(Photos above and below were taken from my own camera in my home.)
This week I bought a new rosary, one that has a little bit of water from Lourdes contained in a glass centerpiece. It is simply so beautiful, with a lovely crucifix and clear, shimmery glass beads. So this evening I took it with me to have our pastor bless it after Mass. 
You can see the bubble in the water from Lourdes in the rosary's centerpiece above.
You can see the bubble in the water from Lourdes in the rosary's centerpiece above. So I decided that it would be a good thing to chat about regarding our Catholic faith. So I went to the Catholic Answers web-site and found the following information regarding the Catholic practice of blessing our rosaries:
"The Rosary, like a cross or Crucifix, Holy Water, Blessed Palm is a sacramental.
A sacramental stems from the Church's Sacraments, which are instruments of God's Grace. When you get a sacramental blessed, this holy object now becomes an instrument of blessing.
As Fr. John Corapi says, the prayers said over a blessed object are applied to every situation where that object is used. So, when a priest blesses your Rosary, you receive the blessing of the Rosary, each time you pray with it. You should therefore get your scapula, Crucifixes and other objects blessed.
If you look up the link you will see how the Church has wisely given blessings to many objects of daily use. http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/blessings.html
This is so that we live our lives in such a way that we are already living as we would in Heaven - because in Heaven everything we use and every corner of our Heavenly home will be blessed. I got my guitar blessed, so that I can praise God with my music. You can get some salt blessed, to remind you of how you have to be salt of the earth, use the salt to bless your food or add some to clean water and then bless your house with it.
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Sacramentals stem from the Sacraments, they need to be blessed before they are used so that the prayers of the Universal Church can be applied to the person using that Sacramental.
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From the Cathechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
Chapter 4: OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS ARTICLE
.
1 SACRAMENTALS 1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy."
.
The characteristics of sacramentals1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops' pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism).
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1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless.
.
Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).
.
1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God."
.
Various forms of sacramentals
.
1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father "with every spiritual blessing."
.
This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.
.
1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.
.
"The Rosary, like a cross or Crucifix, Holy Water, Blessed Palm is a sacramental.
A sacramental stems from the Church's Sacraments, which are instruments of God's Grace. When you get a sacramental blessed, this holy object now becomes an instrument of blessing.
As Fr. John Corapi says, the prayers said over a blessed object are applied to every situation where that object is used. So, when a priest blesses your Rosary, you receive the blessing of the Rosary, each time you pray with it. You should therefore get your scapula, Crucifixes and other objects blessed.
If you look up the link you will see how the Church has wisely given blessings to many objects of daily use. http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/blessings.html
This is so that we live our lives in such a way that we are already living as we would in Heaven - because in Heaven everything we use and every corner of our Heavenly home will be blessed. I got my guitar blessed, so that I can praise God with my music. You can get some salt blessed, to remind you of how you have to be salt of the earth, use the salt to bless your food or add some to clean water and then bless your house with it.
.
Sacramentals stem from the Sacraments, they need to be blessed before they are used so that the prayers of the Universal Church can be applied to the person using that Sacramental.
.
From the Cathechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
Chapter 4: OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS ARTICLE
.
1 SACRAMENTALS 1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy."
.
The characteristics of sacramentals1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops' pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism).
.
1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless.
.
Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).
.
1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God."
.
Various forms of sacramentals
.
1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father "with every spiritual blessing."
.
This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.
.
1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.
.
1 comment:
Just about everything we own is blessed. We're lucky because our pastor is also our next door neighbor. Very handy...
However, I never thought of having my hubbies musical instruments blessed....Great idea
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