Catholic sacramentals · Flowers and festive signs
Historical origin: Casia (Italy), bajomieval tradition.
What is and what is not
This object or practice belongs to the field of Catholic piety and must be understood from the general doctrine of the sacramentals. The sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church who, by their prayer, prepare to receive grace and sanctify the circumstances of life. They do not confer grace in the same way as the seven sacraments and do not act automatically. Matter, color, or form have no magic power.
History
The rose was linked to santa Rita by the traditional account of her last months: sick in the monastery of Casia, she would have asked a relative a rose from her old garden of Roccaporena in the middle of winter. The flower found against the season went on to express hope in the midst of pain. In time, on May 22, the custom of blessing roses in churches and Augustinian communities was consolidated. The rose itself does not prove a miracle or transmit a physical virtue; it remembers a reconciled, patient and given life.
Its development is inserted into a broader Christian history. From the first centuries, the faithful used the sign of the cross, blessings, water, oil, clothing, pilgrimage and images to keep alive the memory of Baptism and the communion of the saints. In the Middle Ages, the cofradies and reduced forms of religious habits grew; the Modern Age multiplied rituals, medals and sanctuary memories. The contemporary liturgical reform called for a review of these practices so that they lead to the liturgy, sprout from it and avoid superstitions.
Christian use and blessing
The blessed rose can take a sick person or stay at home as an invitation to pray, forgive and practice charity. It must never be sold as an amulet.
The blessing must be done with a rite approved and by the competent minister. The faithful responds to that prayer by living the Gospel: faith, hope, charity, participation in the Eucharist, confession when necessary and works of mercy. A sacramental does not replace a medical consultation, a prudent decision or moral duty.
doctrinal sources for deepening
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1667-1679
- Code of Canon Law, 1166-1172
- Directory on popular piety and liturgy
