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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

Is it sinful to buy a blessed rosary?

Question:

I have always liked old rosaries and have over the years bought many rosaries at various places. I have never re-sold any rosary I have bought, but the question of simony has come up in my conscience lately. Is it sinful for me to buy these, knowing that many of the old ones are most likely blessed?

Answer:

The Catechism defines simony as the buying or selling of spiritual things (cf. CCC 2121). By your account, it is not your intention to buy a spiritual good (such as the graces using the rosary with the proper disposition can help us achieve) but only the rosary itself. This is not a sin. When you are ready to use them, you should have them blessed again.

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