Efficacy / Appropriateness of Lay Blessings

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ToMo

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Curious about what types of blessings are appropriate for lay people to perform… what of these:
  1. my sister had asked that I bring her some holy water from church (she is not a Mass-goer). I did, and then I dipped my thumb into the holy watere, and traced the sign of the cross on her forehead while saying, “May Almighty God bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Was this appropriate?
  1. after laying my son in his crib at night, I usually pray (while standing over him) that Christ will bless him and keep him safe, and I have on occasion traced the sign of the cross over him, in the air.
Was this appropriate?

…and lastly
  1. the other night I was at my grandmother’s house. She had baked a cake, and before I cut it, I said grace, and felt moved to (but didn’t to it) to trace the sign of the cross over it in the air with my hand while saying grace.
Would this have been appropriate?

I AM NOT LOOKING TO DO ANYTHING THAT IS PROPER ONLY TO PRIESTS!
 
Holy water is already blessed and where ever you put the water, the blessing prayer stays with it…make sense?

Then your prayers just add more…

I always bless my own children at night with the sign of the cross on their foreheads.

Blessing food 👍
 
DJgang said:
Holy water is already blessed and where ever you put the water, the blessing prayer stays with it…make sense?
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Yep - makes sense…I just wondered if maybe she should have blessed herself with it, opposed to me making the sign of the cross on her forehead…
 
Growing up I never left the house until I first kissed my mother and she blessed me. The traditional blessing is the hand on the head with the sign of the cross made on the forehead with the thumb.
Tucking my grandchildren into bed meant hugs, kisses, eskinoses, and a blessing. Now they are older they insist on giving me the blessing. My grandson even has his Dad, a Presbyterian minister, accepting and giving the same traditional Catholic blessing.
 
ToMo said:
Yep - makes sense…I just wondered if maybe she should have blessed herself with it, opposed to me making the sign of the cross on her forehead…
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I would say, whatever…if your sister feels comfortable with you doing that, sure…

Although my first thought was why didn’t she do it but then I quickly pulled that thought out of my mind…

If the Church says that in emergency situations, anyone can baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I don’t see a problem with you doing this type of blessing. Again, my opinion…
 
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