In our neck of the woods (no pun intended) Catholics look forward to the annual opportunity to have their throats blessed on the Feast of St. Blaise. That opportunity was today. A larger than normal turnout out daily Mass, plus an additional evening Mass for another 45-50 folks confirms this.
Who is St. Blaise and what is the deal with blessing throats on his feastday.
All that is truly known about St. Blaise is that he was a Bishop in Armenia and was martyred in 316 a.d.
Tradition says he was born to sa wealthy family and made Bishop at a young age. He fled to a life of seclusion during a Christian persecution and was captured by a hunter who claimed he observed St. Blaise curing sick and wounded animals.
It has been reported that he once healed a dying boy who was choking to death on fish bone lodged in his throat. From this report comes the long held custom of the blessing of throats on February 3rd.
The Bishop was tortured unmercifully before being beheaded.
So the blessing is imparted to the individual while the Priest or Deacon holds two blessed candles in his left hand to their throat and says:
By the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and every other disease, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So that's the story of St. Blaise and the blessing of throats.
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