Jolene
Schonchin
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I have ordered patron saint figurines to place
at my house and office.
- Do they have to be blessed in order for
them to work?
Jolene
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{
Do
I have to bless these patron saint figurines (for my house and office) in order for them to work? }
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John
replied:
Hi, Jolene —
Thanks for the question.
It's great that you ordered pictures
of your Patron Saints, but what exactly
do you mean by
in order for
them to work.
Catholics don't believe in magic.
Nor are pictures, statues, icons
and so forth lucky charms that bring
us good luck, prosperity, or what
not. That sort of belief is pagan,
not Catholic.
Certainly, it's always good to have
any sacred item blessed, however
a blessing is not a magic spell.
So please explain what you mean by in order for
them to work, before
we can answer your question.
John
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Jolene
replied:
Hi, John—
Thank you for your response.
I apologize for wording my question
incorrectly.
I am asking if the statues of the
saints have to be blessed in order
for them to help us in our daily
lives. For example, I have a statue of
St. Martha to help me in the kitchen
and with my household duties.
- I understand they are representations
of the saints and a reminder of
the power of faith and prayer
but will St. Martha hear my prayers
to her, if her statue is not blessed?
I hope I do not sound ignorant; I
just want to make sure I am going
about this correctly.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
— Jolene
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John
replied:
Jolene —
Let's see if we can undo some really,
really, horrible religious education
you got somewhere along the line.
The statues, pictures, paintings,
etc., don't help us. The saints,
as part of the Body of Christ, help
us. Statues, and so forth, are simple
reminders and points of contact
for our faith.
A blessing is a prayer of the Church
which consecrates an object, sets
it aside for God, and makes it belong
to God. This blessing, a prayer of
the Church, also contains petitions
about the object, that may be an
occasion of grace for those who use
it. God honors this blessing by His
Church, and blessed objects are off-limits
to the evil one, who fears them because
they are holy.
e.g. they belong to God. These are
not lucky charms. The objects have
no intrinsic power of their own.
They have the power of the prayer
of the Church in the blessing.
My point is that you shouldn't be
thinking in terms of getting the
statue of St. Martha to do anything.
That's idolatry and a violation of
the first commandment!
Now, if you have a devotion to St.
Martha, if you've read about her,
ask her intercession, then the statue
is a reminder and point of contact
for your faith but, at this point,
I'm even concerned that if you're
focused so much on the statue and
the Saint, you will forget the most
important thing is your relationship
with Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Ultimately, it's Christ that assists
us in our Christian walk. The saints
only do so by virtue of being in
the Body of Christ.
St. Martha can hear you whether or
not the statue is blessed, whether
or not the statue has it's ears broken,
whether or not the statue is there,
whether or not the statue exists!!
I would encourage you to get back
to the basics of your faith. Buy a Bible
and start reading it.
Buy a Catechism as well. Our faith
starts and ends with our relationship
with Jesus Christ.
Yes, as Catholics we understand that
the Saints in heaven pray for us
and some of us have beautiful devotions
to certain Saints but we have to
keep these things in perspective,
especially when it comes to statues.
They are sacred to us because of
who they represent. Other then that,
they are nothing but plaster, ceramic,
or wood.
John
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Mike
replied:
Hi, Jolene —
I would just want to add to my colleague's
answer.
Jesus is the source and submit of:
- Love
- Mercy
- Grace
- Our existence
- Our family
- Everything we have in life
What we do with what the Lord has
given us depends on how we use our
free will.
The Church holds up various saints
throughout the ages as special people,
who struggled like us, in all the
temptations of the world:
- vice
- sexual sins
- addictions of all types
- etc.
yet, She says:
- See how these holy people handled
these struggles in striving to
model Jesus,
Our Primary Model?
<Be like them !!>
When someone has, like I do, a
statue of Our Blessed Mother, St. Benedict, St. Michael
and St. Jean Vianney,
it reminds me to:
- undermine the sole mediation
of Jesus?
No, of course not!, but to strive to be like
them and reflect the
image of Jesus in my life through
the example of (His Life) and (their lives).
Mike
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