Blessing for a Child (Mormon mother)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Prince_Hal
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Prince_Hal

Guest
So help me out. Not sure if this is the correct forum.

My wife and I are both Mormons. But I no longer believe in Mormonism, and would like to become Catholic. For various reasons this is not happening.

My wife wants me to give my 6 year old daughter a blessing, by laying my hands on her head. I have said that I will not do it in the Mormon tradition: “By the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head and give you a blessing, etc”.

But my wife still wants me to lay my hands upon my daughters head and bless her - but not mention the Melchizedek Priesthood.

This still makes me feel uncomfortable. I have offered to pray with my daughter, perhaps whilst holding her hands.

Of course from a Mormon point of view since I do not believe in the Mormon priesthood, maybe I am not “worthy” to bless - though I do not drink alcohol, smoke, etc. I could give her a “fathers blessing” that doesn’t involve stating the priesthood, but again, this seem all very Mormon to me.

What do Catholic fathers (not priests) do?

What should I do? Can anyone help?

God bless,

Hal.
 
Prince_Hal said:
So help me out. Not sure if this is the correct forum.

My wife and I are both Mormons. But I no longer believe in Mormonism, and would like to become Catholic. For various reasons this is not happening.

My wife wants me to give my 6 year old daughter a blessing, by laying my hands on her head. I have said that I will not do it in the Mormon tradition: “By the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head and give you a blessing, etc”.

But my wife still wants me to lay my hands upon my daughters head and bless her - but not mention the Melchizedek Priesthood.

This still makes me feel uncomfortable. I have offered to pray with my daughter, perhaps whilst holding her hands.

Of course from a Mormon point of view since I do not believe in the Mormon priesthood, maybe I am not “worthy” to bless - though I do not drink alcohol, smoke, etc. I could give her a “fathers blessing” that doesn’t involve stating the priesthood, but again, this seem all very Mormon to me.

What do Catholic fathers (not priests) do?

What should I do? Can anyone help?

God bless,

Hal.
Click to expand...
Hi Hal,

Before my son received his first communion, he would come up with us (Eucharist) and get a blessing from our priest. That would require you to go to Mass. You can also call your local Catholic church and I am sure they would be able to help you.

As a Catholic father, I never performed any kind of blessing on my son. I never really thought of it because he was baptized as an infant.
 
Catholic parents can and do give their children blessings.

I used to make the sign of the cross on my son everytime he left the house, or I left for work.

I usually added something like “May the Lord keep you safe from all harm”.
 
The Catholic Church teaches that the home is a “domestic church,” with the father being the spiritual head. As such, the father (or grandfather) has the choice to bless the children.

Some Catholics bless themselves and their family members quite often. Sometimes we use holy water as a rminder of our baptism, but other times it involves only a short prayer along the lines of “May the Lord bless and keep you.”

Several years ago, when my children were in elementary school, I would send them out in the morning by tracing the sign of the cross on their foreheads and asking the Lord to keep them safe and help them study hard or listen well or make good decisions. I have that right as their mother. It is simply a prayer asking God to give them good things. We can all ask the Lord to give good things to the people we love. If, however. it makes you uncomfortable to lay your hands on the top of her head, maybe you could try another position like cupping her cheek.
 
I always bless my children, “father to Father and son to Son, Please bless and watch over my little one.”
 
Hal,

Have you made contact with the Coming Home Network?

I watch Marcus’ program on EWTN “Journey Home” and many people have talked about how his organization has helped them.

chnetwork.org/

They also have a bulletin board forum:

chnetwork.org/forum/
 
Prince_Hal said:
So help me out. Not sure if this is the correct forum.

My wife and I are both Mormons. But I no longer believe in Mormonism, and would like to become Catholic. For various reasons this is not happening.

My wife wants me to give my 6 year old daughter a blessing, by laying my hands on her head. I have said that I will not do it in the Mormon tradition: “By the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head and give you a blessing, etc”.

But my wife still wants me to lay my hands upon my daughters head and bless her - but not mention the Melchizedek Priesthood.

This still makes me feel uncomfortable. I have offered to pray with my daughter, perhaps whilst holding her hands.

