Grace and peace – from him who is and who was and who is to come.
The Feast of St. Blaise, a physician who later became a bishop and died for the faith in 316 AD, will be observed on Monday, February 3.
Very little is known about his life. He is the patron of troubled throats. Why he hasn’t been adopted by cough drop makers the world over is anyone’s guess!
Known as “San Blas” en Español and “San Biaggio” in Italiano, most Catholics know him for the annual throat blessing, which stems from a legend that says while in prison, he healed a child who nearly died because of a fish bone caught in the throat. Because of this and other cures, people have prayed to Saint Blaise as a helper in time of sickness and for protection from afflictions of the throat. From the eighth century, he has been invoked on behalf of the sick.
Details regarding the miraculous healing of the boy vary.
One account relates that the miracle occurred during the journey to take Blaise to
prison when he placed his hand on the boy’s head and prayed; another that the miracle happened while Blaise was in prison when he picked up two candles
provided to him and formed a cross around the boy’s throat. When an old woman’s pig had been miraculously rescued from a wolf by Saint Blaise, she would visit him
in prison, bringing him food and candles to bring him light in his dark cell.
The blessing is given by touching the throat of each person with two candles blessed
on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2 and which have been
joined together in the form of a cross by a red ribbon, the color of martyrdom.
The prayer of blessing is: Through the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop, and Martyr,
may you be delivered from all illnesses of the throat and any other ailments. In the
name of the Father, + and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The priest makes
the sign of the cross over the recipient as the blessing is said.
The Book of Blessings notes that the traditional blessing of throats does not need to
be administered directly on the throat and can be offered at a distance. “If, for
pastoral reasons, each individual cannot be blessed in the manner described, a priest
may give the blessing to all assembled by extending hands, without the crossed
candles, over the people while saying the prayer of blessing.”
In Germany and in other places, the blessing of throats is given with lighted candles.
In certain Hispanic countries (e.g., Spain and Mexico), a ribbon is given to be worn
around the neck for the nine days following the blessing.
While the blessing may seem to be focused only on the throat, it has also been used
to invoke God’s power to cure any illness. As a result, the blessing takes on a new
meaning in the age of COVID-19 and its variants, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
as the world continues to struggle against the virus. It reminds us of our reliance on
God and the reality that he has permitted this pestilence in his divine plan. We may
not understand it, but we can turn to him for guidance and consolation.
The traditional and popular blessing of throats will be offered at your parish
churches on Monday, and at the New York Catholic Center at the Church of St. John the Evangelist. It will take place after each of the Masses at 8:15 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. Monsignor Douglas Mathers, our vice chancellor and a judge of the metropolitan tribunal, is the pastor.