transfigured lower creatures by employing them in sacramental ways–consider His use of bread, wine, water, oil, sacred signs–material things have been participating with Him and with man in divine worship. And where Christ left off, the Church continues.
 
The consecration and transfiguration of the creatures of God is done through sacraments and sacramentals. The passion and resurrection of Jesus notwithstanding, the individual man is not justified until the fruit of these momentous acts is communicated to him by way of sacramental sanctification. Lower creatures in similar fashion are freed from their enslavement by being sacramentalized. Before the Church will use them in the service of God or of men, she wills that first they be exorcised of any allegiance to Satan, then sanctified by her consecratory hand.

Certainly there is a difference of kind and of efficacy between the seven sacraments and the lesser sacraments called sacramentals. There is a difference of degree in the seven sacraments themselves. One is not so necessary or sublime as another. Furthermore, it is not true to say without qualification that one distinction between sacraments and sacramentals is that the former owe their institution to Christ, the latter to the Church. For some of the sacramentals definitely come directly from Christ, exactly how many and actually which ones is not clear. There is one sacramental, however, of whose origin there is not a particle of doubt. This is the mandatum, the washing of feet, carried out by our Lord at the Last Supper, and today still used in the liturgy of Maundy Thursday. What requires stressing here is that men should not belittle the sacramentals because of the fact that they owe their institution in greatest part not to the positive will and act of Christ, but instead to the will and act of the Church. For in the light of the doctrine of the mystical body both have a sacred origin, the sacraments from the personal, historical Christ, the sacraments from the mystic Christ–Christ living and working in His mystical bride, the Church. The sacramentals are aptly designated as extensions and radiation of the sacraments. Both are sources of divine life; both have an identical purpose, divine life. They have, moreover, an identical cause, the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ; albeit they differ in nature, efficacy, and intensity.

Because man is weakened by sin both in his mental and physical faculties, he needs in striving for salvation, in addition to the sacraments themselves, other supernatural aids constantly at hand, in order to overcome his own inherent weakness as well as the obstacles put in his way by creature things. These auxiliaries, the sacramentals, are the many powerful supports by which man’s course to heaven can be lightened, affording protection against the enemies of his soul and promoting bodily well-being in the interests of the soul. As the code of Canon Law defines them: sacramentals are objects and actions which the Church is wont to use, somewhat as she uses the sacraments, in order to obtain through her intercession effects, especially effects of a spiritual nature (can. 1144).
 
I don’t get things like rosaries blessed, mainly not sure what might happen if/when I lose It. Lost my fav one about a week ago, luckily it turned up (thank you Lord!) A wall hanging, crucifix, no problem…
 
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I can’t answer the first two, but if a sacramental is no longer used, it should be either buried, or burned and then buried. Both should be respectful, and the burial should be in a place that people do not walk on frequently.
 
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