Of course from a Mormon point of view since I do not believe in the Mormon priesthood, maybe I am not “worthy” to bless - though I do not drink alcohol, smoke, etc. I could give her a “fathers blessing” that doesn’t involve stating the priesthood, but again, this seem all very Mormon to me.

What do Catholic fathers (not priests) do?

What should I do? Can anyone help?

God bless,

Hal.
Click to expand...
Laying the hands on the head is not just a mormon thing, it’s throughtout the bible. It’s the scripted words “…by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood…” that make it a mormon thing. Catholic Priest for example lay hands on the head, during some of the Holy Sacraments, such as Baptism and Confirmation.

I went to my local dicese and the Monsignor gave me a blessing, when I was having martial problems with my now ex mormon wife. He laid his hands on my head and gave me a blessing and we ended it with the sign of the cross and “in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen”

Now as a Catholic father, I give my infant son a blessing every night, asking the Lord to protect him from evil spirits and evil dreams and end the blessing with tracing the sign of the cross on his forehead and “In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen”
 
Prince_Hal said:
So help me out. Not sure if this is the correct forum.

My wife and I are both Mormons. But I no longer believe in Mormonism, and would like to become Catholic. For various reasons this is not happening.
Hal.
Click to expand...
So when you go in front of the Bishop for an interview what do you tell him? You don’t believe anymore?
 
Hi P. Hal,
Evening prayer together with your family is a beautiful tender moment.
You should talk to a priest about studying/religious education and your desire of conversion to the Catholic faith. Perhaps start with a good (Catholic) study bible and the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” Praying together, though, is just wonderful.

Anyway, I did a little research. I have the “Catechism” book here and found, on page 416-417, information stating that “blessings” are known as a type of “sacramental” in the Catholic Church. From there, it goes on to explain that,
1669Sacramentals (such as “blessings of” persons, meals, objects, and places) derive from the baptismal priesthood and every baptized person is called to be a “blessing,” and to bless. Hence, lay people (member/parishoner of the Church) may preside at certain blessings…

However, certain *other types *of “sacramentals” and sacraments themselves, of course, are reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons)…These may include: blessing of a church or an altar, blessings of certain ministries in the Church such as of readers, catechists, etc.

The definition of “sacramentals” is:
1677 sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.

You will have to check with a Catholic priest if you have any question(s) about the being baptized part and proper way to impart the blessing of your children, although in reference to the same page I was reading, it does say that
1671…Every blessing praises God and prays for His gifts…This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

I pray God blesses you on your journey.
 
TikiTokiguy said:
So when you go in front of the Bishop for an interview what do you tell him? You don’t believe anymore?
Click to expand...
Yes. He came round the other day, because we moved areas. Very pleasant. My had pre-warned him that “I did not believe”. I did not want to go into details with him because this is a very personal and sacred journey that I am on. With a previous LDS bishop I did give some more details and he unfortunately could not handle it. He lent back in the chair in my home, looked up to the heavens, rolled his eyes, refused to let me give the prayer before he and his counsellor left, and rarely spoke to me from that moment on. So, I have been more circumspect since.

Hal.
 
FHLC said:
Hi P. Hal,
Evening prayer together with your family is a beautiful tender moment.
You should talk to a priest about studying/religious education and your desire of conversion to the Catholic faith. Perhaps start with a good (Catholic) study bible and the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” Praying together, though, is just wonderful.

Anyway, I did a little research. I have the “Catechism” book here and found, on page 416-417, information stating that “blessings” are known as a type of “sacramental” in the Catholic Church. From there, it goes on to explain that,
1669Sacramentals (such as “blessings of” persons, meals, objects, and places) derive from the baptismal priesthood and every baptized person is called to be a “blessing,” and to bless. Hence, lay people (member/parishoner of the Church) may preside at certain blessings…

However, certain *other types *of “sacramentals” and sacraments themselves, of course, are reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons)…These may include: blessing of a church or an altar, blessings of certain ministries in the Church such as of readers, catechists, etc.

The definition of “sacramentals” is:
1677 sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.

