A Blessing

At first glance, it appeared to be a basket full of long coloured candles tied with pretty gold or silver ribbon and gift tagged. A closer look revealed the words: “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God keep you free from all harm to your throat and from all other harm besides. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The candles were tied in pairs so that they opened to form a cross. Tomorrow, February 3, will see the annual blessing of throats as the Church commemorates the feast of St. Blaise.

We take so many of our customs for granted; we even overlook them in our hurry to get on with the day and its more pressing timetable. And then, we are jogged into awareness of the saint’s feast-day by the announcement in Church. This season of itchy throats, coughs and hoarseness carries its own reminder that perhaps the pills and potions need a helping hand! But who is St. Blaise and what is his association with throats? How did this custom come about? According to Church history, St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia, in the Fourth Century and legend has it that he cured a boy who was about to die because of a fishbone stuck in his throat. From the Eighth Century onwards he was invoked on behalf of the sick, especially those afflicted with illnesses of the throat. And the custom has been carried through, unbroken, to current times, eighteen centuries later.

For most of us, the church year has two seasons and two major feasts: Lent and Advent, Easter and Christmas. But a closer look at the liturgical calendar reveals a richness of minor feasts – saints’ days, Our Lady’s days and days commemorating important events and topics. In February alone, we have the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11), Holy Childhood (February 12) and Bible Sunday (February 19). No, I haven’t turned religious all of a sudden; I just have the lovely, informative calendar from the Catholic Communication Centre and it hangs handily beside my computer!