I hope we've covered Divine Mercy Sunday to everyone's satisfaction as it is just around the corner. One reader wanted to know if one mortal sin meant a trip to hell. Yes, hence the term "mortal" sin.
Someone else asked if they have to go to Mass on Saturday evening instead of Sunday, can they still do the devotion and receive the plenary indulgence.
I don't know. My best guess its that you would get an indulgence, but not a plenary indulgence.
I think that about covers it. Now onto today's question!
What does a blessing add to rosary beads? A friend prayed the rosary using his fingers. I knew his prayers were still efficacious. But it made me wonder, why the blessing?
There's an easy answer and a complicated answer.
The easy answer is that when you say a rosary on a rosary that has been blessed, you gain an indulgence.
The complicated answer begs the question, "What is the deal with blessed objects?"
Good luck explaining blessed objects to the separated brethren. And we don't even believe in luck.
I'll make a sad attempt at explaining it anyhow. The first part is easy. Even the separated brethren can get on this bandwagon. When you receive a blessing, the Grace of God flows through the blessing. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking the separated brethren aren't on board with this concept. It's like an electric current from you to God.
Where everyone gets up on their high horse and stays there, is when we give power to blessed objects, which....we really don't.
But....
We kind of do.....
Bear with me here as a borrow an analogy I read in my travels. A blessed object (which will not, as a rule, include things like your dog's collar or your fishing rod) is like a light switch.
When you flip a light switch you actually don't turn on the light. The switch turns on the light by connecting with the wires in the wall, which are connected to a giant power grid. When you flip the switch you simply demonstrate your willingness to have the light on. You actually have no power whatsoever.
Looking at your blessed object, like a holy card, is a reminder of that which makes us holy. It's your willingness to make the connection that brings the power. You have no power. The blessing is the switch and wire in the walls to THE Giant Power Grid.
Not the best analogy, but it works for me. I'd like to give credit where credit is due, but I really don't remember where I ran across this.
I wouldn't suggest trying to explain any of this to the separated brethren. We've been trying to explain it until we are blue in the face. And we don't have a tall enough ladder for that horse.
2 comments:
Your analogy makes perfect sense to me, and I'm a "separated brethren". Please, don't quit trying to explain it to us. At least, not to those of us who are trying to understand.
Sister I love this analogy.
I've heard something similar used to explain the Sacraments to an RCIA class. I'll have to review my notes.
I was not IN the class. I was one of the instructors.
I notice that in the Church, intent. is really important. Like a sin becoming a mortal sin because you THINK it is mortal but willingly commit it. Or the idea of double effect.
Thanks for the great blog
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