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St. Ann
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| Posted: Jan 11 2013 at 1:29am | IP Logged
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We had the honor of receiving a young Priest in our home a couple of nights ago for an evening meal and talk. The Pastor of our parish asked him to get in touch with us, because our youngest dd is not taking part in the FHC prep of the Parish....
He knew us vaguely before the visit, but only from after Mass greetings, etc. Anyway, he arrived with a big plastic bag in his hand and handed it over to me saying that it is very special Holy Water, blessed from the old ritual on the Feast of the Epiphany. I understood him that an exorcism is part of the ritual?? Also, he handed me a "normal" box of salt, but normal is it not!!! It is blessed!!
I have never had Blessed Salt before, but have heard of it. The Priest told me that we can be very generous with the Holy Water and the Salt, he has more at home  . Sadly, he also asked us not to mention it to others(Priests) in the Parish, it would only make for trouble.
This Priest is a carpenter by trade and a very Marian centered and brave man. In our Parish he has little support.
So, tell me about Blessed Salt if anyone knows anything???
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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MaryM
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Sounds like a nice evening. How special that he brought you those sacramentals. I don't pretend to be very familiar with blessed salt. I did read this article by Rev. John H. Hampsch, C.M.F. on Steve Ray's blog years ago and found it very fascinating. I have never followed up to get blessed salt, but this is a nice reminder, rereading the article.
Blessed Salt
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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stefoodie
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We've had some blessed salt in the house the past few years from visits to different places that offered them, and then recently I found out from friends that we could take any salt, even the supermarket kind, and ask our priest to bless it, so I have. We have it in our emergency supplies, our emergency backpacks, and I have it in the house but don't use it often (just because I always forget!).
Thanks for the link, Mary! Very helpful!
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stef
mom to five
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St. Ann
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Thanks for your replies Mary and Stef. How do you use the Salt and on what occasions? Just your everyday cooking???
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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St. Ann
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Thanks for the link to the article ! It is very helpful.
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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KC in TX
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St. Ann wrote:
| Thanks for your replies Mary and Stef. How do you use the Salt and on what occasions? Just your everyday cooking??? |
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I use the salt mainly when baking but more often when baking for my family (siblings). Why? Because I'm doing all I can to bring them back to the church.
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And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
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Maggie
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A dear friend of ours who is a well known priest once counseled us to mix a little blessed salt in with our holy water. In seminary, he took a class on spiritual warfare, and they were told that while holy water is indeed efficacious, if it is mixed with a little blessed salt, it creates a residue that "sticks around" longer than a normal sprinkling of holy water. He was taught (and taught us) that it is literally painful for an evil spirit to cross a threshold that has been sprinkled with blessed salt and holy water.
We bless our home very frequently.
If my dh is traveling, I surround the perimeter of our home with blessed salt.
If there is a lot of trouble in our home (tempers, attitudes from children, etc), I will sprinkle some on food.
Just a normal sacramental. Interesting uses, though.
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Servant2theKing
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Maggie, thank you for sharing the counsel of your priest friend. When we were experiencing some unholy activity in our rural neighborhood dh and I sprinkled blessed salt around the entire perimeter of our land and along the roadside up and down our block, while praying the St. Michael prayer and the Chaplet of Protection. Not long afterward the problem situations were resolved, but I had always wondered whether it was appropriate to use the blessed salt in such a manner. Sounds like it was not only acceptable, but effective as well.
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Maggie
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| Posted: Jan 12 2013 at 2:04pm | IP Logged
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I think you made the right decision.
Sacramentals are a wonderful gift from God.
From Catholic Encyclopedia (1917)
Quote:
Salt
Salt, always used for the seasoning of food and for the preservation of things from corruption, had from very early days a sacred and religious character.
The Prophet Eliseus employed it to make palatable the waters of a well (2 Kings 2:19 sqq.). The Orientals used it to cleanse and harden the skin of a newborn child (Ezekiel 16:4); by strewing salt on a piece of land they dedicated it to the gods; in the Jewish Law it was prescribed for the sacrifices and the loaves of proposition (Leviticus 2:13). In Matthew 5:13, salt symbolizes wisdom, though perhaps originally it had an exorcistic signification.
Its use in the Church belongs exclusively to the Roman Rite. The Ritual knows two kinds of salt for liturgical purposes, the baptismal salt and the blessed salt.
The former, cleansed and sanctified by special exorcisms and prayers, is given to the catechumen before entering church for baptism. According to the fifth canon of the Third Council of Carthage it would seem that salt was administered to the catechumens several times a year. This use of salt is attested by St. Augustine (Confessions I.11) and by John the Deacon. St. Isidore of Seville speaks of it (De off., II, xxi), but in the Spanish Church it was not universal.
The other salt is exorcized and blessed in the preparation of holy water for the Asperges before high Mass on Sunday and for the use of the faithful in their homes. The present formula of blessing is taken from the Gregorian Sacramentary (P.L., LXXVIII, 231). Both baptismal salt and blessed salt may be used again without a new benediction.
The appendix of the Roman Ritual has a blessing of salt for the use of animals and another in honour of St. Hubert. The Roman Pontifical orders salt to be blessed and mixed in the water (mixed in turn with ashes and wine) for the consecration of a church. This is also from the Gregorian Sacramentary. Again salt (not specially blessed) may be used for purifying the fingers after sacred unctions. |
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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MaryM
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Considering all the great symbolism and scripture references to salt...I thought of salt and light paired imagery also (Matthew 5:13-16). There was a beautiful Martha Stewart candle centerpiece surrounded by salt (epsom) making the rounds on Pinterest around Christmas (it looked like it was in ice/snow - very pretty). Anyway, I thought it would be another possible use for blessed salt - to put it around a blessed candle(s), to light for prayer times - especially meals if used as a centerpiece. It would be a vivid image of salt and light.
from Martha Stewart
There are a variety of simple yet lovely, Mason jar and container candle options floating round, too.
from Inspired Room
And another lovely idea:
from Sewing Daisies
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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Oh lovely. I've used salt in a wine glass with votives for our Advent wreath (I can get the colored votives easier). Then I just use appropriate colored ribbon to tie greenery to each glass stem.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Blessed Salt
