Post by Pacelli on Feb 12, 2024 10:06:56 GMT -5
As Ash Wednesday is approaching, I thought a good post would be to look at the blessing that the priest says over the ashes, to see what exactly is being asked of God for these ashes. Once this blessing is complete, the ashes are no longer just ash, from the burnt Palms of last years Palm Sunday, they are now a powerful sacramental of the Church.
The sacramentals are a very powerful aid in both our spiritual life, such protecting us from evil spirits, but also assisting us in our health and obtaining other blessings, as mentioned in the different rites for blessing over the different sacramentals.
This is from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article on sacramentals (emphasis added):
The blessing of the ashes is made up of four prayers said by a priest over them on Ash Wednesday:
I will post the blessing below, but first a few comments so as to not miss the importance of this blessing, and blessings are being asked of God for those using this sacramental:
1. That they may be for those humbly imploring God's Holy Name, accusing themselves of sin, for the remission of sins. (Note: any mortal sins must still be confessed)
2. For health of one's body.
3. For safety of one's soul.
4. For help in obtaining God's mercy, pardon of our sins, and for our eternal reward.
5. For filling those receiving these ashes with the spirit of compunction (helping our conscience to know and identify sin so as to avoid it.)
6. To grant those receiving these ashes what they justly prayed for, and very importantly, that God makes permanent what has been granted.
(Note: the prayer of the Church for the ashes is below, but I put the text with a comparison so Catholics can also see the gutted prayer used by Novus Ordo priests, to see the difference, and how much was left out. I will also say that this blessing presupposes a validly ordained priest saying it, as only priests can bless sacramentals, so be sure to go to a priest whose orders is not in doubt.)
Don't miss out on this powerful gift the Church is giving you!
The sacramentals are a very powerful aid in both our spiritual life, such protecting us from evil spirits, but also assisting us in our health and obtaining other blessings, as mentioned in the different rites for blessing over the different sacramentals.
This is from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article on sacramentals (emphasis added):
One of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose mysterious and baleful operations affect sometimes the physical activity of man. To combat this occult power the Church has recourse to exorcism and sacramentals. Another effect is the delivery of the soul from sin and the penalties therefor. Thus in the blessing of a cross the Church asks that this sacred sign may receive the heavenly blessing in order that all those who kneel before it and implore the Divine Majesty may be granted great compunction and a general pardon of faults committed. This means remission of venial sins, for the sacraments alone, with perfect contrition, possess the efficacy to remit mortal sins and to release from the penalties attached to them. St. Thomas is explicit on this point: "The episcopal blessing, the aspersion of holy water, every sacramental unction, prayer in a dedicated church, and the like, effect the remission of venial sins, implicitly or explicitly" (Summa III, Q. lxxxvii, a. 3, ad 1um). Finally the sacramentals may be employed to obtain temporal favours, since the Church herself blesses objects made use of in every-day life, e.g. the blessing of a house on which is called down the abundance of heavenly dew and the rich fruitfulness of the earth; so likewise in the benediction of the fields, in which God is asked to pour down His blessings on the harvests, so that the wants of the needy may be supplied by the fertile earth.
The blessing of the ashes is made up of four prayers said by a priest over them on Ash Wednesday:
I will post the blessing below, but first a few comments so as to not miss the importance of this blessing, and blessings are being asked of God for those using this sacramental:
1. That they may be for those humbly imploring God's Holy Name, accusing themselves of sin, for the remission of sins. (Note: any mortal sins must still be confessed)
2. For health of one's body.
3. For safety of one's soul.
4. For help in obtaining God's mercy, pardon of our sins, and for our eternal reward.
5. For filling those receiving these ashes with the spirit of compunction (helping our conscience to know and identify sin so as to avoid it.)
6. To grant those receiving these ashes what they justly prayed for, and very importantly, that God makes permanent what has been granted.
(Note: the prayer of the Church for the ashes is below, but I put the text with a comparison so Catholics can also see the gutted prayer used by Novus Ordo priests, to see the difference, and how much was left out. I will also say that this blessing presupposes a validly ordained priest saying it, as only priests can bless sacramentals, so be sure to go to a priest whose orders is not in doubt.)
Don't miss out on this powerful gift the Church is giving you!