Q. What should I do with my old, blessed palm? I also have some broken statues and rosaries that were blessed. Since they are blessed, I am sure that I should not just throw these out. Are there any guidelines?
A. Your question shows praiseworthy Catholic sensibilities. First, we make use of material objects to help us in our life of faith and devotion. Also, blessed articles have been set aside as holy and should not merely be put in the trash. You are to be commended for your reverence for sacred things.
As Catholics, we are accustomed to having religious objects “blessed,” which sets them aside from profane use and dedicates an object for some holy purpose. This is a commendable practice. Even if an object is not blessed, it may represent holy persons or things and it may have been used with devotion.
Living in a society where many things have become so disposable, we must not forget those religious objects that have been blessed and dedicated to God and for sacred use should be treated with reverence. But some blessed articles wear out over time, are broken, or are no longer able to be used. Items include but are not limited to blessed palm branches, rosaries, holy cards, scapulars, Bibles, missals, or other blessed books, broken statues, votive candles, religious medals, etc.
The Code of Canon Law (Can. 1171) says, Sacred objects, set aside for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated with reverence. They are not to be made over to secular or inappropriate use, even though they may belong to private persons.
If you have religious articles that are worn out or you cannot use, one option, if they are still usable, is to give them away to other people who could use them. If you can’t find any takers there are other options, namely, burning or burial.
It shows devotion to reverently dispose of articles that have been blessed by either burning them to ash or burying them. It is laudable to then bury the ashes of burned articles. Please be careful and observe all applicable state and local laws regarding burning and burial of items.
If you bury blessed items or religious articles you might take them apart as much as possible before they are reverently buried. That way, they cannot be used for a profane purpose if uncovered in the future.
Often organizations mail out items unsolicited - these have presumably not been blessed at all. Therefore, you are free to dispose of them as you wish. Often, you never asked to receive these objects, and you are free to dispose of them as you would any unwanted mail.
Palms are to be burned, and the ashes then used for distribution on Ash Wednesday or returned to the ground. This is why many parishes will collect old, blessed palms before or during Lent.
Sometimes rosaries may be repairable. Stale or excess holy water would be poured on the ground, on your lawn, for example.
Please speak with a priest if you have liturgical items or fixtures from a church. It is not necessarily a sin to throw away blessed items, but out of proper respect, one should dispose of them as indicated above. If you are not able to burn or bury blessed or religious items, reach out to your parish office. Parish staff are trained to dispose of them properly.
Please be sure to always cherish the blessed religious objects at home, venerate them with piety, and when necessary, dispose of them properly.
This question was answered by Msgr. Daniel Seiker for the March issue of “Reach Cathedral,” a publication of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Parish in Lincoln.
Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
