Saint Blaise (Blase)

Again the roads prohibited many from attending weekday Mass and receiving the annual blessing of the throats on this traditional day, February 3rd, the Memorial of St. Blaise. Legends have arisen over the centuries since his martyrdom in 316, under Constantine's co-Emperor, Licinius (who at first supporting Constantines' sanction of Christianity, turned against it and persecuted Christians until Constantine defeated him in battle). What we do know about St. Blaise is that he was a physician who later became a priest and then, by popular acclaim, as was the custom then, bishop of Sebaste in Armenia. One story has him saving a poor woman's pig who was under attack by a wolf; this woman later brought food to him when he was imprisoned. However, the most popular story is his curing of a young boy who was choking on a fishbone; hence the blessing of throats, a custtom and sacramental popular in the East and West.
Although the blessing is invoked for physical illnesses of the throat, by extension is can also be a prayer for control of the tongue. As St. James reminds us, "If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless." (Jas 1:26). Further on, he elaborates on this and provides us for a healthy slice of daily bread on which to ruminate today: "People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing a cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!" (Jas 3: 7-10). As parents used to wash the mouths of their children who swore and used vulgarity, so we might ask St. Blaise today to help us hold back or modify those familiar vulgarities which slip so easily from our mouths as excitement or anger mount. We might also invoke him to help us hold back that juicy bit of gossip, or that story which might hurt a person's reputation or esteem in the eyes of others. I'm sure we can keep St. Blaise busy today!
Bro. Rene