You will have to check with a Catholic priest if you have any question(s) about the being baptized part and proper way to impart the blessing of your children, although in reference to the same page I was reading, it does say that
1671…Every blessing praises God and prays for His gifts…This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

I pray God blesses you on your journey.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your research. My baptism is valid, because as a child I was “Christened” Anglican.

So, do you or others think that it would be appropriate for me to place my hands on the head of my daughter and then pray, but of course leaving out the “by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood” piece?

Thanks,

Hal.
 
Barbkw said:
Hal,

Have you made contact with the Coming Home Network?

I watch Marcus’ program on EWTN “Journey Home” and many people have talked about how his organization has helped them.

chnetwork.org/

They also have a bulletin board forum:

chnetwork.org/forum/
Click to expand...
Fantastic show, I listened to it regularly, until I moved to San Diego last month. I cannot pick up a Catholic English language station down here, and the funds did not extend to getting EWTN on cable. So I miss it. I think I have an interesting story to tell, but it is not complete, and it would probably lead to my wife divorcing me!! She thinks that it is okay for people to “break covenants” to leave one religion and become mormon, but the other way around is at the “tempting of the devil”. I suppose I can see her thought patterns, if you believe that the LDS church is the true church. Our discussions are never quite as clinical or objective as that however!! So, I tend to avoid the subject. If Christ called Peter “of little faith” and he walked on water, then I hate to think what I am.

God bless,

Hal.
 
Prince_Hal said:
Thank you so much for your research. My baptism is valid, because as a child I was “Christened” Anglican.

So, do you or others think that it would be appropriate for me to place my hands on the head of my daughter and then pray, but of course leaving out the “by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood” piece?

Thanks,

Hal.
Click to expand...
Absolutely!!!
 
Prince_Hal said:
Yes. He came round the other day, because we moved areas. Very pleasant. My had pre-warned him that “I did not believe”. I did not want to go into details with him because this is a very personal and sacred journey that I am on. With a previous LDS bishop I did give some more details and he unfortunately could not handle it. He lent back in the chair in my home, looked up to the heavens, rolled his eyes, refused to let me give the prayer before he and his counsellor left, and rarely spoke to me from that moment on. So, I have been more circumspect since.

Hal.
Click to expand...
Let me make sure I understand this.

This Bishop was in your home, and refused to let you offer a prayer? In your own home?

If that is really the case, and I were in your situation, it wouldn’t have ended very nicely I’m afraid.

Let me tell you of a personal experience.

My Mother was helping an elderly neighbor for many months who was dealing with some health issues. My Mother was Presbyterian, and this neighbor was Baptist.

Religious affiliation never entered into the picture as far as their interaction went. However, the neighbors pastor did come over to meet with mom, to see where he could help out etc.

He askedmy mother if it was OK to offer a prayer before they chatted. My mother of course allowed him to do so. At the end of the evening, my mother asked if they should end their get together with a prayer. Of course he agreed, and without blinking, my mother offered the prayer. It caught him a bit off guard, but it also set the tone for what ended up be a very close friendship between the two of them. They both realized that even though they were of different religious affiliations, mutual respect
was more important. It also showed that he was a gracious guest in another persons home.

Maybe next time I’ll tell you about the priest that tried to convert my mother…😃
 
Prince_Hal said:
So help me out. Not sure if this is the correct forum.

My wife and I are both Mormons. But I no longer believe in Mormonism, and would like to become Catholic. For various reasons this is not happening.

My wife wants me to give my 6 year old daughter a blessing, by laying my hands on her head. I have said that I will not do it in the Mormon tradition: “By the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head and give you a blessing, etc”.

But my wife still wants me to lay my hands upon my daughters head and bless her - but not mention the Melchizedek Priesthood.

This still makes me feel uncomfortable. I have offered to pray with my daughter, perhaps whilst holding her hands.

Of course from a Mormon point of view since I do not believe in the Mormon priesthood, maybe I am not “worthy” to bless - though I do not drink alcohol, smoke, etc. I could give her a “fathers blessing” that doesn’t involve stating the priesthood, but again, this seem all very Mormon to me.

What do Catholic fathers (not priests) do?

