Blessed salt is a very powerful Sacramental of the Catholic Church. It is an instrument of grace to preserve one from the corruption of evil occurring as sin, sickness, demonic influence, or other manifestation.
Since Vatican II, Catholics are being urged to participate “intelligently and actively” in the use of Sacramentals. The usage of Blessed Salt answers this call.
As a Catholic sacramental, salt blessed by the liturgical prayer of a priest may be used by itself, unmixed, as in exorcisms, and formerly in the exorcistic prayer at baptism, or it may be mixed with water to make holy water.
Sacramentals such as blessed salt and holy water are not to be used superstitiously as if they have a power in them. Rather, their purpose is to serve as a point of focus to direct one’s faith towards Jesus, just as a flag is used as a point of focus towards patriotism.
Christianity inherited its symbolic use of salt from the Jewish tradition; salt is referred to in the Bible as symbolizing the covenant between God and Israel. “You shall season your every offering of meal with salt; you shall not omit from your meal offering the salt of your covenant with God; with all your offerings you must offer salt” (Lev. 2:13). See also Num. 18:19 and
2 Chron. 13:5. Salt has been used in the ritual blessing of holy water since the sixth century.
As with the use of any Sacraments, much depends on the faith and devotion of the person who is using the salt or any sacramental. This faith must be Jesus-centered, as was the faith of the blind man in John 9; he had faith in Jesus, not in the mud and spittle used by Jesus to heal him.
The following official prayer from the Roman Ritual may be used by a priest to bless the salt:
“Almighty God, we ask you to bless this salt, as once you blessed the salt scattered over the water by the prophet Elisha. Wherever this salt (and water) is sprinkled, drive away the power of evil, and protect us always by the presence of your Holy Spirit. Grant this through Christ our Lord Amen.”