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If You Have Something Blessed By The Pope


IgnatiusofLoyola

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IgnatiusofLoyola

This issue came up yesterday when HCF was talking about her trip to Rome.

Since several posters are making rosaries to sell to pay their debts so they can enter the convent, I (kiddingly) suggested that they should give their rosaries to HCF to bring to Rome and have them blessed by the Pope at her audience with him. I'm sure people would pay more for a rosary blessed by the Pope?

But, then the question came up of whether a blessed object loses its "blessedness" if it is sold. If this is the case, a lot of people on the Internet are being fraudulent when they sell "blessed" objects. (Or, maybe not, since they only claim that the object is blessed now--they don't claim that its blessedness will continue.)

So, what's the story on rosaries and other things blessed by the Pope?

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My aunt purchased a Rosary, when she was in Rome, at the Vatican (I believe it was at the Vatican) blessed by Pope John Paul II.

Here is a site as well:

[url="http://www.vaticangiftstores.com/"]http://www.vaticangiftstores.com/[/url]

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IgnatiusofLoyola

[quote name='MIkolbe' date='12 May 2010 - 01:45 PM' timestamp='1273689922' post='2109505']
My aunt purchased a Rosary, when she was in Rome, at the Vatican (I believe it was at the Vatican) blessed by Pope John Paul II.

Here is a site as well:

[url="http://www.vaticangiftstores.com/"]http://www.vaticangiftstores.com/[/url]
[/quote]

So, do we infer from this that the Rosary kept its blessedness? Otherwise, we'd have to infer that the Vatican is perpetrating a massive fraud, and we don't want to do that. Or, does the Vatican gift store have a monopoly on blessed objects?

I can't believe there isn't a ruling on this handed down by some council or other in the middle ages.

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laetitia crucis

In one of the convents I've visited (which had a gift shop), one of the Sisters told me they couldn't sell items that were already blessed. Instead, those items are "sold" just by donations -- non-specifically-priced donations.


So... when making my own rosaries to sell, I don't have them blessed.

:idontknow:

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laetitia crucis

[quote name='MIkolbe' date='12 May 2010 - 02:45 PM' timestamp='1273689922' post='2109505']
My aunt purchased a Rosary, when she was in Rome, at the Vatican (I believe it was at the Vatican) blessed by Pope John Paul II.

Here is a site as well:

[url="http://www.vaticangiftstores.com/"]http://www.vaticangiftstores.com/[/url]
[/quote]

Hmmmmmm... after seeing this, then maybe it really is okay to sell blessed rosaries!

I'd totally rather sell blessed rosaries instead of unblessed -- this saves people the trouble of having to get them blessed themselves. :)

Edited by laetitia crucis
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IgnatiusofLoyola

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='12 May 2010 - 01:57 PM' timestamp='1273690679' post='2109509']
Hmmmmmm... after seeing this, then maybe it really is okay to sell blessed rosaries!

I'd totally rather sell blessed rosaries instead of unblessed -- this saves people the trouble of having to get them blessed themselves. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif[/img]
[/quote]

As I said to HCF last night, maybe one way around this would be to give them to people with a "suggested" donation.

BTW--HCF NEVER volunteered to bring any rosaries to Rome!!!!!! This was my "bright" idea. I have a feeling she has other things to carry in her suitcase besides rosaries. But then, maybe she can be bribed (or blackmailed--I don't know her well enough to know if she has a "past"--but I doubt it.)

Also, I looked at the Vatican Web site, and if you send mementoes to them, they will have them blessed for you for a fee. Cheaper than the airfare to Rome.

But, it still sounds like there is some controversy about this. For all we know, the Vatican is the only one allowed to sell blessed rosaries. They are their own country, so they could qualify the gift shop as a nonprofit that couldn't sell anything, only take donations.

Edited by IgnatiusofLoyola
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Winchester

I believe blessings are warranted only to the original owner, but with a good maintenance record, you can sometimes still benefit.

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Marie-Therese

An item, once blessed, cannot be sold, insofar as it would retain the blessing. However, an item can be purchased via a "donation" so that the item isn't being purchased, per se. You make a donation, and receive a blessed item (i.e. rosary) in return. I believe, in the case of the Vatican gift shop, that once you order an item, it is then taken to the Holy Father to be blessed. Hence, you have paid for the object and already own it, so he may bless it. You didn't purchase a "pre-blessed" item, so to speak. :)

The Church's position is that if you sell an item which has been blessed, the object loses its blessing and must be blessed again by the new purchaser's clergy. Blessings cannot be sold.

