Is there any sort of exorcism prayer before meals?

Started by Daniel, November 02, 2020, 01:14:08 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Daniel

I never pray the blessing before meals, because I don't want the food to end up blessed. (Because if the food ends up blessed, there's no way to avoid sacrilege.) But I do realize that unblessed food could potentially be cursed or infested by demons.

I was wondering if there are any formal prayers by which we ask God to break any curses and drive out any demons, without asking Him to place a blessing upon the food?

Prayerful

'Bless us O God for these thy gifts of thy bounty we are about to receive, through Christ our Lord, Amen', and variants is not blessing food so much as asking God to bless us.
Padre Pio: Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.

mikemac

"Bless us Our Lord and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty through Christ Our Lord. Amen"

It's asking God to bless both us and the food.
Like John Vennari (RIP) said "Why not just do it?  What would it hurt?"
Consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (PETITION)
https://lifepetitions.com/petition/consecrate-russia-to-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-petition

"We would be mistaken to think that Fatima's prophetic mission is complete." Benedict XVI May 13, 2010

"Tell people that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to Her." Saint Jacinta Marto

The real nature of hope is "despair, overcome."
Source

Non Nobis

Daniel, where on earth did you hear or get the idea that blessing food before a meal would probably result in sacrilege???

Maybe that was rude; I don't know your experience living with other Catholics or how you could not have heard or understood the common Catholic prayer.  Here it is again with the Latin:

Prayer Before Meals / Benedic, Domine

Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, amen.

Latin Version: Benedic, Domine
Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Blessing food isn't like a priest consecrating a host, where extremely special care is needed to avoid sacrilege because Christ Himself becomes present.

Writing this post reminded me that I had a small jar of blessed salt in my purse that my priest had blessed a few weeks ago, but I had forgotten.  I can sprinkle it on food or sprinkle it around like I would holy water.   (A relative sprinkled some around the ungodly buildings in Washington D.C.!)
[Matthew 8:26]  And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm.

[Job  38:1-5]  Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said: [2] Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words? [3] Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me. [4] Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding. [5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee! Save souls!

Daniel

It seems like it would inevitably result in sacrilege because of the nature of food, and because of the way that blessed items should not be thrown away in the garbage but instead must be burned by fire, dissolved in holy water, and/or buried in the ground.

1.) When we eat food, we usually inadvertently drop some crumbs onto the floor. Or we might spill something, completely on accident. This happens even when we're careful, but, usually, we're not very careful, because it's only a meal, nothing to get too worked up about. And, after all, we have brooms and vacuums for when we make a mess. Yet if we sweep or vacuum food that has been blessed (or even so much as if we handle the blessed food in a careless manner), we commit a sacrilege.

2.) Even if we make no crumbs, there are probably crumbs and/or food residue on the plate when we're done eating. And we don't go licking and/or incinerating the plate to be sure that nothing's left on it. Rather, we just put the plate by the sink to be washed (or throw it away if it's a disposable plate). But if we do this with remnants of blessed food still on the plate, we commit a sacrilege.

3.) Also, many times it's not just crumbs and residue, but it's entire pieces of uneaten food being thrown away. Or, like, we're at a restaurant and we're done eating and there's still like half the meal uneaten. Either the waiter takes it back to to the kitchen throws it away (in which case, if the food has been blessed, then we commit a sacrilege), or else we ask for a box and we take it home. So suppose we take it home, and we put it into the refrigerator, but, for whatever reason we never end up eating it, and it goes bad, and we have to throw it away: if the food has been blessed, we commit a sacrilege. (Plus, it might also be sinful to attempt to non-conditionally re-bless food that has already been blessed. Like suppose we're eating leftovers, and, without thinking, we bless the food even though we had already blessed it the previous night. We're probably then committing a sacrilege or at least some sort of a sin.)

Because of all these things, it makes no sense to ask God to bless food. I don't know why there's a Church-approved prayer for it, and I don't know why Catholics in general do it, but it leads to sacrilege. (I used to do it too, before giving it much reflection.)

Yet it makes perfect sense to ask God to bless us, and to ask Him to exorcise the food. I suppose it even makes sense to ask God to bless only the food that will be eaten. I'm just not comfortable asking for a blessing upon the food which is more than likely going to end up on the floor or in the trash can.


On second thought, I'm wondering whether the answer could be in this word sumpturi? I don't know enough Latin to know for sure, but it looks like the English translation of the prayer might be a little off. If the prayer is only asking God to bless the food that will end up eaten, I suppose it's fine. (But that's not the way I've been reading the English.)

mikemac

#5
Blessing food that we are about to eat is not meant to turn that food into a sacramental, like a Crucifix, blessed candles, scapulars or holy cards.  We ask a priest to bless sacramentals.  The head of the family asks God to bless the family members and the food with the prayer before meals.

I remember reading about a saint that his enemies could not poison him because he always said his prayers before meals.  That is along the line of why we ask God to bless our food before we eat it.  So we get the nutrition from it and it doesn't make us sick. 
Like John Vennari (RIP) said "Why not just do it?  What would it hurt?"
Consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (PETITION)
https://lifepetitions.com/petition/consecrate-russia-to-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-petition

"We would be mistaken to think that Fatima's prophetic mission is complete." Benedict XVI May 13, 2010

"Tell people that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to Her." Saint Jacinta Marto

The real nature of hope is "despair, overcome."
Source

Non Nobis

#6
I forgot to say that Blessed Salt, blessed by a priest, is a Catholic Sacramental too. Salt unlike Holy Water doesn't evaporate so could end up anywhere when sprinkled. But we can trust God to do good with it if we intend good when we sprinkle it.
https://www.fisheaters.com/salt.html

As Mike says food blessed before a meal is NOT a Sacramental, so your worries don't apply.

