what do you DO with holy cards?

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I own a few holy cards, for St. Benedict, Guadalupe, etc.
But i have no idea what traditions there are regarding them. Is there any special “use” for them? Any way i am supposed to store them, handle them, and so forth? I feel that they gotta be something more than Catholic Mickey Mantle cards. 😉

Any cradle Catholics out there with more know-how than a convert such as i? 🙂
 
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tractarian:
I own a few holy cards, for St. Benedict, Guadalupe, etc.
But i have no idea what traditions there are regarding them. Is there any special “use” for them? Any way i am supposed to store them, handle them, and so forth? I feel that they gotta be something more than Catholic Mickey Mantle cards. 😉
Any cradle Catholics out there with more know-how than a convert such as i? 🙂
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If you have a missal that you carry to mass, take your best and put them in there. Say the prayers on the back of your favorites.

If not, get a good Catholic Calendar, file the cards in order of the months in which the feastdays fall and get them out as you need them.
When you are in a special need, the prayers on the back are very powerful in asking for intercession
 
Some go in my prayer book so I can use the prayers they contain. Others are bookmarks in my Bible and other books. They are always around to remind me of who I belong to and that great cloud of witnesses. 🙂
 
Church Militant:
Some go in my prayer book so I can use the prayers they contain. Others are bookmarks in my Bible and other books. They are always around to remind me of who I belong to and that great cloud of witnesses. 🙂
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Remember once upon a time, before computers, the public libraries had what was called a card system? These are a bit like that. They’re made to assist you in the organization of your personal devotions.( A long time ago, someone showed me a book of rubrics regarding them, and their usage, but I do not know its title… sorry). Also, the most used among them are frequently buried with you when God decides it is time you practiced pushing up Daffodyls.

Hugs and Kisses
Prester John
 
I use them as book marks, in my Bible and in prayer books. I also keep them in the books by the saints that they represent, if I have any. Very few seem to have prayers. Sometimes I write about the saints on the back; patron causes, what they did that was so great, and pass it on to people who I think would appreciate the inspiration (mostly close family members). Extra ones I leave at church for people to take who might want them. For example, I really don’t need eight pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe, even if she is Patron of the Americas.
 
I put them out all around the house, table, cabinets, shelves, etc. Many that are quality and especially inspirational, I have them blown up to 5x7 and frame them, and hang them up and put on end tables. If the prayer is with it, I blow it up too, and put them both in a 10x8 frame.
I get good comments and admiring glances to them from prots, even the iconoclasts.
Finally, I use them for bookmarks to locate what I think is the most important chapters of the book.
 
I collect them for the imates at the prison that I minister in. They love these little reminders of our faith. They send them to their children or they keep them close by to remind them that God loves them and sent his son to save them. They love ones of their Mother Mary. Still other cards remind them that others have carried crosses and obtained sainthood.

Deacon Tony SFO
 
I am a cube dweller (work). So, I try to make my surroundings a bit more palatable by pinning a few in my work space. It reminds me to act like an apostle when it would be so easy not to. It is also a great conversation starter.
 
I usually use them for markers in the CCC or my Bible …and when I think of it, I pray for the person who was deceased on it…or in some cases it’s a prayer to a certain saint…
 
I get oceans of them from MIL and other aunts who save them (they contribute to every Catholic organization that ask for money, and get tons of free stuff they send to me)

I use the holy cards, medals, pins, crosses and other goodies for gifts for CCD kids for memory drills, or other little games we use to evaluate their learning (we don’t like written tests that seem too much like school be cause testing is a major stress factor in Texas schools).

I also collect baskets of these kinds of things for those who visit the sick in hospitals and who do prison ministry. those going to prison can use holy cards, but nothing metal, nothing with a chain or pin, we make knot rosary bracelets for them (longer rosaries are forbidden maybe somebody tried to hang themselves once).

also use holy cards to mark places in Shorter Christian Prayer for vespers services so people can find hymn, Sunday antiphons quicker.
 
