Transcript

Why do we get objects blessed? Isn’t that a little superstitious?

Yes, we need to be careful not to fall into the one extreme of superstition, but we must also be on guard not to fall into the other extreme of forgetting that the supernatural is all around us and is actually more real than the physical world that we see and touch. We remember the story our Lord tells us of the person who cast out a demon, put his house back in order, and then eight demons returned. The devil and his demons are not so much to be cast out as crowded out and they are crowded out with the presence of God. Here on Earth, God is made most present through the seven sacraments, but He is also made present through sacramentals, sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church.

A blessing is a sacramental and invokes God’s power and care upon some person, place, thing, or undertaking. Blessings are not merely protections against the devil. They invite God to be with us as we make our pilgrimage through this world. God is a very active Father who wants to be involved in every area of His children’s lives. He wants to be with couples on their anniversaries, mothers before childbirth, children on their birthdays. He wants to be with us in our homes, at our places of employment, at the hospital with us when we are sick. He wants to be with us in our tools when we have a job to do, on the road in our vehicle. He enjoys sharing in our leisure. He wants to be with us when we undertake a project. He even wants to be with us through our pets as they too express goodness and all goodness comes from God. Blessings raise our eyes up to God and bring His loving presence down to us.