St. Blaise

Yesterday we celebrated the feast day of St. Blaise, a bishop and martyr and a man who is most frequently remembered by Catholics because of the blessing of throats. To some this seems like a strange thing to do; bless the throat alone but, as Fr. Richard said in his homily, there is more to it than simply blessing the physical organ (although there is nothing small or insignificant with that in itself.) It has with it great spiritual implications. For instance we can benefit from this saint's intercession by considering what comes out of our throat; the things we say, the gossip we spread, the lies we tell, the nonsense we jabber about all of the time. It encourages us to pray for the gift of Prudence, to ask for the grace to know when to speak and when to keep silent and to speak of the things which are important, which we should not keep to ourselves, i.e. the Gospel. It is our duty, our vocation, as Christians to tell the Good News and this blessing and the prayers of this and all the saints are invaluable tools to us along the way.

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you free from every disease of the throat, and from every other disease. In the name of the Father and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. R. Amen.