ASK FATHER: A Blessing for Guns

I've included one of the comments because it's an hilarious Lord of the Rings reference.

From Fr Z's Blog

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

One of our parishioners posted this image on his facebook page and I commented, “Hey, if you have guns you want blessed, let me know.” Low and behold he took me up on the offer. That is why I asked if there was a blessing of guns.

This is great!

There are blessings for all sort of tools and a gun is just a tool.  They are, in themselves, morally indifferent. They can be blessed. We can ask God to be especially mindful of their safekeeping, for their proper function, that they not be used for evil purposes, and, in the case of your guns, bows, trebuchets, etc., that each projectile fired with them may find your intended marks.

There is no specific blessing in the Roman Ritual for blessing guns.    However there is a blessing “for all things”.

After the usual introduction, the blessing prayer is…

Deus, cujus verbo sanctificántur ómnia, bene+dictiónem tuam effúnde super creatúram istam (creatúras istas – PLURAL, of course); et præsta, ut quisquis ea (eis) secúndum legem et voluntátem tuam cum gratiárum actióne usus fúerit, per invocatiónem sanctíssimi nóminis tui, córporis sanitátem, et ánimæ tutélam, te auctóre, percípiat. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum.

 Comments:

Semper Gumby says:

1. 19 December 2019 at 9:41 AM
   Thanks Fr. Z. A buddy has a question: “Father, I have a sword with a blade that is broken in two, can it be blessed as is, or should it first be Reforged?”
    
   [Good question. Tell Elrond that the Sword That Was Broken should be blessed after it is reforged. However, there is nothing preventing blessings during the process, including the forge and the tools.]
   
   Men of the West: Padre Pio’s Weapon, the Rosary, should be blessed. So should your Beowulf .50 caliber AR-15 rifle.
   https://www.shopalexanderarms.com/50_Beowulf-Rifles.html
    
   [NB: It does not have to be blessed again after disassembly for cleaning and regular maintenance. However, if you swap out new major components, I’d get a blessing. Don’t worry about the furniture.]
     Semper Gumby says:
   19 December 2019 at 5:04 PM
   “Tell Elrond…”
   
   Message delivered Fr. Z. Elrond now wants to swap Challenge Coins. The runes on the Rivendell challenge coin glow in the dark. Spiffy.
   
   “Don’t worry about the furniture.”
   …except for the furniture in the Mead Hall on a Saturday night when the longships are in town. Many a warrior’s thick skull has served him well when a foeman smites him with a bench.