Written by Benoît Santos - Updated on Oct 27, 2024
You have probably heard someone say, “This is a blessing!” But do you know what this word means? Do you know what it represents in the liturgical glossary?
We are here today to shed some light on the subject. We have done some research and found some very interesting information. To give you a taste, here is a short answer:
The word "blessing" has several definitions. However, the definition that predominates is religious . Blessings are performed very often and concern different objects, people and structures. Depending on the circumstances for which they are requested. A chaplet of the Rosary can be blessed, a new car, a new job, a new house, etc.
In order to have a perfect understanding of what "blessing" is, we invite you to discover in this blog article:
- Generality on the subject;
- The blessing: between the magical rite and the strengthening of grace by God;
- The riches of bliss.
Without further ado, let's start reading the article!
General information about blessing
In 1948, the laying of the first stone of the church dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, built with the help and contribution of all the inhabitants of the area, was blessed. Blessings upon blessings. They are exercised very often by priests and deacons. And concern different objects, people and work structures, depending on the circumstances for which they are requested. There is the lady devoted to the Virgin or to Saint Padre Pio who approaches us in the sacristy to have her rosary blessed.
There is the family that has just bought a new car. And who, after parking it in front of the parish church entrance, calls the priest to bless it. There are those who make an appointment with the priest so that, before the inauguration festivities, he can "cut the ribbon on the door". Recite a prayer and sprinkle holy water on the furniture and goods on display. And when the priest visits the families in his territory on the occasion of the blessings as Easter approaches, the door is opened to him.
He is let in, listened to while he recites the blessing formula , accompanied through the rooms of the apartment. Pointing out the furniture and shelves with the various objects on which he is invited to sprinkle holy water. In the meantime, someone from the house warns the neighbor of the priest's presence. So that he too can receive the blessing of his house. Many people, well aware that the priest, sprinkler in hand, will be in their area, organize their day. In such a way as to find themselves in the house putting the various rooms in order. Or preparing their favorite objects on which they intend to perform this priestly gesture.
Top 5 Definitions of Blessing
- Blessing : It is the gift of God filled with graces, which consist mainly of gifts of the Holy Spirit, the favor of God's unchanging mercy , to a person overflowing with love in all spheres of life .
- In Christian religions : It is a ritual involving the blessing of a person with a cross or the sign of the cross. In the Bible, it means to wish or grant a blessing because of the gifts, virtues or favorable situation that one has received . The most famous blessings are those announced by Jesus.
- Blessing (Lithuanian: Plokščiai ) : It is a village in Marijampole District, Šakiai County, Lithuania, the seat of Plokščiai County . It has about 400 residents. During the reign of the Kingdom of Poland, it was the seat of the municipality .
- Blessing : A wish to obtain special divine favor for an individual, community, or thing through appropriate words and accompanying sacred gestures, a prayer over the thing or person to simplify their life.
- Blessing : It is a support, a favor, an encouragement, a sort of "hurrah", an expression of unity, solidarity, harmony between the blesser and the blessed.
The blessing according to the liturgical lexicon
Blessing in Latin ( benedictio , from benedicere ) means: to say good, to wish good, to ask for grace . The term final blessing designates the blessing given by the celebrant at the end of the Christian sacrament (before the distribution). After the words "May Almighty God bless you", the bishop makes three signs of the cross over the faithful. Pronouncing the name of each of the three divine persons. The presbyter makes only one sign of the cross.
At solemn Masses celebrated by the bishop, an apostolic blessing may be given. With a different blessing formula and a response from the people. ("May the name of the Lord..." "Our help..." Our help is in the name of the Lord... " etc.). In turn, after the Primate's Mass, the neo-presbyter (i.e. the newly ordained priest) gives the Primate's blessing. First pronouncing the general blessing formula. Then individually laying his hands on the head of each participant in the liturgy.
At the end of some services, the blessing of the Blessed Sacrament is given. The faithful must then make the sign of the Holy Cross. In a broader sense, blessings are also: A prayer of praise to God, praising Him for His gifts. A prayer of petition for God's favor, favor and generosity for people, things and works (human initiatives).
Other perceptions on blessing
In the imagination of believing people, blessing means divine favor , bringing success, happiness, joy, etc. He did not believe, even in his own eyes, that blessings were suddenly raining down on him from all sides. You must have heard someone say, " I wish you happiness and blessings in life ."
The work itself is already a great blessing. The divine blessing was not poured out on the Hlaveneks in the form of gold, but in the form of children. The sign of the cross made by hand on someone, according to the ideas of religious people, brings happiness, contentment.
It is often said not to marry without the blessing of the parents. This here takes the meaning of happiness, grace and abundance that the parents will proclaim on your life as a couple before marriage.
The Blessing: Between Magical Custom and the Strengthening of God's Grace
Blessings are performed very often and concern different objects, people and structures. A rosary can be blessed , a new car, a new job, a new house, etc. That said, we are not sure that those who ask for it and receive it are aware of what it is and what it implies.
