He informed us of the “real” meaning of the blessing of the throats. I have to paraphrase what he said, but I can come pretty close. He said that the mature understanding of the ritual was to remind us of the sins we can commit with our throats and vocal cords, of the lies and slanders and cruel comments about our fellow men and women that we should avoid over the rest of the year.
Then we approached the altar. Where I heard the actual words of the blessing as the candles were placed on my throat: “Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like a warning about slander to me. It sounds like what we have been told is the purpose of the blessing of the throat since we were children. It is a prayer of petition, asking God’s intercession to deliver us from aliments of the throat.
I don’t know the priest in question personally. I see no reason not to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps his goal was to ensure that the congregation did not think of the blessing of the throats as some kind of lucky charm. Obviously, not everyone who gets his or her throat blessed will be guaranteed a winter without sore throats. There are some who display an immature understanding of prayers of petition. Pat Robertson was roundly criticized when he appeared on his television program a few years ago with eyes closed, asking God to divert a hurricane that was bearing down on the coast of Virginia where his headquarters is located. One commentator wondered what Robertson expected God to do — hit the residents of New Jersey with the storm instead?
I haven’t seen a college basketball player make the sign of the cross at the foul-line in a long time, but I can remember hearing jokes about whether the player thought God was rooting for Notre Dame over St. John’s. You can hear similar comments nowadays about the prayers that make the rounds on the Internet, those that guarantee your wish will be granted in ten days if you forward the prayer to everyone on your e-mail list.
I guess there is an element if immaturity in these forms of prayer, maybe even a strand of presumption, a perception of prayer as a tool we can employ to get God to do our bidding. It is a good thing to be reminded that God does not work that way. But it is also possible to go overboard in the other direction. I couldn’t help but wonder if the priest who seemed apologetic about the blessing of the throats on St. Blaise’s day did that.
Come on: The blessing of the throats is a blessing of the throats. It is a prayer to do what it says, “deliver us from ailments of the throat.” It is not a prayer guaranteeing that everyone who receives the blessing will go through the winter without a sore throat. But it is not a ritual to remind us of the evils of gossip. Not unless the Church has been in error in this matter for hundreds of years. And if that is the case, who made that decision?
What should the priest have said? He could have reminded the congregation that God does not always answer our prayers in the way we expect. He could have stated the obvious: that everyone in the congregation has had prayers that appear to have been unanswered, prayers for the health of relatives, for example.
But that does not mean that prayers of petition are worthless, or that God does not hear them. Jesus directed us to ask of the Father in His name. The Church has always called upon us to pray for God’s blessing upon ourselves and our loved ones. As a matter of fact, within minutes after the priest made light of the blessing of the throats, he returned to the altar and offered prayers for the pope, the local bishop, and for our government leaders to work for social justice. How does the logic go? That we can pray for the archbishop’s health, but not our own?
I would go so far as to defend Pat Robertson’s prayer to divert the hurricane. What was wrong with what Robertson did? I am sure Robertson, if asked, would have conceded that his prayer might make no difference in the projected path of the hurricane. But what was improper about praying that it would go out to sea and spare the people along the Virginia coast? We cannot coerce God into doing our will by reciting the words of a prayer. But we are free to ask for His mercy. Jesus instructed us to do just that.
I’ll go further. What is wrong with an athlete offering a prayer as he steps to the plate or the foul-line, or with pointing to the heavens in gratitude after performing well, as many Latin-American baseball players do these days? Maybe some of these athletes are using the prayers immaturely, as a talisman or magical incantation of sorts. Maybe. I can’t read their minds. But if they are asking God to assist them in using the talents He has given them to the best of their ability, they are to be commended. That is an appropriate prayer of petiton.
As would be a prayer to be spared a serious ailment of the throat as the candles are placed on your throat on St. Blaise’s Day. There is no reason to be embarrassed by these ancient traditions of the Church, not unless you are looking to curry favor with those who harbor a disdain for those traditions.
James Fitzpatrick's new novel, The Dead Sea Conspiracy: Teilhard de Chardin and the New American Church, is available from our online store. You can email Mr. Fitzpatrick at fitzpatrijames@sbcglobal.net.
(This article originally appeared in The Wanderer and is reprinted with permission. To subscribe call 651-224-5733.)
