Rev. James D. Conley, D.D., S.T.L. | Diocese of Lincoln website

When people think about blessings in the Catholic tradition, religious items such as rosaries and medals often come to mind. However, larger or non-religious objects like cars, homes, and even pets can also be blessed by a priest.

Father Matthew Schilmoeller, parochial vicar at St. Cecilia Parish in Hastings, described a blessing as a “sacramental.” He explained that while sacraments are instituted by Christ to give grace, sacramentals are instituted by the Church to lead people toward grace and help them cooperate with it.

Sister Mary Cecilia, C.K., who holds a master of arts degree in liturgy, said that requesting a blessing for material things is a way of asking God to use those items to draw people closer to the Church and its sacraments. She noted that because sacramentals are established by the Church, they can adapt over time; for example, the invention of cars led to blessings specifically for vehicles.

“If you’re going to get your car blessed, you want to make sure you’re doing it not because you’re superstitious and think that it’s never going to get into an accident or anything like that, you’re doing it because you want to use it to lead you closer to Christ, to use it in the service of Christ,” Sister Mary Cecilia said.

She added that blessings can help ward off evil and assist people in seeing material things in their proper perspective. For instance, cars play an important role in daily life by helping people attend church or fulfill other responsibilities.

According to Father Schilmoeller, when someone asks for a home blessing from a priest, it is usually not due to fear or concerns about evil spirits but rather a desire for their home to be “a sanctuary of truth and a stronghold of virtue.”

“A house is meant to be a formative place for immortal souls who are destined to go to heaven, and it’s the place of the family,” he said. “We know from the scriptures and from our faith that God has great intentions of the family and his desire is for the home to be a place of peace.”

He described the process: after arranging a suitable time with the priest, families may choose either a brief ceremony or include additional activities such as sharing a meal. The ritual includes prayers involving both priest and family members before moving through each room with holy water.

“[This] serves as another reminder to all of the people who are there of the blessing of God that surrounds us,” Father Schilmoeller said. “Holy water also reminds us of the dignity that we receive in baptism, and we want to allow the graces of baptism to flow into all of the other places in our life.”

The ceremony often concludes with another prayer over the house. Sometimes Father Schilmoeller performs an Epiphany chalk blessing on the threshold—a visible sign above the door marking each year with initials representing the Magi. This ritual can also be performed by household leaders using blessed chalk from their parish.

Father Schilmoeller said this annual practice is intended as an invitation for Christ’s presence throughout each year: “You’re basically asking for the Lord to come and visit your home throughout the year, and that you would see Christ in the people who come to your home. The chalk that’s written over the door can be changed each year, so the leader of the house can take blessed chalk from the priest each year and make that blessing again.”

He encourages families receiving blessings also consider how their homes reflect Christian values: “What do people first see when they walk into your home? I think that’s a good question to ask families,” he said. “Would they know that this is a Christian home? Would they know that this is blessed by the Lord? Do people see an image of Our Lady or a Sacred Heart of Jesus, a crucifix or even words of blessing? Those are just little things that help go a long way in helping us cooperate with the grace that comes from that blessing.”

House blessings may also serve as opportunities for priests reaching out within their parishes: “I think it’s a good thing for a priest to make that offer, especially for a new family who’s come to the parish,” Father Schilmoeller said.

Car blessings are available upon request as well. Father Stephen Graeve—pastor at St. Peter Parish in Bellwood—recalled offering car blessings during his seminary years at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Later at Aquinas High School in David City where he teaches, he began blessing students’ cars after one student requested it following an accident.

“It’s not like magic, but something that the Church has historically done is had a blessing of modes of transportation,” Father Graeve said. “And so I mentioned it to her and she was super excited, and we went out and blessed her car.”

Afterward more students sought car blessings during school hours: “I brought that to our campus minister and she said ‘Let’s open that up one day during our study hall period and we’ll have some priests available in the parking lot for anyone who wants to have their car blessed,’ and tons of people showed up. It was really humbling,” Father Graeve said.

He expects this practice will continue annually at Aquinas High School.

Reflecting on why Catholics seek these blessings at all—whether for homes or vehicles—Father Graeve cited faith: “We see it as an act of faith, and God asks us to trust in him… this student was pretty convicted that her near-miss was a result of the blessing. And who’s to say? But it helped inspire and foster other people’s faith, so it seemed to be of God, which is great.”

When selling items such as houses or cars after they have been blessed there are guidelines rooted in Catholic teaching against simony—the buying or selling spiritual goods solely because they were blessed.

Sister Mary Cecilia clarified: items should only be sold based on their actual value—not because they received religious rites—and owners should not sell them simply due being blessed.

“For instance,” she said,“if you sell a house,you’re going sell house what worth regardless whether not has been blessed.If we had hold everything had blessed imagine how many houses some families would have because couldn’t sell them.You sell house,you don’t sell blessing.”