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brian
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Chicago South Burbs, Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 746 |
| First Name: | brian | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | methodist, evangelical, anglican, catholic |
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Posted: Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 03:37 pm |
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is it custom or necessary to have certain religious goods blessed before using them.
I bought some byzantine icons and a crucifix that i pray in front of, and i was wondering if i should have them blessed or what advantage or necesssity that is. if i light icons in front of the icons to remind me of prayers or people i am asking prayer for, do the candles also need to be blessed?
is it ok to do these things without having the m blessed?
brian
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5081 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 05:10 pm |
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brian wrote: is it custom or necessary to have certain religious goods blessed before using them.
I bought some byzantine icons and a crucifix that i pray in front of, and i was wondering if i should have them blessed or what advantage or necesssity that is. if i light icons in front of the icons to remind me of prayers or people i am asking prayer for, do the candles also need to be blessed?
is it ok to do these things without having the m blessed?
Having them blessed dedicates them to their sacred purpose. It is a biblical tradition, but not necessary.
Once they are blessed, they can no longer be sold or used for any purpose other than a sacred one.
Blessed articles are called "sacramentals" and the blessing is a form of liturgy, which is why I moved the question into the area on "Other Liturgical Celebrations."
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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brian
Member
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Chicago South Burbs, Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 746 |
| First Name: | brian | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | methodist, evangelical, anglican, catholic |
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Posted: Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 10:35 pm |
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| so then i could have my religious items blessed if i wanted to do so and this might have some advantage to it?
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5081 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 11:00 pm |
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brian wrote: so then i could have my religious items blessed if i wanted to do so and this might have some advantage to it?
Yes and yes. The advantage would be to you in knowing that you had dedicated that item for sacred purposes. Sacramentals are not "magic" and they do not in any way provide us with grace. However, their benefit is in giving us a physical reality (beads, picture, candle, music, etc.) with which to focus our prayer.
And that is the difference between sacramentals and sacraments. The sacraments do indeed give grace. Holy water, a sacramental, gives grace when used in the sacrament of baptism; holy oils, a sacramental, give grace when used in baptism, confirmation, holy orders, or the anointing of the sick. The difference is that the sacramental used in a sacrament is accompanied by the proper prayers and it is performed by the proper minister.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Talithacumi
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| Joined: | Sat Sep 30th, 2006 |
| Location: | Eastern Ohio, USA |
| Posts: | 260 |
| First Name: | Cheri | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Cradle Catholic - Latin Rite |
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Posted: Fri Nov 3rd, 2006 01:22 am |
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brian wrote: so then i could have my religious items blessed if i wanted to do so and this might have some advantage to it? Brian,
I don't know if this will help or not... I usually tend to think in terms of analogies if I'm trying to understand something, so I'll give you one in a minute.
But first, in my understanding, when a priest blesses something, he is acting in persona Christi - "in the person of Christ", so I think of that sacramental as having been blessed by Christ Himself, and not just by human hands.
Same kind of thing with relics... if you've got a relic of a saint, it's something special because the saints are beings set apart as specially honored for their Christ-like behavior. They are our heroes and models in the Faith.
And this is where the analogy comes in:
You've seen it in movies... a famous baseball player hits one into the stands and Joe Schmoe jumps up with his ready mitt and catches it. He gets it autographed by said player and keeps the ball enshrined in his trophy case, displayed proudly, where everyone can see it and ooh and aah about it. That ball is Joe's pride and joy.
Well, that's kind of like how it is with a blessed sacramental. Until it's got that "special touch" or autograph, so to speak, by Our Hero, it's just another baseball (or "religious item" in this case). Of course the religious item can still draw us closer to Christ by its use even if it's not blessed, but there's just something a little more personal with a blessed item, something a little more special because it has the touch of that Person that we worship so much. I think it just makes one feel a little closer to Him somehow, and anything that can do that is worth something, IMHO...
Like I said, I don't know if that helps or not, and I don't know if the "Powers-That-Be in the RCC" would appreciate that analogy :?, but I personally like analogies or little parables that seem to help my puny little mind to at least have some sort of understanding...
Anyway, God bless!
JMJ
- Cheri
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“We do not want a Church that will move with the world; we want a Church that will move the world.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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