Daniel, deep and extended thought can be mistaken if it leads you away from trusting the teaching of traditional Catholic priests and long practiced customs and prayers. That is, away from the Church!

Don't become your own authority when others are better qualified.
[Matthew 8:26]  And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm.

[Job  38:1-5]  Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said: [2] Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words? [3] Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me. [4] Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding. [5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee! Save souls!

Daniel

Quote from: mikemac on November 03, 2020, 12:50:07 PM
Blessing food that we are about to eat is not meant to turn that food into a sacramental, like a Crucifix, blessed candles, scapulars or holy cards.  We ask a priest to bless sacramentals.  The head of the family asks God to bless the family members and the food with the prayer before meals.
Quote from: Non Nobis on November 03, 2020, 06:33:54 PM
As Mike says food blessed before a meal is NOT a Sacramental, so your worries don't apply.

Sacramental or not, the blessing is real enough and the food is therefore a blessed item. (Assuming that God actually goes through with our request and blesses the food. I suppose maybe He could choose not to.)

mikemac

So, eat up all your food then.  Don't leave any on the plate.  Use a piece of bread to sop up the gravy if you have to.  Waste not, want not.   :)
Like John Vennari (RIP) said "Why not just do it?  What would it hurt?"
Consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (PETITION)
https://lifepetitions.com/petition/consecrate-russia-to-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-petition

"We would be mistaken to think that Fatima's prophetic mission is complete." Benedict XVI May 13, 2010

"Tell people that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to Her." Saint Jacinta Marto

The real nature of hope is "despair, overcome."
Source

Non Nobis

Daniel,  do the Catholic thing and pray for God to bless your meal rather than skipping that altogether.   If you have to give into your scruple and explicitly ask for Him to bless only what He knows you will consume (now, or later) do that (or understand the prayer that way), but most Catholics just trust Him to do what is best.  You are so tangled up in your intellect.
[Matthew 8:26]  And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm.

[Job  38:1-5]  Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said: [2] Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words? [3] Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me. [4] Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding. [5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee! Save souls!

dymphnaw

Daniel, are you really scrupulous or are you playing a joke on these people?

Gerard


Vetus Ordo

Quote from: Daniel on November 02, 2020, 01:14:08 PM
I never pray the blessing before meals, because I don't want the food to end up blessed. (Because if the food ends up blessed, there's no way to avoid sacrilege.) But I do realize that unblessed food could potentially be cursed or infested by demons.

I was wondering if there are any formal prayers by which we ask God to break any curses and drive out any demons, without asking Him to place a blessing upon the food?

This post surely ranks in the top 3 of the most bizarre posts ever to have been made in a trad forum.

And that's saying a lot.
DISPOSE OUR DAYS IN THY PEACE, AND COMMAND US TO BE DELIVERED FROM ETERNAL DAMNATION, AND TO BE NUMBERED IN THE FLOCK OF THINE ELECT.

Graham

Here Daniel, I made a simple modification to a traditional prayer. Hope this works for you:

Bless us O Lord,
But not this food
Which of Thy bounty
We are about to receive.
Actually wait,
Dont bless us either,
Because stray hairs and flakes of skin
May fall off.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

GiftOfGod

OP, I thought you were a horndog from your Hieroglyph post but it is apparent to me now that you are suffering from scrupulosity. You need to consult with a traditional priest ASAP.

But to the heart of the matter: you are wrong. It is not wrong to ask God to bless your food. Even MHFM and RI don't have a problem with this. By your logic, it wouldn't be permissible to consummate a marriage because your wife is blessed, after all. Twisted logic, you have. And since when would food need to be exercised? I have never heard of a demon entering via food though I could see it happening if you were sinning with food or drink (gluttony and drunkenness...or for example: eating hash brownies or THC cookies).

Again, you have scruples and it will destroy your faith. It happened to me once and I just got burned out, so I lapsed. Don't let it happen to you because if I died during my lapse (which was a higher-than-average possibility for me), then I would have been damned due to my state of mortal sin. You heard me: your current spiritual attitude could cost you your soul. The Devil is playing you like a fiddle right now, hoping waiting for you to get burned out so that you will abandon the One True Faith.

SEEK HELP (from a traditional priest).
Quote from: Maximilian on December 30, 2021, 11:15:48 AM
Quote from: Goldfinch on December 30, 2021, 10:36:10 AM
Quote from: Innocent Smith on December 30, 2021, 10:25:55 AM
If attending Mass, the ordinary form as celebrated everyday around the world be sinful, then the Church no longer exists. Period.
Rather, if the NOM were the lex credendi of the Church, then the Church would no longer exist. However, the true mass and the true sacraments still exist and will hold the candle of faith until Our Lord steps in to restore His Bride to her glory.
We could compare ourselves to the Catholics in England at the time of the Reformation. Was it sinful for them to attend Cranmer's service?
We have to remind ourselves that all the machinery of the "Church" continued in place. They had priests, bishops, churches, cathedrals. But all of them were using the new "Book of Common Prayer" instead of the Catholic Mass. Ordinary lay people could see with their own eyes an enormous entity that called itself the "Church," but did the true Church still exist in that situation? Meanwhile, in small hiding places in certain homes were a handful of true priests offering the true Mass at the risk of imprisonment, torture and death.