SACRAMENTALS
What
are Sacramentals?
Sacramentals
are objects or actions the Church uses to confer spiritual and temporal
favors upon the faithful through her intercession.
Why
do we offer Sacramentals?
We started this apostolate to put these sacred sacramentals into
the hands of the faithful who would otherwise never know about them
or never know how to obtain them. We want to spread these beautiful
and powerful traditions of our Catholic faith to others so that
they will continue to be handed down to our children and our children's
children! For further information on this subject, read the Catechism
of the Catholic Church #2121.
Why
are they called sacramentals?
They
are called sacramentals because they resemble the sacraments as
external signs by which blessings, especially spiritual ones, are
obtained.
How
do sacramentals differ from the sacraments?
Sacramentals
differ from the sacraments in the following ways: first, unlike
the sacraments, sacramentals were not instituted by Christ but by
the Church; second, unlike the sacraments in which Christ confers
grace through the sacrament itself, sacramentals are forms of prayer
that obtain grace through the merits of the Church and depend on
the dispositions of the person who uses sacramentals; third, unlike
the sacraments which really produce the grace they signify, sacramentals
are the occasion for receiving some blessing from God through the
Church when a person uses them with faith.
What
are the chief benefits obtained by the use of sacramentals?
The
chief benefits obtained by the use of sacramentals are: first, actual
graces; second, the forgiveness of venial sins; third, the remission
of temporal punishment; fourth, health of body and material blesssings;
fifth, protection from evil spirits.
What
are some of the more commonly known sacramentals?
Some
of the more commonly known sacramentals are blessings normally given
by priests, and blessed objects of devotion.
What
are the blessed objects of devotion most used by Catholics?
The blessed objects of devotion most used by Catholics are: holy
water, candles, ashes, palms, crucifixes, medals, rosaries, scapulars,
and images of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and the saints. Prayer
Cloths, salts, chaplets are among the others.
How
old are Sacramentals?
The
use of sacramentals goes all the back to the Old Testament. God
told
Moses to make a statue of a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole;
and
every one who is bitten , when he sees it shall live. So Moses made
a
bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man,
he would
look at the bronze serpent and live" (Num 21:8 - 9).
God could easily have handled the snake problem many ways besides
the making of the bronze snake. The bronze snake served two purposes:
1.
It was prophetic of Jesus hanging on the Cross and saving us.
2. It teaches us that God can use instruments/sacramentals for
His use if
He so desires.
Will
Sacramentals work for everyone?
Generally speaking, the efficacy of sacramentals depends on the
dispositions of the person using them. They are not magic and it
is wrong to treat them as such. Wearing a holy medal does not make
one instantly holy.
We should be careful not to dismiss the pious use of holy objects
as superstition. It is all too easy to play the sophisticated Christian
and scoff at the truly holy folks who do use Sacramentals and benefit
GREATLY from them! Remember, Sacramentals are a GIFT from Holy Mother
Church.
The very act of pinning a blessed medal to the child's car seat
is a prayer for his safety! Placing it close to the child is like
symbolically putting the child into Christ's arms. Many people have
told us they feel this way about the Prayercloths
we offer the faithful.
Why
don't we just use a rabbit's foot instead of a medal?
The Gospels speak of people going to incredible lengths
to touch Christ. Miraculous things happened at His touch - even
incurable diseases were cured.
There
was also devotion to those items which He had touched. A hemorrhaging
woman was convinced that she would be cured if only she could touch
the fringe of His garment. So she stretched out as He passed by.
Did He chastise her for superstitious attachment to material things?
No, He praised
her faith and cured! (see Matt 9:20-22). Many other people also
sought to touch His garment. (Matt 14:35-36).
But
what does this have to do with sacramentals? People had
great devotion to the garment which had clothed Christ's body. They
received many graces through touching it in faith.
They
did not worship the garment, but they knew that by its contact with
Him, it had become holy.
Prayercloths
are also used in the same way (with FAITH!) and have been a powerful
instrument in many healings.
When
a medal is blessed by a priest or deacon, it is touched by the Church
- the *Body* of Christ. It is not to be worshipped or treated as
a lucky charm. But it is something touched by Christ and it can
serve as a conduit for grace in
those who are properly disposed.
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More information on two popular Sacramentals- Blessed Oil
and Blessed Salt:
Blessed oil and salt are sacramentals of the Catholic Church for
use by lay people as they minister to others through prayer. Lay
people bless with oil; priests, and only priests, anoint with oil.