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puzzleannie:
I get oceans of them from MIL and other aunts who save them (they contribute to every Catholic organization that ask for money, and get tons of free stuff they send to me)

I use the holy cards, medals, pins, crosses and other goodies for gifts for CCD kids for memory drills, or other little games we use to evaluate their learning (we don’t like written tests that seem too much like school be cause testing is a major stress factor in Texas schools).

I also collect baskets of these kinds of things for those who visit the sick in hospitals and who do prison ministry. those going to prison can use holy cards, but nothing metal, nothing with a chain or pin, we make knot rosary bracelets for them (longer rosaries are forbidden maybe somebody tried to hang themselves once).

also use holy cards to mark places in Shorter Christian Prayer for vespers services so people can find hymn, Sunday antiphons quicker.
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My husband has all kinds of Holy cards that he keeps in a little wooden box. He reads the back of one each morning and asks for their intercession. We also use them as bookmarks.
 
I have young sons, one who is very “active” at mass. I have put ones we have collected on a metal key ring (punch a hole in the upper corner) and take it with us to mass. The different pictures keep them occupied and quiet, at least for a time. The older one is learning to read, and he practices reading the prayers on the back.
 
I have dozens of these cards and use them as bookmarks. I say the prayers on the back, especially the ones devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Michael the Archangel.
 
I’ve put mine on top of the bulletin-board-type material that runs around my half of the dorm room. Currently I only have fifteen, but they take up almost half of that space! People who come into my room often remark “my, my, quite the shrine you’ve got here!” It’s more than a conversation starter for me, though. It’s very hard to get lured into ahem sins involving the internet when Our Lord, Lady, and the choirs of angels and saints are gazing at you. :o
 
Most of mine are bookmarks for my Bibles or other prayer books. I also have one on the visor of my car and others in my planner, wallet and tucked in other places I open frequently.

I give a lot away to my CCE kids. Some are prizes in class or for special occasions. We did a cute game for All Saints Day where we tried to find a card for each kid either related to thier name of interest.
 
Most of mine are bookmarks for my Bibles or other prayer books. I also have one on the visor of my car and others in my planner, wallet and tucked in other places I open frequently.

I give a lot away to my CCE kids. Some are prizes in class or for special occasions. We did a cute game for All Saints Day where we tried to find a card for each kid either related to thier name of interest.
 
I’ll trade you two agony in the garden holy cards for your St Benedict. 😉

-Ted
 
I emailed EWTN some time back in regards to an Idea I had…See if you can follow me here.

It would be called “My Devotion Book” or something to that effect. It would be about 20-30 pages and it would look something like a little photo album with see through plastic as the pages. You would insert your Holy Card so you could see the picture and on the opposite side read the prayer. Then the ending would consist of “real” pages containing Traditional Church prayers along with list of Feast and Holy Days. The front and back cover would look more like hard cover prayer book which you could in turn fill it with any or all the prayer cards you wanted.

I never heard back from them and actually started a “demo” but never finished it as I then went back to my real life of two girls under the age of two and a wife who thinks I’m crazy for coming up with such things…What do you guys think? Am I sitting on gold mine?? :bounce: I mean think of all the devoted Catholics out there with all these prayer cards. There must be hundreds of us!! 😛
 
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solanus:
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It would be called “My Devotion Book” or something to that effect. It would be about 20-30 pages and it would look something like a little photo album with see through plastic as the pages. You would insert your Holy Card so you could see the picture and on the opposite side read the prayer. Then the ending would consist of “real” pages containing Traditional Church prayers along with list of Feast and Holy Days. The front and back cover would look more like hard cover prayer book which you could in turn fill it with any or all the prayer cards you wanted.
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Sounds like a wonderful idea to me. My father had a little book of prayers from Our Lady of the Snows, he took it to mass and read through several of the pages and used the prayer cards as his bookmarks… and he read them too.

I have mine marking some of my favorite scripture passages in my reading bible… and some I’ve passed to others.
 
Just a note on my above post , I suggested they could sell it on their weekly show which features books, statues, etc…forget the name.
 
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