Validity of Catholic Blessings

[DeanJ]

Hello,

I used to be a Catholic, but now I consider myself Lutheran. I attend an LCMS church, and in Fall I will be taking an entrance class, learning about the Small Catechism, so that I may be confirmed and take part in the Sacrament of the Altar.

My question; I have a bunch of Catholic sacramentals, such as crosses, crucifix's and rosaries. I also have a container of Holy Water from a Catholic Church.

Many of my items I have were blessed by a Catholic priest. Should I observe these blessings bestowed upon these sacramentals? I know that it is rare for Lutherans to bless objects.

Another is in regards to the Holy Water. I guess I plan on disposing of it reverently, like pouring it into the ground. But are Lutherans supposed to recognize the blessings bestowed upon water if it is by a Catholic?

Lastly, I have a Franciscan cross. Are Franciscan crosses purely Catholic, or do Lutherans use them too? What should I do with it?

Thanks a lot,
Dean

 

[Tangible]

Great questions. As long as you do not believe that by using these blessed objects you are in any way meriting favor with God or contributing to your justification, I think the Lutheran position would be that if the use of these objects is beneficial to your personal practice of piety, that it would not be sinful to continue to use them.

For example, many Lutherans use EO icons as objects useful in personal piety. We do not believe that the use of these objects in any way merits favor with God or contributes to our justification, but we know that they can be of use to help us in our meditations on scripture and on what God has done for us in Christ for our justification apart from any works done by us under the law.

As for holy water, it occurs to me that a preserved portion of the water with which one is baptized would be a wonderful reminder of our baptism. Not that it would have any powers or abilities in and of itself, but in order to keep before our eyes a physical reminder of the fact that we are indeed baptized children of God and a reminder to live in our baptism by continually repenting from our sin and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ which justifies us and sanctifies us.

 

[Melethiel]

All of those objects are well and good if they are beneficial to your personal devotional practices. We just don't tend to think that a formal blessing "adds" anything, as it were.

 

[VDMA]

Crucifixes are perfectly fine. In fact, you'll find them in many (if not most) LCMS churches and altars. As for Rosaries, some people use 'em, usually the High Church Lutherans, but replace the Hail Mary with the Jesus prayer (Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner).

However, with the Catholic blessing, we don't believe that the priest instills any power, other than what he is given. We believe that the Real Presence is in the Eucharist because of Christ's promise, not the power of the Minister (though an ordained Pastor is required). Thus, Catholic blessings on an object have no grace or power imbued upon them, and have about as much significance as if you yourself were to bless it.

We don't believe in Holy Water. All water is Holy Water, I guess. You can read more on it in the Holy Baptism section of Luther's Large Catechism.

As for the Franciscan Cross . . . we don't really have any ideology for or against it.

Hope this helps.