ELLIOTT ELLIOTT OPTICIANS ,feADILLY 44f,
MTH 40t
OPTICIANS
John flliolf msr.
Piccadilly Arcade
0
Ex-Warisl Bros:
Perth
Siudeni
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B 7988
Why We Use Sacramentals and How They Differ from Sacraments . . .
*What is Meant by "Blessing" Created Things are Meant to Help Us Save Our Souls By F. L. FILAS, S.J. You probably have heard of the blessing of automobiles and of fishingboats, but did you know that the Church also provides blessings for a wide variety of objects, so diverse as radios, blast -furnaces, typewriters, firefighting apparatus, and silkworms? If a non-Catholic friend were to ask you at this very moment to explain in a general way the effects of these and other blessings of the Church, could Or could you show him you do so? why the use of blessed articles is not a superttition? The answers to all these questions lie in a correct understanding of the sacramentals. The sacramentals are actions or objects which the Church uses in imitation of the sacraments in order to obtain by its intercession certain special favours from God. Originally the word "sacramentals" referred to all the ceremonies connected with the
administration of the sacraments, but now it also denotes other ceremonies which the Church has instituted for the sake of the public and the private devotion of the faithful. A sacramental is not a sacrament. The There are several differences. seven sacraments were instituted by Christ, but the sacramentals have all The been instituted by the Church. sacraments infallibly confer both sanctifying and special graces, provided that the recipient places no obstacle in their way: moreover, these graces are given in virtue of the external rite of the sacrament. But the graces of the sacramentals, on the other hand, depend on our own faith, on the perfection of the good intentions with which we use them, and on the prayer of Church. How many sacramentals exist? The list seems almost endless. There are things set aside exclusively for the service of God,' such as a consecrated church building, an altar, or a chalice; and there are actions by which the e
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hurch asks God to bless objects we use in everyday life or in the religious service we owe Him, such as our automobiles and our homes, our rosaries All the ceremonies and holy water. of the Mass (except the Consecration itself) are sacramentals; so are the Minor Orders which the Church confers on her ministers before they are ordained deacons and priests in the sacrament of Holy Orders; so is the nuptial blessing of the sacrament of Matrimony. One of the most noteworthy of the effects of the sacramentals is their power to drive away evil spirits. Thus, not infrequently the sprinkling of holy water on a dying perton gives him peace from painful doubts and temp. tations and restlessness. This is not a mere pious belief; it is a fact well Another efconfirmed by experience, fect of the sacramentals is the indirand the venial sins of remission ect forgiveness of the temporal punishment Finally, as we shall due to such sins. see, later, the sacramentals are used in order to obtain temporal favours, such as protection from fires, floods, and other disasters: for the preservation of crops, the restoration of health, the successful operation of machinery, and a host of other purposes. The sacramentals which usually arouse the most curiosity among nonCatholics are the various blessings and the use of blessed articles which are approved by the Church. There is a danger here that because we use the word "bless" so often, we may lose sight of Ask any Catholic the its meaning. difference between holy water and plain water, and he will tell you, "Well, But ask him holy water is blessed." what he means by blessed water and a blessing, and in most cases he will at best be able to give you only a very vague explanation. He knows that the Sign of the Cross is made over an object and makes it hOly, but he cannot.describe what really happens.
Reristftred at the G.P.O., Perth, for
"Why seek you the living with the dead? Briefly, then, a blessing invokes -that it, it officially calls down-God's favour upon a person or thing. It can be given only by a sacred minister who has been granted this power by the The Church in its turn Church, grants this power by reason of the authority it has received from God. There are two kinds of blessings. One "sets aside" or consecrates a person or thing to the service of Gad. It makes its recipient holy. in the sense of
being dedicated exclusively to the wor-
transmission by post as a newspaper.
He is not here, but is risen."
ship of God. Clerics (that is, those destined for the priesthood), members of Religious Orders and Congregations, churches, Mass vestments, and altar cloths, all are blessed in this manner. The second type of blessing instead of consecrating its recipient to divine service is a solemn prayer of the Church that calls on God to confer some spiritual of temporal favour on But, you the person who is blessed. ask, isn't this kind of blessing given Cover.) on Back (Continued