Blessing with the sign of the cross

[zab]

That’s a typical example. The actual blessing part is omitted if it’s done by a lay person.

Priest: Through the intercession of St Blaise bishop and martyr may God deliver you from all ailments of the throat and all evil +In the Name of the Father …

Layperson: Through the intercession, etc. but specifically without the sign of the cross, and without the trinitarian invocation (whichh is the “blessing proper”).

Why does the church allow lay persons to assist with this blessing? It gives people the impression that we are all getting a blessing.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Sir Knight,
I’ve already said it several times in this thread. What the Catechism is not is a legal document as such, and so the wording is less precise.
Pope John Paul II called it a “norm for teaching the faith” not a source for liturgical laws.

Father, I didn’t mean it in a QUESTIONING manner. I’m sorry if it came across that way. I merely asked it for CLARIFICATION. I meant no offense.

 

[FrDavid96]

Why does the church allow lay persons to assist with this blessing? It gives people the impression that we are all getting a blessing.

I agree. It doesn’t make sense to me either. St. Blaise day comes once a year, and only once every 7 years on average is it on a Sunday. I don’t see the necessity or the value of having a layperson do a prayer in lieu of a proper blessing.

 

[brigid12]

I think this is the bottom line. Are we or are we not handing down our faith? The Catechism holds the crux of our Faith. That Faith is exemplified in the lives that we live, lives that include blessing those we meet.
Is this blessing the same as that of a priest who has received the Sacrament of Holy Orders? Of course not. I do not think that anybody has made that suggestion.

My comment was about her kissing her children after receiving Communion. It was not about blessings by laity!!!

 

[samovila]

I see that this discussion has taken a quite philosophical turn, but I wanted to chime in to add that every night after bed time prayers I kiss my toddler daughter, trace the cross on her head, and say, “Good night, honey. God bless you. I love you.” After reading the catholicculture.org article I might add a morning blessing, too.

 

[brigid12]

I see that this discussion has taken a quite philosophical turn, but I wanted to chime in to add that every night after bed time prayers I kiss my toddler daughter, trace the cross on her head, and say, “Good night, honey. God bless you. I love you.” After reading the catholicculture.org article I might add a morning blessing, too.

Sure.

 

[DebChris]

I see that this discussion has taken a quite philosophical turn, but I wanted to chime in to add that every night after bed time prayers I kiss my toddler daughter, trace the cross on her head, and say, “Good night, honey. God bless you. I love you.” After reading the catholicculture.org article I might add a morning blessing, too.

I see these types of blessings as part of our very rich Catholic heritage. It is part of what makes us different from our non-Catholic brothers and sisters. The blessings we give one another are sacramentals and powerful tools of evangelization.

When an earlier post stated that lay people were trying to become more powerful, I could only think about the power that we already possess by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation. I reread the Vatican II Document on the laity and our apostolic ministry. A powerful laity does not distract from the power of the clergy, rather it enhances it. I have seen the power of the Holy Spirit released in clergy by prayers of the laity. It is overwhelming and brings home how powerful Holy Orders can truly be. It brings home how powerful our own prayers can be. I have seen it in the preaching and new found zeal of priests who submitted to the prayers of the laity. I have often prayed for the man, the priest hearing confessions, with others in line knowing how fatiguing it can become and asking the Holy Spirit to give him strength and insight.

It is only in recent months that I have heard or read anything questioning the ability of laity to bless, mostly on this site. All blessings, regardless of who makes them, come from God. We are only instruments. It is God who gives each of us our unique gifts.
Yes, there are some blessings reserved to the ordained priesthood. This has not changed. Only a priest can consecrate the Bread and Wine that become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. If I want my rosary, car, or house blessed, I still ask a priest for those blessings. As a member of the laity, I do not have the power to make an item sacred. I would not think of using an open hand style sign of the cross as the priest does when blessing items or the congregation.

As Catholics, we have a rich heritage that I would not want to lose. It includes the blessings I received every morning from my own mother made hand on head with the thumb making the sign of the cross. Laity or clergy, we are called to be open to the power of the Holy Spirit working in each of our lives, to be a blessing to those we meet.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Introduction to the Book of Blessings:
“18. … d. An acolyte or reader who by formal institution has this special office in the Church is rightly preferred over another layperson as the minister designated at the discretion of the local Ordinary to impart certain blessings.
Other laymen and laywomen, in virtue of the universal priesthood, a dignity they possess because of their baptism and confirmation, may celebrate certain blessings, as indicated in the respective orders of blessings, by use of the rites and formularies designated for a lay minister. Such laypersons exercise this ministry in virtue of their office (for example, parents on behalf of their children) or …”
(Book of Blessings, Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1989, ISBN 0-8146-1875-8, page xxviii. My bold text.)

 

[talitim]

Whew,
I didn’t mean to start a fight. :slapfight:

 

[DebChris]

All blessings come from God who works through whomever He chooses…
A wonderful speaker at the Eucharist Congress that I attended spoke about the most powerful prayer of the Catholic Church. It is the Sign of the Cross that serves as witness to the world that we are Catholic Christians. It is the Sign of the Cross that acts as a cross hairs making us a target for those who do not understand the Faith.
In the Magnificat (Vol. 10:10), I read the story of Blessed Gerald Cognoli (Dec. 1). At the age of 40, Gerald entered the Franciscan Order as a lay brother. One day Gerald saw a child crying over a shattered glass vessel he had dropped while carrying it home to his mother. Gerald gathered the broken pieces of glass, blessed them, and the vessel was returned to the child completely restored to its intact form.

 

[bpbasilphx]

**
As a Roman Catholic, am I permitted to bless my children with the sign of the cross as the priest does, or is that something that I should refrain from doing? I also would like to know why either way. I bless my children at night, and then before I leave for work.**

**In the Eastern tradition, it’s perfectly proper to for parents to bless their children with the Sign of the Cross made over them–only they hold their hand they way they would when blessing themselves: thumb, forefinger, and middle finger joined, and ring and little finger folded down into their palms.

In THE CARDINAL, shortly after ordination the priest protagonist visits his mother and asks for her blessing, which she does by tracing a cross with her thumb on his forehead. Something similar happened in THE NUN’S STORY.**

 

[DebChris]

**
As a Roman Catholic, am I permitted to bless my children with the sign of the cross as the priest does, or is that something that I should refrain from doing? I also would like to know why either way. I bless my children at night, and then before I leave for work.**

**In the Eastern tradition, it’s perfectly proper to for parents to bless their children with the Sign of the Cross made over them–only they hold their hand they way they would when blessing themselves: thumb, forefinger, and middle finger joined, and ring and little finger folded down into their palms.

In THE CARDINAL, shortly after ordination the priest protagonist visits his mother and asks for her blessing, which she does by tracing a cross with her thumb on his forehead. Something similar happened in THE NUN’S STORY.**

This is the blessing I received every morning as a child. This is the blessing I gave my grandson as part of the nightly ritual. This is the blessing that he now returns and at times initiates. It was beautiful to watch the exchange of this blessing between my grandson and his stepfather, a Presbyterian minister, an exchange initiated by my grandson.