Among my fond memories of Catholic school days was waiting with my classmates in line to have our throats blessed on the Feast of Saint Blase. I would walk away feeling assured that I had a special shield of protection against a sore throat or other throat infections. Although many years have passed since those wonderful days, I still keep this tradition every February 3. In the middle of winter, Saint Blase’s Feast Day is a warm comfort as we ask this kind saint to intercede on our behalf before God.
St. Blase was a bishop in Armenia and was martyred during the fourth century. According to tradition, a mother, whose son was choking on a fishbone, approached good Bishop Blase for assistance. St. Blase blessed the boy and he was able to cough up the bone.
For this reason the Church celebrates his feast with a blessing of throats. The priest or deacon holds two blessed candles and touches them to the neck of each person. He recites a short blessing and prays that the person may be healed especially of any throat infections or illnesses.
[quote]Through the intercession of Saint Blase, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. — From the blessing of throats on the Feast of St. Blase[/quote]
Our beautiful faith is not only Truth but also filled with countless traditions that brace us as we travel through the valleys of our lives. I believe that these traditions inspire and console us as well as intervene for us before God’s Throne in Heaven.