I have just read **Oct 15,2022 at 3:36** and it reminded me of oil I asked a priest to bless. He read the rite word for word except that he did not sprinkle it with holy water. Is it still as efficacious? Thank you. God bless!

St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of *Opus Dei*, once said "God in his providence has two ways of blessing marriages: one by giving them children; and the other, sometimes, because he loves them so much, by not giving them children. I don’t know which is the better blessing." One [web article](https://surprisedbymarriage.com/2020/09/08/to-the-small-catholic-families-god-loves-you-too/) quotes this. I also read somewhere that Scott Hahn was quoting St. Josemaria Escriva saying this in his book on his journey with *Opus Dei*, which I put on hold at my local library, but don't have in my hands yet. I am trying to track down the origin of this quote. Was it something the Saint wrote and published? Was it part of a speech or homily? Was it something he just said off the cuff that someone happened to write down? If no one here knows, I will answer the question once I get Hahn's book in my hands and can track the source down.

The concept can be found in several Christian sources: - [GOD’S PROMISES AREN’T AUTOMATED, THEY’RE ACTIVATED](https://www.redeemercoast.church/blog/2021/1/22/gods-promises-arent-automated-theyre-activated) - [3 Keys to Activating God’s Promises in Your Life](https://faithisland.org/bible/3-keys-to-activating-gods-promises-in-your-life/) - [Activating the Promises of God: Unlock the Power of the Bible & Empower Your Life](https://www.amazon.com/Activating-Promises-God-Unlock-Empower-ebook/dp/B0CR31XPYS/) - *"Perhaps they did not believe that such a simple action could **trigger the promised healing**. Or perhaps they willfully hardened their hearts and rejected the counsel of God’s prophet."* *"The principle of **activating** blessings that flow from God is eternal.* [...] *In fact, it can be seen in heaven because small acts of faith are required to **ignite God’s promises**."* *"I invite you to faithfully **activate heavenly power to receive specific blessings from God**. Exercise the faith to strike the match and light the fire. Supply the needed oxygen while you patiently wait on the Lord. With these invitations, I pray that the Holy Ghost will guide and direct you so that you, like the faithful person described in Proverbs, will “abound with blessings.” I testify that your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, live, are concerned with your welfare, and delight to bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."* (source: [Abound with Blessings](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/41renlund?lang=eng)) For those who teach the idea of "activating" God's promises, what Biblical support do they see for this, and what conditions and nuances are delineated concerning the promises that can be "activated," "triggered," or "ignited"? In exploring this concept, I seek to understand the scriptural teachings regarding the dynamic relationship between faith and the realization of divine promises. What specific conditions or principles does the Bible outline for believers who seek to actively engage their faith to unlock, set in motion, or bring to fruition the promises bestowed by God?

In the Rituale Romanum of the Catholic Church one can find a blessing for wine which is reserved for the Feast of St. John the Apostle (December 27). Why does the Catholic Church associate this tradition with St John? Occasionally artists show a snake or a dragon coming out of a chalice with St. John the Apostle. El Greco: St. John the Evangelist, 1595-1604

If I'm a Protestant, and ask a Catholic priest to come bless my home, does the Catholic Church allow him to?

According to the 1980 edition of *Modern Catholic Dictionary* by S.D. John A. Hardon, S.J., a *relic* is defined as follows: > An object connected with a saint, e.g., part of the body or clothing or something the person had used or touched. Authentic relics are venerated with the Church's warm approbation. They may not be bought or sold. Those of a martyr are placed in the altar stone at the consecration of an altar. Relics are of three classes: the first is part of the saint's body and is the type placed in the altar stone; the second is part of the clothing or anything used during the saint's life; and the third is any other object, such as a piece of cloth, that has been touched to a first-class relic. I purchased the aforementioned dictionary from a second-hand book seller by mail and it arrived yesterday. I marvelled at the very good condition that the book was in for its age, except for a signed note that was handwritten on the first blank page. When I later took a look at the note, I saw that it had been written and signed by "John A. Hardon, S.J." His cause for Sainthood has already been opened; and so, Fr. Hardon is officially recognized by that Catholic Church as a *Servant of God.* **Question**: Though S.D. John A. Hardon has not been declared a Saint yet by the Church, and though the book which contains his signed handwritten note was purchased by me (not expecting such a note), may this book still be considered to be a *relic* of his? If so, should I have it blessed by a Catholic priest?

