Blessed Salt

Salt is used for seasoning and preserving food from spoiling. For millennia, it also had a sacred and religious character. Remigius of Auxerre, a Benedictine Monk, wrote, “In the Old Testament, no sacrifice was offered to God unless it was first sprinkled with salt, for none can present an acceptable sacrifice to God without the flavor of heavenly wisdom.” [see Lev 2:13]

Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” [Matt 5:13] Today, this is an expression of the highest compliment that can be paid to anyone. Salt symbolizes wisdom, but it is also connected with purity. For Christians to be the salt of the earth, they must be examples of purity in thought and in speech. They must be the antiseptic to a sinful world, just as salt prevents meat from becoming corrupted. As William Barclay stated: “Christianity is to life what salt is to food. In a worried world, Christians should be the only people who remain serene. In a depressed world, Christians should be the only people who remain full of the joy of life.”

Jesus also said, “Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.” [Mark 9:50] Barclay again offers his insight: “Have within yourselves the purifying influence of the Spirit of Christ. Be purified from selfishness and self-seeking, from bitterness and anger and grudge-bearing. Be cleansed from irritation and moodiness and self-centeredness, and then, and only then, you will be able to live in peace and fellowship with your neighbors.”

BLESSED SALT is a sacramental, a sacred sign instituted by the Church that grants a person the grace of the Holy Spirit. They prepare the faithful to receive graces which flow from the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ [CCC]. One of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose menacing operations can affect the physical activity of man. [New Advent]

Food should always be prepared with blessed salt.

Blessed salt may be added to water. The practice of putting salt into water comes from the prophet Elisha who used salt to purify the water of the well. [2 Kings 2:19-21]

Blessed salt may be sprinkled inside the house for protection against evil (thresholds of doors, window sills, etc.) or outside around the foundation of a building. NOTE: Blessed salt is not magical and must not be used superstitiously, but only with true faith in the power of God!

Exorcism of Salt (a blessing from the old Rituale Romanum)

Priest (or Deacon): Our help is in the name of the Lord.

R: Who made heaven and earth.

P: O salt, creature of God, I exorcise you by the living (+) God, by the true (+) God, by the holy (+) God, by the God who ordered you to be poured into the water by Elisha the prophet, so that its life giving powers might be restored. I exorcise you so that you may become a means of salvation for believers, that you may bring health of soul and body to all who make use of you, and that you may put to flight and drive away from the places where you are sprinkled; every apparition, villainy, turn of devilish deceit, and every unclean spirit; adjured by him who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire.

R: Amen.

P: Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, we humbly implore you, in your immeasurable kindness and love, to bless (+) this salt which you created and gave to the use of mankind, so that it may become a source of health for the minds and bodies of all who make use of it. May it rid whatever it touches or sprinkles of all uncleanness, and protect it from every assault of evil spirits. Through Christ our Lord.

R: Amen.