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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Blessed Salt	Sally	Sunday, July 8, 2007
Question: Dear Bro. Ignatius Mary, Please know that you are in my prayers. I use Holy Water and Blessed Salt to bless my home and my friends' homes. Does salt need a special blessing in order to be used as "Blessed Salt" or is just the regular blessing a priest gives any sacramental object good enough? Some priests I have asked to bless salt for me do not seem happy to do it. Would there be a reason for this? Any suggestions on how I should approach them in the future? Thank you for your help and God love you.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Sally: Holy Salt blessed in the usual way will suffice. The traditional Blessing of Salt is: God's creature, salt, I cast out the demon from you by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by God who ordered you to be thrown into the water-spring by Eliseus to heal it of its barrenness. May you be a purified salt, a means of health for those who believe, a medicine for body and soul for all who make use of you. May all evil fancies of the foul fiend, his malice and cunning, be driven afar from the place where you are sprinkled. And let every unclean spirit be repulsed by Him who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire. All: Amen. Let us pray. Almighty everlasting God, we humbly appeal to your mercy and goodness to graciously bless + this creature, salt, which you have given for mankind's use. May all who use it find in it a remedy for body and mind. And may everything that it touches or sprinkles be freed from uncleanness and any influence of the evil spirit; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. Very few priests still use this traditional formula, but the usual formula used today blesses the salt and that is what counts. As for priest not willing or reluctant to bless salt, or anything else for that matter, this is a product of modernism that has contaminated the thinking of many priests. The reason they are reluctant, and a few even refused to bless salt, is that they consider it a "throw-back" to pre-Vatican II era and consider it superstitious. This is not the view of the Holy See, but that does not seem to deter the arrogant priests who think they know better than the Holy See. The Holy See encourages frequent use of sacramentals, especially Holy Water. Your practice of blessing houses with holy water and salt is a good one. God bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Blessed Salt

Sally

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Question:

Dear Bro. Ignatius Mary,

Please know that you are in my prayers.

I use Holy Water and Blessed Salt to bless my home and my friends' homes. Does salt need a special blessing in order to be used as "Blessed Salt" or is just the regular blessing a priest gives any sacramental object good enough?

Some priests I have asked to bless salt for me do not seem happy to do it. Would there be a reason for this? Any suggestions on how I should approach them in the future?

Thank you for your help and God love you.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Sally:

Holy Salt blessed in the usual way will suffice.

The traditional Blessing of Salt is:

God's creature, salt, I cast out the demon from you by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by God who ordered you to be thrown into the water-spring by Eliseus to heal it of its barrenness. May you be a purified salt, a means of health for those who believe, a medicine for body and soul for all who make use of you. May all evil fancies of the foul fiend, his malice and cunning, be driven afar from the place where you are sprinkled. And let every unclean spirit be repulsed by Him who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire.
All: Amen.
Let us pray.
Almighty everlasting God, we humbly appeal to your mercy and goodness to graciously bless + this creature, salt, which you have given for mankind's use. May all who use it find in it a remedy for body and mind. And may everything that it touches or sprinkles be freed from uncleanness and any influence of the evil spirit; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Very few priests still use this traditional formula, but the usual formula used today blesses the salt and that is what counts.

As for priest not willing or reluctant to bless salt, or anything else for that matter, this is a product of modernism that has contaminated the thinking of many priests. The reason they are reluctant, and a few even refused to bless salt, is that they consider it a "throw-back" to pre-Vatican II era and consider it superstitious. This is not the view of the Holy See, but that does not seem to deter the arrogant priests who think they know better than the Holy See.

The Holy See encourages frequent use of sacramentals, especially Holy Water. Your practice of blessing houses with holy water and salt is a good one.

God bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.