ETA: I looked at the Vatican Gift shop (www.vaticangift.com) and here is what they said:
[quote][i]On request our Rosaries and Religious Gifts may be Blessed after purchase
by His Holiness Benedict XVI during the General Audience.
[/i][/quote]

Edited by Marie-Therese
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Archaeology cat

[quote name='Marie-Therese' date='12 May 2010 - 08:21 PM' timestamp='1273692085' post='2109524']
An item, once blessed, cannot be sold, insofar as it would retain the blessing. However, an item can be purchased via a "donation" so that the item isn't being purchased, per se. You make a donation, and receive a blessed item (i.e. rosary) in return. I believe, in the case of the Vatican gift shop, that once you order an item, it is then taken to the Holy Father to be blessed. Hence, you have paid for the object and already own it, so he may bless it. You didn't purchase a "pre-blessed" item, so to speak. :)
[/quote]
That's what I thought. Been a long time since I've been to the Vatican, and I wasn't Catholic then, but I seem to remember there being a sign saying that if you wanted an item blessed, to let them know at the till, and then you'd pick it up again a day or two later. I think. Again, could be wrong.

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Piccoli Fiori JMJ

ETA: Nevermind, don't listen to me... Marie-Therese hit it on the nose...

You can sell the object, but never a blessing. That was the problem for Luther back in the day. I have given things that were blessed by others (including the Pope) to others. The blessing remains.

So, you can sell blessed items, but you must never charge for the actual blessing itself. Donations are usually what is asked for blessed items anyways.

Edited by FutureNunJMJ
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IgnatiusofLoyola

[quote name='Marie-Therese' date='12 May 2010 - 02:21 PM' timestamp='1273692085' post='2109524']
An item, once blessed, cannot be sold, insofar as it would retain the blessing. However, an item can be purchased via a "donation" so that the item isn't being purchased, per se. You make a donation, and receive a blessed item (i.e. rosary) in return. I believe, in the case of the Vatican gift shop, that once you order an item, it is then taken to the Holy Father to be blessed. Hence, you have paid for the object and already own it, so he may bless it. You didn't purchase a "pre-blessed" item, so to speak. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif[/img]

The Church's position is that if you sell an item which has been blessed, the object loses its blessing and must be blessed again by the new purchaser's clergy. Blessings cannot be sold.
[/quote]

Thanks for the clarification M-T. Sounds like my fundraising idea is a bust. But, since HCF never offered to bring the rosaries to Rome, it was a bust anyway, with or without the ruling.

L-C--Depending on your entrance date, maybe you have enough time to sell the rosaries at an extra cost (because they will be blessed, and to cover shipping costs to the Vatican, and because it is for a good cause), and then take all the rosaries you've sold and send them to Rome to be blessed. It wouldn't surprise me if this process took awhile though, so now you can't enter until February. Yay! (I'm such a bad person. I want you to enter and be happy, but we'll miss you SO much. Could you consider it a charitable act to put off your entrance date for the good of Phatmass? [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif[/img] )

Edited by IgnatiusofLoyola
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Vincent Vega

Sometimes people will sell things like blessed rosaries or whatever in a case or something, and say that it's the case you're paying for and that the rosary just comes with it.
The sale of blessings (and sacraments, positions in the hierarchy, etc.) is known as simony, for the record.

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laetitia crucis

[quote name='Marie-Therese' date='12 May 2010 - 03:21 PM' timestamp='1273692085' post='2109524']
An item, once blessed, cannot be sold, insofar as it would retain the blessing. However, an item can be purchased via a "donation" so that the item isn't being purchased, per se. You make a donation, and receive a blessed item (i.e. rosary) in return. I believe, in the case of the Vatican gift shop, that once you order an item, it is then taken to the Holy Father to be blessed. Hence, you have paid for the object and already own it, so he may bless it. You didn't purchase a "pre-blessed" item, so to speak. :)

The Church's position is that if you sell an item which has been blessed, the object loses its blessing and must be blessed again by the new purchaser's clergy. Blessings cannot be sold.

ETA: I looked at the Vatican Gift shop (www.vaticangift.com) and here is what they said:
[/quote]

Thank you for the clarification, MT! :yahoo:

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IgnatiusofLoyola

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' date='12 May 2010 - 02:36 PM' timestamp='1273692975' post='2109534']
Sometimes people will sell things like blessed rosaries or whatever in a case or something, and say that it's the case you're paying for and that the rosary just comes with it.
The sale of blessings (and sacraments, positions in the hierarchy, etc.) is known as simony, for the record.
[/quote]

<sigh> This is why I could never take up a life of crime--I'd make stupid mistakes like this. I guess my scheme of selling indulgences isn't going to work, either.

The truth is, I could never take up a life of crime because I have such a highly developed sense of guilt that you'd think I was born Catholic. One of my godparents was my Catholic aunt--a very pious convert. I don't remember her ever getting me away from my parents and having me secretly baptized Catholic---but you never know. I stayed at her house for two weeks when my sister was born. However, since I'd already been baptized Episcopalian, I don't think the secret Catholic baptism would have "taken" anyway, since the Catholics recognize baptisms in other faiths as valid.

Edited by IgnatiusofLoyola
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