Seems to me, the witch doctors of Haiti also have their "devotional tools". There seems to be an awful lot non-Scriptural mumbo-jumbo superstition going on here.
BTW, maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of the "devotional tools" used on St. Blaise's day. Care to explain how placing two candles (in the shape of a cross, of course) against my throat and then speaking an incantation (er, prayer) will keep those nasty winter sore throats away?
Can you produce Biblical references showing where any of this "white magic" is authorized!
no doubt you would take exception to someone suggesting you look at a bronze serpent to heal snake bites
You don't really know your Bible very well, do you?
Try people being healed by touching Elijah's bones, and people being healed by having the shadow of an Apostle fall on them.
Seems to me, the witch doctors of Haiti also have their "devotional tools".
Muslims say prayers and have a sacred book which they consider to be divinely inspired and directly dictated by God. You don't think that invalidates what you believe, do you? And you would be offended if someone insisted otherwise, wouldn't you?
Then try practicing the Golden Rule (that's in the Bible, BTW) and grant us the same kindness.
It's not white magic; it's not magic at all. It's Our Lord Jesus Christ choosing to use material things of this world to effect a miracle. And it's very Biblical. When Christ healed the blind man in John 9, he used mud and spittle and the pool of Siloam. Why the mud, why the spittle? Couldn't Christ have healed him instantly as the centurion's servant? "Only say the word, and my servant shall be healed". Was Christ using magic?
And then there's Acts 19:11-12:
And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.Handkerchiefs touched to Paul's body were healing people and casting out evil spirits. Was Paul using magic?
I do not need to produce references, it is a matter of faith. It is not magic, but rather the sacramentals are given to us by the Church for our spiritual welfare and for use as devotion, not worship. For example, have you ever visited the Statute of Liberty, Lincoln Memorial etc? Well, you don't worship these things, but you visit them because they represent something about the United States. They are revered by what they represent, freedom to live without tyranny and also freedom to worship.
As far as the blessing of throats, if you are not Catholic, what do you care? What I may regard as silly devotions fundamentalists have, I certainty have no business commenting on things that I know nothing about. Lastly, I would never compare the sacramentals of any faith to the superstitious occult nature of witch doctors. That is just plain silly.