Going through some of my great grandmother's things, I found what is labeled as a "Sacramental Packet". It contains the following items: Blessed Salt, Green Scapular, Miraculous Medal, St. Benedict Medal, and a Blessed Palm.

What would this have been used for? The last label on the packet says: BLESSED* Please do not misuse.

I have a healthy respect for all blessed things, and do not want to inadvertently misuse it or dispose of it incorrectly.

I don't know if other religions use Sacramental Packets, but I will answer based on my knowledge of how the Catholic Church looks at Sacraments.


"They are any object or prayer or action that can put us in touch with God's grace in Christ. Like sacraments, sacramentals make available to us the stream of divine grace which flows from the paschal mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, the fountain from which all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power."

Source: A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals, ISBN: 0-87973-448-5, (1991), Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Huntington, IN., P. 11

The packets can be given for any use that brings the user/wearer of the Sacramentals closer to remembering and understanding 'God's Grace in Christ' as well as helping the sick and dying.

Further, the salt, wherever sprinkled would ward off evil. The green Scapular is to heal one spiritually and physically. The Miraculous Medal, also known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, was created from visions St. Catherins Leboure had of the Virgin Mary where Mary showed her what the Medal should look like and said all that wore it would be blessed with special graces. The St. Benedict Medal has been used for centuries, believed to protect the wearer from spiritual and physical danger.

Many people believe these blessed items hold mystical or supernatural power, but they do not. They are only to serve as physical reminders of one's faith and devotion. Worn out Sacramentals need to be disposed of with reverence.

They cannot be thrown in the garbage or resemble a sacramental object. If the worn out item can be burned, then burn it and then bury it. If it cannot be burned, than break it up and bury it. Find a location where people will not be walking over the buried item.

Since these are not worn, from what I understand, you can keep them as a reminder of your Grandmother's faith as long as you keep them protected and they do not become 'misused'. An interesting fact, there is a special sink in the Catholic Church where the drainage pipe does not go to the sewage line. It goes directly into the ground so that any Blood of Christ would be disposed of in the most reverential way possible, in the ground, when cleaning the Communion Chalices.

I'm especially interested in the meaning behind each item:

Blessed Salt - Christians are the salt of the earth?
Green Scapular - "the yoke of Christ" -- reminder of a monk's scapular?
Miraculous Medal - to wear at death for grace and blessing?
St. Benedict Medal - ?
Blessed Palm - reminder of Palm Sunday?

Here are some helpful links about the items named in the initial post. The key is recalling what a "Sacramental" is.

A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion:
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sacramentals (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13292d.htm)

Blessed Salt:
Blessed salt in Christianity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blessed_salt_in_Christianity)

Blessed Salt (http://www.miraclerosarymission.org/salt.html)

Green Scapular:
Green Scapular - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Scapular)

Society of the Green Scapular (http://www.greenscapular.com/)

Miraculous Medal:
Miraculous Medal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculous_Medal)

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Miraculous Medal (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10115a.htm)

St. Benedict Medal:
Saint Benedict Medal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Benedict_Medal)

OSB. The Medal of Saint Benedict, information, description, history, effects, and suppliers (http://www.osb.org/gen/medal.html)

Blessed Palm:
Palm Sunday - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday)

Liturgical Year : Blessed Palms in the Home (Activity) - Catholic Culture (http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1035)