How old are Sacramentals?
The use of sacramentals goes all the back to the Old Testament. God told Moses to make a statue of a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten , when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live” (Num 21:8 – 9). God could easily have handled the snake problem many ways besides the making of the bronze snake. The bronze snake served two purposes: 1. It was prophetic of Jesus hanging on the Cross and saving us. 2. It teaches us that God can use instruments/sacramentals for His use if He so desires. Will Sacramentals work for everyone? Generally speaking, the efficacy of sacramentals depends on the dispositions of the person using them. They are not magic and it is wrong to treat them as such. Wearing a holy medal does not make one instantly holy. We should be careful not to dismiss the pious use of holy objects as superstition. It is all too easy to play the s
