“There is great gain in religion” - St. Paul
Pictured; Christ expels the money changers in the Temple.
Today I read about a slick salesman marketing blessed holy water for sale, cases of which are going to be donated to the troops in Iraq as well. Nice.
The article from “California Catholic Daily” - where else but California would something like this originate - explains the water sold is blessed by a priest, a monk, a rabbi, or anyone else considered to be a member of any clergy. Dumb.
“The water is purified by the reverse osmosis method, but that is not what makes it unique. Rather, its supposed charm lies in the fact that it “is blessed into holy water by hands of god,” by which is meant “a priest, churchman, clergyman, cleric, curate, divine, ecclesiastic, elder, father, friar, holy man, lama, monk, padre, pontiff, preacher, rabbi, rector, sky pilot, or vicar.” - CCD
The article ends with a vague comment by a liturgist from the Diocese of Stockton.
“Virginia Meagher, liturgy coordinator for the Stockton diocese, told the Tribune selling holy water “seems to be against the reason we bless water.” Bottled holy water, she said, isn’t a sacrilege, but “it’s probably not something we would encourage.” - CCD
Dumb and dumber.
Whatever. Even though the sale of relics is forbidden by Canon Law, the selling of blessed objects is discouraged. However, if blessed objects are sold, ‘the object loses the blessing’ as one priest informed me. Nevertheless, the sale of this so-called holy water is nothing but a bogus novelty-store gimmick.
In the Catholic Church only priests or deacons may bless sacramentals. In this situation, it appears anyone can bless the product - which means it’s not really blessed.
Most Catholics agree, blessed objects should not be sold. (Although, with the permission of the local ordinary, Churches and their furnishings may be “alienated”, that is sold, and these are blessed objects, especially the statues and sacred vessels.)
Having said that, in some religious stores, water from Lourdes and Fatima is packaged and sold in vials. Is that okay? I suppose it is, since the water is not actually blessed, and the person is simply paying for the vial and the prayer card packaging, along with any real or imagined export costs. (Although can a person be certain the water is really from the holy place the supplier says it is?)
Since I cleared that up, rosaries containing 3rd class relics are also sold. However, the person is only paying for the rosary, not the piece of cloth touched to a 1st class relic - although some may disagree. Regardless, sacred or blessed objects generally require the faith of those who use them and are not in themselves any type of talisman or magic charm one should try to profit from.
In Canon 1166 we read, “Sacramentals are sacred signs which in a sense imitate the sacraments. They signify certain effects, especially spiritual ones, and they achieve these effects through the intercession of the Church.”
Further on, in Canon 1171, “Sacred objects are not to be made over to secular or inappropriate use, even though they may belong to private persons.” In other words they are set “apart from profane uses and from commerce. ” - Code of Canon Law, Annotated - 2nd edition
A person may gift a blessed object, such as a Miraculous Medal, or Green Scapular, to another who may or may not have faith. The prayers of the person giving the article, in union with the “intercession of the Church” (Can. 1166) may indeed obtain the grace wherein the object has a spiritual efficacy for the person receiving and wearing the gift. This was obvious in the case of Alphonse Ratisbonne, the famous Jew converted to the faith after wearing the Miraculous Medal. Yet it is not an amulet.
I digress however. It’s always troubling to me when blessed objects are offered for sale, especially when they are inventive novelties such as pretend holy water or so-called prayer cloths, etc. It seems to me rather superstitious.
January 28th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
The sale of blessed objects is “Simony”. “Simony” is the “buying or selling of spiritual things”, which holy water is, and which other blessed objects (sacramentals) are. It is a sin. It is not only discuraged, but it is condemned.
It is a sacriledge, if the water, is, in fact, “blessed”. Now, I can only speak for Catholicism, not the other religions, so I don’t know their take on “blessed water”, but I can’t imgine they would look at this act as being a good thing.
Objects that are blessed are touched by God in a certain way; they are to be set aside for a particular use which should bring the user closer to God. If it is being sold, then the seller clearly has no understanding of our beliefs surrounding this sacramental; either that or he knows what he is doing and should be called down on the carpet for it. This needs to be stopped.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Speaking of Holy Water, what the world needs is portable Holy Water Dispensers during Lent.
Volunteer teams, working with orthodox pastors in their diocese for their supply of free holy water, would fill up their 20 gallon backpack containers with a short hose dispenser (like grass fire fighting equipment) and then travel to those parishes whose liturgists have determined that the holy water fonts must be dry during the days of Lent.
Good teams working in urban areas could probably cover four or five parishes an hour.
Of course, teams may have to make many return visits to some parishes.
Do you suppose Leaflet would like to have these units in their next Lentan catalog?
January 30th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Why do Catholics insist on going to great lengths to convince others that their sacramentals are different than magickal talismans or amulets? No Pagan believes that their amulet or talisman possesses any sort of power of itself. It’s the same idea that the power or grace comes from Deity or the natural energy a thing has (like crystals.) It’s the same thing, folks, just different lingo. Of course Pagans would agree that items that have been blessed or “charged” should be given away and not sold because assistance should be free and we’re not charlatans like so many who try to dupe the innocent. Good post!
October 28th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Can anyone please give me some official documents that state that seloing blessing objects is simony? Specifically. Because there are great disputes at our church and they keep continuing to sell blessed rosaries by the pope