Sacramentals — why ours is not a bare-bones religion (homily text)

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 6, 2011
Fr. Anthony Brankin
Gospel: Matt 5:13-16. You are the light of the world
MP3 audio

Complete text of homily: Today after all the Masses we have been blessing throats. Due to the snow and the scheduling, if we didn’t try today, then hardly anyone would have had their throats blessed—and that would have been another nail—even though a small one—in the body of Catholic traditions that have vanished in America since the 60’s.

What we will do—since there are only two priests is say the one prayer to St. Blasé Bishop and martyr over everyone— from the altar, and then ask everyone to come up and Father and I will touch everyone’s throats with the blessed candles and say a brief blessing.

Defending the faith is the charism of the Order of Mercy. The most important part of it is our willingness to give up our own selves for others – for those whose faith is in danger. Become a Mercedarian friar. Visit the website of the . Listen to the Mercedarian message.

Now you also remember that the very day of the storm was also the Feast of Candlemas—Candelaria where we bless the candles that we will use in Church as well as take home.

What an opportunity—this week—to speak of what we Catholics call sacramentals. Because all of these things are sacramentals—candles, vigil lights, throat blessings with candles—holy water, blessed salt, medals, scapulars, rosaries. Holy cards, statues, paintings, vigil lights. Processions, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Novenas, stations of the cross, Litanies. These are all sacramentals. Now they are different from a sacrament.

A Sacrament—like Baptism and Confirmation—as we remember from our catechism days—is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. In other words a sacrament is powerful in itself. It accomplishes what it signifies.

So the priest or the person says the words, and does the action and God works His wonders in the person’s soul—almost no matter what. That is why babies can be baptized without having a degree in theology—because God wants us to know that He can transform us when He wants to—and even sleeping or crying babies souls are transformed by the Power of God.

On the other hand, a sacramental is some thing that we wear or use or pray to remind us of God’s presence with us and in us. It is an actual prayer to God. But no more than a prayer.

The strength of a sacramental pretty much depends upon the strength of the prayer that a person is saying—while they use the sacramental.

Say for instance holy water. My aunt Mary, God rest her soul, every time there was a storm would take the holy water and walk through the house and sprinkle the Holy water. She would ask Our Lord and the Saints and her dear mother in heaven to protect that house from all harm.

She could have left the holy water sitting in the jar on a table in the kitchen, and just hoped for the best—thinking that well, she had holy water in the house—why do more? But she knew that somehow the efficacy—the strength of the Holy water came also from her actual prayerful sprinkling.

Yes that water—because it was blessed and somehow belonged to God, and God was somehow present to that water— was holy water. But she also needed to use it in a prayer that involved her walking and sprinkling and praying.

We Catholics pray in so many ways. We pray, of course using our minds and words and lips and tongue. But we also use our bodies—our hands and elbows and arms to make a cross over ourselves and remind us how we live under the cross.

Our knees are bent in genuflection to remind us how powerless we are before the All-powerful Sovereignty of God. And we use beautiful smelling incense to place us in His Sweet Presence. Even our marble walls and beautiful altar and architecture are sacramentals that help us pray.

You could actually say that the Mass is not only a sacrament where the Bread and Wine become the Body of Christ in His actual but Unbloody sacrifice, but also a sacramental where every ritual movement of the priest—every chant, every vestment—every sign of the cross, every genuflection—every reading—every psalm—and every minister— even the lowly altar server—is a sacramental whereby we are encouraged to pray and so surely reminded of how incredibly God come to us and helps us go to God.

Did you ever wonder why Catholic churches are always so beautiful? Did you ever wonder why the Catholic religion is the home of Michelangelo and Raphael and Da Vinci and Bernini? It is not because they were Italian and Italians are Catholic—as if a couple of talented guys were looking for a job, and some bishop or cardinal or pope said—“Well, what do you think you can do with that wall over there?”

No. It is because our Catholic Faith understands the use of art and beauty and God’s creation to help remind us of God. In a certain mystical sense we use God’s created material things as a sort of conduit for the grace of God.

The so-called “Christians” don’t believe in that. They say that Beauty is a distraction and a false God—or an idol. They do not use ceremonies or statues or beautiful music or beautiful architecture or paintings to give glory to God and remind us of Him—and help us worship.

They simply have a bare-bones praise god worship that consists of words—and only words. The bible, the sermon, the song—and only the Bible the sermon and the song. And this they do in a simple building that is no more sacred looking than a VFW hall.

They believe that anything more than this is forbidden by God. Now I am not trying to offend them. Of course there is a place for simplicity in our religious life—but more than plain is not wrong. It is not idolatry—but actually leads us to God by means of that which he created.

And really what we have is pretty simple. Especially our sacramentals.

What could be more homespun and basic and simple than the blessing of water where we mix salt into the water and say our prayers?

What could be more prayerful than using candles that are made of the wax that comes from bees? Think of it—Millions of bees in hundreds of thousands of hives on thousands of farms right now are producing the wax that will be used as candles in our churches to symbolize the light that comes from Christ.

There are still nomads in Saudi Arabia leading their camels and donkeys from tree to tree collecting sap that will become Frankincense—a smoky and fragrant accompaniment to our own prayers ascending to heaven.

Even our wooden statues and marble sanctuary make use of God’s forests and his stony mountains to bring us to Him. Now where did we get all this? Well, the teaching model for our use of sacramentals is the Incarnation of the Son of God. We reflect on the fact that God sent His Only Son to take on visible human flesh—so that as we see Jesus, we therefore see God. Therefore God’s creation—in the human nature of Jesus and in the rest of the material world—leads us—if we use our head and our hearts—back to the Creator.

It is that simple. It is that beautiful. And it is so Catholic.

So I encourage everyone to make use of sacramentals. Wear your scapulars and medals. Say your rosaries. When we have Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in Church—be here—and take that blessing home.

The walls in your homes need crucifixes, and pictures of Mary. Little statues on dressers and prayer plaques on walls. Let everyone at home know that God lives there too!

Be sure there are blessed candles and holy water in your homes. And light those candles and sprinkle that holy water. It is not good luck—it is good praying. And because you have prayed whether by words or by signs, God will answer your prayers—and God will be brought closer to you, and you will be brought closer to God.