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- Sacraments are established by Christ – we have no authority to increase
or decrease their number - Sacramentals,
as a rule, were not established by Christ
- Sacramentals obtain grace through the prayers of the Church .
- sacramentals prepare us to
receive God's grace and dispose us to cooperate with it
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- Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places)
come first.
- . What are "blessed" objects?
- A blessed object is any object over which an ordained priest or deacon has pronounced a
blessing.
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- Blessed "It means it has been touched by God." Try reading the
Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) and everywhere you read "Blessed"
substitute "Touched by God." It will give you a much deeper
understanding of the meaning of blessing and having an object blessed.
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- What are the principal sacramentals?
The principal sacramentals are the liturgical year and the public
prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours.
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- . blessings which consecrate persons to God or reserve places and
objects for liturgical use, such as
the consecration of an altar;
- . exorcisms for the removal of evil spirits.
- Blessed Holy Cards
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- Incense
- Incense is symbolic in its burning, its fragrance (virtue) and its
rising smoke (acceptable prayer)
- Veneration is shown by incensing, as in the incensing of the altar, the
book of the Gospel, the people and the body of the deceased at a
funeral.
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- Candles
- Altar candles express devotion and the lighting of the Baptismal candle
from the Easter candle is part of Christian initiation.
- it is also used for its
resurrection symbolism at baptisms and funerals.
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- Holy Water
- A common sacramental is blessed water (holy water) that is used for
baptizing and to recall our baptism.
- It is a common practice to have holy water fonts at the entrances of
churches. In the past, it was also found in the home in small fonts at
the doorways of certain rooms.
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- Some actions that are sacramentals are genuflecting, kneeling, bowing
the head, making the sign of the cross, folding the hands, sprinkling
with holy water.
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- Rosaries, relics, medals, crucifixes, scapulars, ashes, palms, candles
and pictures of Jesus, Mary and the saints are popular objects of
devotion.
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- Blessed objects should never be considered good luck charms, nor made
the objects of superstition.
- For example, one cannot lead an immoral life because one believes that
wearing a scapular or medal will obtain the grace of conversion before
death
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- They are often used by non-catholics
- blessing people (especially the laying on of hands)
- saying Grace (i.e., "Bless this food to our use and us to thy
Service, for Christ Sake Amen")
- praying over a house that it might be free of any negative spiritual
powers
- anointing people with holy oil during a healing service
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- Jesus cured the blind man using mud. (Jn 9:6);
- The lady with hemorrhages was healed by touching Jesus' garment (Mk
9:20, 6:56, Lk 8:44, Mat 14:36);
- Holy oil is found in the Bible "...anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord." (James 5:14, 15; Mat 6:13);
- In the Old Testament "..when the man came in contact with the bones
of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet" (2 Kings
13:20-21 note: this is also a model for the Catholic concept of relics);
- In the book of Acts we find "So extraordinary were the mighty deeds
God accomplished at the hand of Paul that when face cloths or aprons
that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them
and the evil spirits came out of them." (Act 19:11-12);
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- Lay Catholics are free to bless objects, even using the prayers priests
use -- and we do so often in blessing our children, blessing meals,
blessing Advent wreaths or Mary Gardens, etc.
- We are encouraged to bless – our children, meals, make prayer a part of
daily life
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Notes
