AM I allowed to Bless or Cross people?

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Nelka

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You know like a priest blesses us?

I do remember when my children were babies I may cross them with Holy Water after myself but now they are older can I make a small Cross on their foreheads at bedtime? Am I allowed to give them a blessing, if so how?

Thanks.
 
Nelka said:
You know like a priest blesses us?

I do remember when my children were babies I may cross them with Holy Water after myself but now they are older can I make a small Cross on their foreheads at bedtime? Am I allowed to give them a blessing, if so how?

Thanks.
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I always bless my son – now 12 years old – by tracing a cross on his forehead when we go our separate ways. This is a beautiful and completely appropriate tradition, especially among the Latino families in our community!
 
The answer seems to be yes but such a blessing does not seem to be of the same quality as a blessing performed by a priest in the name and with the authority of the Church. From the article on “Blessing” in the old Catholic Encyclopedia:
When, therefore, laymen and women are represented as blessing others it is to be understood that this is an act of will on their part, a wish or desire for another’s spiritual or temporal prosperity, an appeal to God which has nothing to recommend it but the merits of personal sanctity.
 
You can trace the sign of the cross on anyone, and say a silent prayer of “God bless you”.
Your blessing is not like a priests, and is not intended to be such.
Why would you think you can’t trace the sign on your child’s forehead?
In Baptism the priest invites the Godparents and Parents to sign the child to be Baptized.
Pray for your child, and relax.
Our beloved Monsignor would greet everyone this way, and he’d ask us to sign him on the forehead as well.
We know we’re not imparting an ecclesial blessing. We’re praying for the person.
 
To bless someone, one must have authority over that person. A priest can bless anyone as he exercises spiritual authority given to him by Christ and the Church. A parent can bless his or her children. Some would argue that a father, as spiritual head of the household, can bless his entire family (wife and kids). Beyond that, the Church has specific guidelines for blessings given by laypeople.
 
pianistclare said:
You can trace the sign of the cross on anyone, and say a silent prayer of “God bless you”.
Your blessing is not like a priests, and is not intended to be such.
Why would you think you can’t trace the sign on your child’s forehead?
In Baptism the priest invites the Godparents and Parents to sign the child to be Baptized.
Pray for your child, and relax.
Our beloved Monsignor would greet everyone this way, and he’d ask us to sign him on the forehead as well.
We know we’re not imparting an ecclesial blessing. We’re praying for the person.
Click to expand...
If we say God Bless you to someone, in whatever context, we are really meaning **May **God bless you, unless we have authority over the person being blessed.
 
twf said:
To bless someone, one must have authority over that person. A priest can bless anyone as he exercises spiritual authority given to him by Christ and the Church. A parent can bless his or her children. Some would argue that a father, as spiritual head of the household, can bless his entire family (wife and kids). Beyond that, the Church has specific guidelines for blessings given by laypeople.
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Not doubting you; always yearning to learn…so where are these specific guidelines that say one must have authority over another? I’m thinking of the blessings given to dying friends, or even those who we are with at their time of death that we might not even know.
 
Nelka said:
You know like a priest blesses us?

I do remember when my children were babies I may cross them with Holy Water after myself but now they are older can I make a small Cross on their foreheads at bedtime? Am I allowed to give them a blessing, if so how?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I remember reading that laypeople are allowed to bless their children, and possessions or property.
 
St_Francis said:
If we say God Bless you to someone, in whatever context, we are really meaning **May **God bless you, unless we have authority over the person being blessed.
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Semantics.Means the same thong. We don’t ever TELL. God what to do, but we constantly ask for His blessing for ourselves and others.
 
So long as we’re not playing clergy or giving people that impression, I think it’s a good thing. St. Thomas More, even as an adult, sought a blessing from his father each morning.

That said, in the presence of a Catholic clergyman, I’d defer to him to give the blessing, whether inside our outside the liturgy.
 
Ad_Orientem said:
So long as we’re not playing clergy or giving people that impression, I think it’s a good thing. St. Thomas More, even as an adult, sought a blessing from his father each morning.

That said, in the presence of a Catholic clergyman, I’d defer to him to give the blessing, whether inside our outside the liturgy.
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I doubt if a clergyman is present at the bedside of a small child. :rolleyes:

The OP is NOT talking about running around conferring his personal blessing on people.
He’s talking about caring for his children.
I say God bless you every single day to my friends and students at the parish, the priest even (my boss). He doesn’t think I’m playing priest.
 
pianistclare said:
I doubt if a clergyman is present at the bedside of a small child. :rolleyes:

The OP is NOT talking about running around conferring his personal blessing on people.
He’s talking about caring for his children.
I say God bless you every single day to my friends and students at the parish, the priest even (my boss). He doesn’t think I’m playing priest.
Click to expand...
👍
 
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