What should I do? Can anyone help?

God bless,

Hal.
Click to expand...
Prince,

My father used to tell me, “When Mama ain’t happy, ani’t nobody happy”. You are in a bit of a difficult position, which demands you pray and communicate with your wife with respect and honesty.

It would not be appropriate for you to bless you child in the Mormon way, but there is no reason you could not give her a father’s blessing. If you think you are ready, share again with your wife your feelings about not wanting to exercise your Mormon priesthood. Recommend that a grandfather, her father, or brother, etc. fill in for you at the blessing.

Later, with just the family present, you give the child your blessing as a father. This is not a Mormon thing, but has been available to the followers of God from the beginning. The OT is full of examples of this.

By agreeing to this compromise, you may placate your dear wife while also remaining true to your own faith. Be prayerful with your wife that she may know that you are trying to follow God’s plan for you. Help her to feel secure that you are not leaving her and the children even though your faith in the Mormon Church is waning.

Do not become a statistical divorce, but walk the narrow path. Be patient, compromising, and creative. Invite her to attend events with you at the Catholic Church. Be particularly attentive to her; demonstrate your love for her and the children at every turn. Now more than ever be the servant of your family.
 
JeanMichel said:
Prince,

My father used to tell me, “When Mama ain’t happy, ani’t nobody happy”. You are in a bit of a difficult position, which demands you pray and communicate with your wife with respect and honesty.

It would not be appropriate for you to bless you child in the Mormon way, but there is no reason you could not give her a father’s blessing. If you think you are ready, share again with your wife your feelings about not wanting to exercise your Mormon priesthood. Recommend that a grandfather, her father, or brother, etc. fill in for you at the blessing.

Later, with just the family present, you give the child your blessing as a father. This is not a Mormon thing, but has been available to the followers of God from the beginning. The OT is full of examples of this.

By agreeing to this compromise, you may placate your dear wife while also remaining true to your own faith. Be prayerful with your wife that she may know that you are trying to follow God’s plan for you. Help her to feel secure that you are not leaving her and the children even though your faith in the Mormon Church is waning.

Do not become a statistical divorce, but walk the narrow path. Be patient, compromising, and creative. Invite her to attend events with you at the Catholic Church. Be particularly attentive to her; demonstrate your love for her and the children at every turn. Now more than ever be the servant of your family.
Click to expand...
Can we get a Facebook “Like” button on here somewhere? 👍
 
Prince_Hal said:
Thank you so much for your research. My baptism is valid, because as a child I was “Christened” Anglican.

So, do you or others think that it would be appropriate for me to place my hands on the head of my daughter and then pray, but of course leaving out the “by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood” piece?

Thanks,

Hal.
Click to expand...
👍👍
Give your daughter the blessing and pray together often. Don’t you love the part in catechism where it says, that we are called “to be a blessing.” Well~~I’m sure your daughter sees you as such in her life. You have received lots of insight here into your concerns about doing the blessing. Is there any other reason for your hesitation?

This is kind of off the subject but comes to mind… I am godmother to 3 babies that were baptized in the Catholic church and 2 of them had godfathers who were members of other christian denominations. Of course the priest actually performed the Baptisms. The point is that even for Baptism, only one godparent is required to be full, practicing Catholic. Perhaps that will help you in your decision whether or not to bless your daughter. If your wife were objecting, than it might be different.

Also, the Priest Melchizedek, if I am not mistaken, is a name I recall being mentioned during one part of Mass during the liturgy of the Eucharist or Eucharist prayer. Perhaps one of the senior members or priests here could share something more about it. It’s kind of a question within a question.
 
FHLC said:
Also, the Priest Melchizedek, if I am not mistaken, is a name I recall being mentioned during one part of Mass during the liturgy of the Eucharist or Eucharist prayer. Perhaps one of the senior members or priests here could share something more about it. It’s kind of a question within a question.
Click to expand...
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,” Genesis 14:18.

“Look with favor on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchisedech,” Eucharistiac Prayer I Roman Canon.

Melchizedek was an Old Testament priest who blessed Abraham, and offered bread and wine, which forshadowed the Eucharist.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top