Pastoral experience teaches us that many people, when they ask the priest for this practice, do not seem convinced. Or aware of what they are asking for and of the real meaning of the blessing, of its purpose. And of the necessary attitude that it requires of us, once it has been received. The important thing is that the priest does not refuse to bless our goods .
We give him the offering and he should not withhold the blessing from us. Logically , it is not surprising that many requests for blessings are made for reasons of superstition. Like a magic rite to have luck .
Types of Blessings
The blessings that we commonly know are called invoc antes. Because they always consist of invoking God on people, things, objects, places and structures. Next to them, there are the constitutive blessings better known as consecrations. The latter are called so because they constitute the person to be consecrated in a special way by God. The constitutive blessings are those of the consecration of virgins. Or of religious profession by the famous vows of poverty, chastity, obedience.
Those that are of greater importance for our argument are therefore the first. That is, the invocative blessings, also called sacramentals . According to the blessing in the Holy Bible in the biblical world, the blessing is present at every moment. And constitutes a moment of profound communion of God with man and of man with God and every other person. The verb to bless is expressed by the Hebrew verb baràk and the Greek verb euloghèo. In both versions it has the fundamental value of endowing with a saving virtue or of recognizing a saving virtue.
God's blessing for man
Things could be simplified by saying this: when the subject of the verb is God and the recipient is man ( God blesses man ). The verb takes on all the nuances of the gift. When God blesses a person or a thing, he endows it with a saving virtue. On the other hand, when the subject of the verb is man and the recipient is God (man blesses God). The verb takes on all the nuances of thanks (but also of the invocation for God to give). Finally, when the subject of the verb is a person and the recipient is another person (man blesses man), we must see the context.
It can mean to give (Isaac blesses Jacob with the gift of primogeniture). But it can also mean to thank (Jacob blesses Pharaoh). It follows that every blessing consists in God's providential and benevolent regard for man. God loves man and assists him in all circumstances, while he undertakes to do his will in everything and for everything. Everything on earth and in cosmic reality moves for the benefit of man. And has the sole functionality of showing itself for the benefit of humanity only. Therefore, in God's vision, everything is blessed because it is functional for man and not in itself.
However, all this did not constitute good luck and prosperity for Adam. But because far from being faithful to the familiarity with his creator preferred to be soiled by the famous fault of the forbidden fruit. By sinning, he refused the blessing gaze of God and communion with creatures. And so now finds himself in situations of adversity both with one and with others. For Adam therefore, the divine blessing in itself did not bear beneficial fruits, having himself chosen to reject it by sin.
Today's blessing
The above passage finds its relevance in the blessings that we ask the priest every day. And allows us to understand the theme of these according to the following concept. When we ask for a blessing:
- We have faith that God loves all of His creation and continually provides for it.
- We therefore give thanks to God and give him glory for every gift of creation.
- We recognize that at the center of creation there is always man.
- That objects are therefore blessed according to man and his activity: by blessing a specific thing, the priest invokes God to look at this specific object with love because it will benefit man and he will make correct use of it;
- It follows that man will be disposed to carry out the will of God in relation to the object itself, that man will be disposed to do the will of God in relation to the object itself.
So when you bless a car, you are not pronouncing a magic formula over it or following a traditional and meaningless custom. But you are invoking the Lord to look with love on the people who will use it, to protect them in their travels and to be their traveling companion. As the blessing ritual says, those who will drive the car will exercise skill and prudence and will consider God as their constant companion. In the absence of these prerogatives, the blessing will not be sufficient to avoid possible dangers and accidents.
The riches of bliss
Beatitude is often associated with the most superficial forms of religion, such as the recitation of mysterious formulas. Practices that have no meaning and that persist all the more because faith is lacking. On the other hand, even the Christian tradition has preserved the biblical customs that are the poorest in meaning. By placing the most important ones in terms of grace and thanksgiving. Hence this lack of differentiation in the terminology of blessing, or even in the very reality that these terms describe.
That said , the last visible gesture of Christ on earth, the sign he left to his Church and which has been perpetuated in Byzantine Christian art and in the architecture of cathedrals, is precisely his blessing (Luke 24:50 ) . To detail the richness of the biblical blessing is in fact to show in full light the extraordinary nature of God's generosity and the religious feeling of human wonder engendered by this generosity. The blessing is a gift that concerns life itself and its mystery; it is a gift expressed in the word and its mystery.
Blessing, then, means a creative and life-giving gift, either at the stage where it does not yet exist. And then it is not a prayer of supplication, or at the stage where it already exists, and then it is a question of expressions of gratitude. But whereas supplication, which is linked to blessing, already praises in advance the generosity of God, thanksgiving supposes seeing this gift at the moment of its manifestation.
Attract grace to you through our online articles
As you will have understood, when we bless the walls of a house, we invoke the protection of God on this particular dwelling. So that its inhabitants can lead a life in conformity with evangelical rectitude and find their point of reference in God.
When we bless an object of piety or devotion (a crucifix, an image, a rosary), we do it to ask God that its owner live a real devotion to what it represents.
To write a comment