In addition, the oils are DIFFERENT!
The power in the oil
and salt comes from the redemptive acts of Jesus through His Passion,
Death, and Resurrection. That power is elicited by prayers of intercession,
and is then directed through the external signs of oil and salt.
Neither sacramental should be used superstitiously as having self-contained
power, but in combination with prayer. The sacramentals are focus
points, funneling one's faith toward Jesus, like a flag is a focus
for patriotism.
A priest may use the official prayer from the Roman Ritual to bless
oil and salt for lay people. (This is something we do as a free
SERVICE as our GIFT to you. Many priests will no longer do this!
The salt is free on this page: The
salt is FREE and available by clicking this link. )
How to use HOLY
OIL (which can be found on this page!)
Holy oil may be used when praying over people for healing; to bless
family members, homes, or objects.
The prayer doesn't need
to be complicated or fancy. Just ask the person what they would
like prayers for, use the oil to make the sign of the cross on their
forehead, and pray for God to honor the request. If the person doesn't
wish to confide the intention, that's fine; God knows what is in
their hearts.
Don't worry about what to say or how to say it; the Lord will guide
you. You can pray an Our Father or Hail Mary; simply speak what
is in your heart, the Holy Spirit will lead. You can end your prayer
with an Amen, a Glory Be, or however the Lord inspires you to close.
It is possible to pray
with someone who doesn't even believe in God, let alone His ability
or willingness to heal, and see miraculous results. All prayers
are subject to God's will; when we intercede for others our will
is united with His.
Guidelines Be
sure anyone you pray with understands you are not offering or providing
them the Sacrament of the Sick; the Sacrament can only be administered
by a priest.
Only pray over people who have asked for prayers, either directly
or through friends or family members, and keep all names and information
shared confidential.
Please use the Holy oil often, don't save it just for times of
illness. Parents, grandparents or other primary care providers can
bless the children in their lives daily; spouses can bless one another
at any time, for any need. Use it on your homes, cars, pets, tools,
anything you want the Lord to protect and bless.
How to use blessed
salt Blessed salt can be sprinkled in one's home, across
thresholds and windowsills, around property lines, in cars, school
lockers or work sites. It can be used on food, or while cooking.
As
you spread the salt pray for the Lord's blessing and protection.
The faith of the person using the salt must be Jesus-centered, like
the faith of the blind man in John 9; his faith was in Jesus, not
in the mud and spittle Jesus used to heal him. Blessed salt is not
a new sacramental, but there is new interest in it as an instrument
of grace and healing.
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The
text of the following blessings from the Roman Ritual used for Holy
Salt and Oil (not Holy Chrism)
SALT: God's creature, salt, I cast out the demon
from you by the living God, by the true God, by the holy God, by
God who ordered you to be thrown into the water-springs by Eliseus
to heal it of its barrenness. May you be a purified salt, a means
of health for those who believe, a medicine for body and soul for
all who make use of you. May all evil fancies of the foul fiend,
his malice and cunning, be driven afar from the place where you
are sprinkled. And let every unclean spirit be repulsed by Him who
is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by
fire. Amen.
Almighty, everlasting
God, we humbly appeal to your mercy and goodness to bless this creature,
salt, which you have given for mankind's use. May all who use it
find a remedy for body and mind. And may everything it touches be
freed from uncleanness and any influence of the evil spirit; through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
OIL:
Lord God Almighty, before whom the hosts of angels stand in awe,
and whose heavenly service we acknowledge; may it please you to
regard favorably and to bless and hallow this creature, oil, which
by your power has been pressed from the juice of olives. You have
ordained it for anointing the sick, so that, when they are made
well, they may give thanks to you, the living and true God. Grant
we pray, that those who will use this oil, which we are blessing
in your name, may be delivered from all suffering, all infirmity,
and all wiles of the enemy. Let it be the means of averting any
kind of adversity from man, made in your image and redeemed by the
precious blood of your Son, so that he may never again suffer the
sting of the ancient serpent; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
These are the literal
words from the Roman Rite for the blessing of these two Sacramentals.
A careful reading should give everyone a firm understanding of their
purpose as intended by our Holy Mother Church, and their power.
Their use is NOT superstition; their use IS effective against the
forces of evil for believers.
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