This is a bit of a weird one. **Is it possible for a priest to bless data/a computer program?** I ask because I'm considering writing a simple app for use by the faithful, and I like the idea of the app itself being blessed. It becomes even weirder when you think about downloads; **are the copies blessed?** I'd be especially interested if anyone can provide a Thomistic framework for this. Either way, this seems a like a fun intellectual exercise, and I'm curious what people think. Thanks!

Just listened to Feb 2nd, 2023 episode of Pint With Aquinas. Fr. Vincent Lampert says that a voodoo doll or similar items should be blessed before being destroyed. Is it possible to bless something evil? Guessing this is something only a priest should do, but is it only an priest trained in exorcism. And why would something need to be blessed rather than just destroyed. Should these things be destroyed if it's easier to just throw it away, because it seems like sometimes a proper blessing/destruction would take longer and increase the likelihood of demonic infestation?

>The Lord will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow (Deuteronomy 28:12 RSV). >For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. (Deuteronomy 15:6) My question is specifically for the part of both scriptures where it says that the Israelites will lend to many nations but will not borrow. My question is when did Israel have all of this wealth and resources to be able to lend to other nations? I know that major blessings came to Israel during the days of Solomon but I can't find a particular scripture that outlines Solomon or some other king of Israel having nations borrowing money from them or lending to the nations.

Listening to Trending with Timmerie podcast on Christmas traditions, the guest was talking about "Drinking the Love of St. John" which seems like a pretty fantastic idea. But it seems like it a particular blessing might be more appropriate especially for a priest who has never heard of the tradition. So is there a particular blessing I can give to a priest to use for a blessing on St. John's feast day or do we just rely on priests to come up with it?

A priest I requested kindly to bless salt and oil did not use the prescribed prayer but used his own. Is the blessing valid? The prayer for exorcising the salt and blessing the oil was available. However, the vision of the elderly priest was poor and he could not read the prayer to bless/exorcise the salt and bless the oil. The priest then said that his own prayer is still valid and efficacious to bless the salt and oil. **Is his blessing on the salt and oil as valid or efficacious as the prescribed prayers for these items?**

**Unique Catholic Blessings of local Churches?** Just as I asked this question concerning Catholic feasts of local Churches, I would like to know if some readers here know of any local blessings attached to a local church, diocese or region which have been approved by the Catholic Church? I am interested in more historical blessings, even if they are no longer in vogue or usage.

Malachi 3:6-12 (ESV): > 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 **You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me**, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. **And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need**. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. Many Christians believe that the curse for not tithing and the blessings for tithing mentioned in Malachi 3:6-12 apply to the New Testament Church as well. In other words, they believe that Malachi 3:6-12 teaches spiritual laws (curses/blessings) whose scope encompasses both Testaments, not just the first. In their view, Christians who do not tithe would be under a curse, and those who do tithe would be able to enjoy the promised blessings. What is the **biblical basis** for the belief that curses and blessings regarding tithing in the Old Testament still apply to the New Testament Church? _____ Optional follow-up: A natural extension of this question would be to ask the same thing about every promised curse and blessing found in the Old Testament. Which Old Testament blessings/curses still find application today? As an example, Ephesians 6:1-3 comes to mind *"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (**this is the first commandment with a promise**), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”*, which is a clear New Testament validation of a blessing promised in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:12). Should we see this as evidence that *all* promised curses/blessings in the Old Testament still apply? Or should we be more cautious and approach this on a case-by-case basis?

Please help me with scriptural support for the following: > “Be careful not to measure your holiness "salvation" by other people's > sins.” - Martin Luther In the same way, if we measure God's love by worldly things and not by Heavenly blessings, we are deceiving ourselves because we have already received the Gospel but Heaven is yet to come Salvation and God's love is not correlated to fame, wealth, popularity or any other measure that the world uses to measure success. Remember that our spirits are not of this world, and so spiritual success will not look like worldly success. > “Why would we want fame, when God promises us glory? > Why would we be > seeking the wealth of the world when the wealth of heaven is ours? > Why would we run for a crown that will perish with time, when we're > called to win a crown that is imperishable?" > -Paul Washer

I was thinking about [this question](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/86541/holy-water-container-is-dirty) about holy water container cleaning. And I'm talking specifically in reference to anything between the ubiquitous holy water bottles you can get at the back of church that are sold at Autom in packs of 100 down to a 100 year old bottle you inherited from your great grandma caked with calcium. Are these sacramentals? Are they "converted" into sacramentals when they begin to contain holy water? Do they need to be blessed? Can they be sold (empty)?

Is there any confirmed historical evidence as to the origins to support the tradition that the Blessing of Herbs and Fruit is associated with the Feast of the Assumption?

The following appeared on my facebook feed today: >The "what random things do we have short formulated prayers for" game is almost as funny as the "how many bizarre things do we have patron saints of" game. >I seriously just found a blessing for bacon. Specifically for bacon. >"Bless, O Lord, this bacon, that it may be a meritious food for Thy children, and grant that through the invocation of Thy holy name all those who eat of it may obtain prosperity, health, and preservation of their souls, through Christ our Lord. Amen. " I realize that for Baptists, this is totally acceptable. We can pray about anything, and since potluck is a sacrament, and if you take out the "preservation of their souls," probably has been done. We can pray about anything. And, we wing it a lot. For Catholics, however, I assume there is a little more rigour around making a prayer "official." So, several questions came to mind in regards to this question, all centered around the legitimacy of this claim and authentication thereof. 1. Is this actually a thing, or is someone pulling my leg? (Note: [this](https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=371) link appears to substantiate it) 2. How would I find out? 3. Who within the heirarchy has the ability to declare an official "blessing for bacon?"

Is it appropriate to ask priests to bless things like oil, salt and water that you bring to them for a blessing? I was reading [this answer](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/78215/4) and was wondering if it made sense for a layperson to bring things like salt and oil for a blessing. Would a priest be responsible for making sure that the thing they're blessing really _is_ salt, oil and water?

### Background ### My friend is influenced by what I think is a prosperity-gospel leaning church, although I don't see heretical excesses like "positive confession", "name-it claim-it", etc and I cannot really pinpoint what's wrong with the teachings, only that it's not common in mainstream churches. They believe in the usual creeds and nothing they teach seem to contradict them. The church teaches that since Christians have been grafted into the olive tree ([Romans 11:16-17](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+11%3A16-17&version=DRA;NRSVCE;NLT)) we can expect God to give us the same blessings that He promised to Abraham and his righteous descendants ([Gal 3:8-9](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal+3%3A8-9&version=DRA;NRSVCE;NLT)) . These blessings are **in addition** to the standard ones all mainstream churches teach: - The gift of salvation from our sins - The fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) - Joyful fellowship with Jesus and other believers - The hope of eternal life by virtue of being adopted children of God through faith in Jesus. ### My question ### What is the Catholic Church position on asking God explicitly to give us the Abrahamic blessings (or "claiming our right / inheritance") in this current life **before we die**, beyond the 4 "standard gifts" above? I phrase the question very carefully to tease out a clear doctrinal statement about **covenant transition** considering (if I'm right) that the New Covenant is a fulfillment of all previous covenants: Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic. That Jesus's work on the cross is part of the fulfillment is very clear already, but the New Testament doesn't really talk about how the OT *blessings* are transitioned over to the New covenant. So it is left for the Church to define the *nature* of this fulfillment. Shouldn't the New Covenant include all the blessings of the old covenant(s) since they are God's promises in the first place? Where is it stated that we cannot expect earthly blessings to come **prior** to the new heaven and earth, considering we are in the ["already, but not yet" era](https://www.americamagazine.org/content/the-word/already-and-not-yet) ? If we are *already* enjoying the effects of the forgiveness of sins now, *already* enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit with us, etc., why is it that the OT earthly blessings are not included in the *already* phase? Quotations from St. Augustine or St. Thomas Aquinas are preferred, as well as a Pope's encyclicals / council documents. The more the answer is tailored to respond to the church's claim described below the better. I want to **exclude** the following cases, where some Christians **are called by God to relinquish** earthly blessings voluntarily (for God doesn't override our free will): - martyrs (Jesus said those who suffer because of Him will be rewarded in heaven) - nuns & monks (they pursue beatific vision on earth, greater than earthly blessings) - priests, consecrated men and women - persecuted prophets / evangelists like John the Baptist or St. Paul (their "career path" requires relinquishing earthly blessings, and God provided for them) - heroes who give up their lives for others like Jesus (their reward is greater in heaven) - etc. But **for the rest of us** **called to lead "normal" lives** in the marketplace, raising family with kids, etc. PROVIDED we conduct our lives righteously (like how Moses exhorted the 2nd generation in Deuteronomy), why shouldn't we expect God's material blessings to come "in advance", especially if the OT is replete with those promises? For example, when we read [Ps 92](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps+92&version=NRSVCE;NLT) , why couldn't we expect God's promise in vv. 10-15 to come within our lifetime? ### Typical Reformed position ### I myself grew up in a Reformed church, and I rarely heard a sermon encouraging the members to seek Abrahamic blessings on earth, more of anticipating our "promised land" to be the new heaven and earth after we die. [This article](https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/abrahamic-blessing/) pretty much sums up what I heard when I grew up: > Deliverance from the penalty and the power of our sins is but the first of the Abrahamic blessings we enjoy if we trust in Jesus. For we too will be inheritors of a good land that includes not only Canaan but a “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). Notice how the article above conveniently leaves out the applicability of Abrahamic blessings on earth. An 1981 sermon by renown Reformed pastor John Piper titled [The Covenant of Abraham](https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-covenant-of-abraham) is more explicit but stops short in giving the green light for us to claim all the blessings mentioned in the OT books. Those 2 articles show clearly that Gentiles Christians are "legally" entitled to enjoy Abrahamic blessings, and I assume the Catholic church would not be too different. But because they don't encourage the adherents to pursue those blessings, it makes sense that my friend's church characterizes most mainstream church pastors as "hens" (see analogy below). ### Details of my friend's church's position ### *What are the basis to expect the blessings on this earth?* Since in the OT the Israelites (and even the Jews today!) expect the blessings to be experienced during someone's lifetime (they point to how God blessed Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Ruth, Hannah, David, Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, etc.) as long as we keep our faith like Abraham and keep obeying Jesus's commandments, we too, can expect those blessings to come on this earth, along with the full blessings we can only expect in the new heaven and earth. *What are those blessings*? Quoting from Genesis, Deuteronomy, Psalm related to God's covenant with Abraham and about God's promise of blessings in the promised land, the blessings include: health, long life, wealth, fertility, security, honour, influence, leadership, victory over enemies, God's vengeance/curse on enemies, etc. *How do we obtain the blessings*? They teach their members not to be passive, as though saying "If God gives the blessings that's good, but if not, it's OK, since we'll go to heaven eventually", but that we should be AGGRESSIVE and PERSISTENT in asking God for the blessings like Jacob [Gen 32:26](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+32%3A24-28&version=DRA;NRSVCE;NLT) , Unjust judge parable [Luke 18:1-8](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+18%3A1-8&version=DRA;NRSVCE;NLT) , Faith of the Gentile Woman [Matt 15:21-28](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+15%3A21-28&version=DRA;NRSVCE;NLT) , and other persistent persons asking Jesus for healing. Jesus seemed to praise those persons's persistence even if they violated etiquette (lowering paralytic from the roof) or even purity laws (like the bleeding woman healing). *How does this church differentiates itself from other churches?* This church uses this ***analogy*** to compare them with other churches which neglect teaching their members to claim those Abrahamic blessings aggressively. My paraphrase: > An eagle egg fell off the nest and was found by a hen which then included the egg with her other chicken eggs. A little while later they all hatched and the hen raised them until they were ready to to fly. But when the baby eagle wanted to fly higher than the chicks she told the baby eagle that he had done enough and to follow what his siblings do. One day, the baby eagle saw a mighty eagle flew majestically in the sky, and he asked his "mommy" hen to teach him to fly like that eagle. But she replied: "**you're a chicken and chickens cannot fly like that**". The baby eagle remained unsatisfied, and one day he tried spreading his wings further and *voila!* he could fly higher than what his "mommy" told him to expect! From then on, he tried to fly higher and higher until he realized that his true mommy was an eagle. So he left the chickens to join the eagles. The church said **other** church's pastors are like the hen, which neglected to teach the members to aspire to be eagles.

> Psalm 103:1-2 (KJV) > Bless the Lord, O my soul: > and all that is within me, bless his holy name. > Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits What does it mean to say "Bless the Lord"?. It is more logical that the superior one should bless the inferior one. We are sinners and the LORD is far more superior than us. We should be asking blessings from Him. But what does it mean when we bless the Lord? There are many songs using this phrase like this beautiful song. We are sinners and how can we bless the Lord? What is the exact use of this sentence? If I am simply telling my soul to bless the Lord then I think it's reasonable. But can it be used while praying and say "Lord, I bless you"? I feel uncomfortable at this. Is this a translation issue? What is the meaning of this phrase and what is its usage?