The Definition of Benediction

You have surely heard someone say, “This is a blessing!” But do you know the meaning of this word? 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 predominant definition is religious. Blessings are performed very often and concern different objects, people and structures. Depending on the circumstances for which they are requested. A rosary can be blessed, as can a new car, a new job, a new house, etc.

In order to gain a full understanding of what a “blessing” is, we invite you to read this blog article:

• General information on the subject;
• Blessing: between magical ritual and God's reinforcement of grace;
• The riches of beatitude.

Without further ado, let's start reading the article!

General information on blessing

In 1948, the laying of the foundation stone of the church dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, built with the help and contribution of all the inhabitants of the region, was blessed. Blessings upon blessings. They are very often performed by priests and deacons. And they 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 entrance to the parish church, calls the priest to have it blessed by him. 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 for blessings around Easter, the door is opened to him.

They let him in, listen to him recite the formula of blessing, and accompany him 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. Meanwhile, 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. So that they can find themselves in the house putting the different rooms in order. Or preparing their favorite objects on which they intend to perform this priestly gesture.

The 5 main definitions of blessing

• The 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 one has received. The most famous blessings are those announced by Jesus.
  

• Blessing (in Lithuanian: Plokščiai): This is a village in Lithuania located in the Marijampole district of Šakiai county, seat of Plokščiai county. It has around 400 residents. During the reign of the Kingdom of Poland, it was the seat of the municipality.
  

• Blessing: A wish to obtain a special divine favor for an individual, a community or a thing by appropriate words and accompanying sacred gestures, a prayer on the thing or person to simplify his or her life.
  

• Blessing: This is a support, a favor, an encouragement, a kind of “hurray”, an expression of unity, solidarity, harmony between the blessing and the blessed.

Blessing according to the liturgical lexicon

Benediction in Latin (benedictio, from benedicere) means: to speak well of, to wish well, to ask for grace. The term final benediction refers to the benediction given by the celebrant at the end of the Christian sacrament (before 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 a single sign of the cross.

During 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 new presbyter (i.e. the newly ordained priest) gives the primate's blessing. First by pronouncing the general blessing formula. Then by 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 of blessing

In the imagination of believers, blessing refers to 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 have surely heard someone say, “I wish you happiness and blessings in life.”

Work in itself is already a great blessing. The blessing of God was not bestowed 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 and contentment.

It is often said that you should not get married without your parents' blessing. Here, this takes on the meaning of happiness, grace and abundance that parents will bestow on your life as a couple before the wedding.

Blessing: between magical custom and the reinforcement of God's grace

Blessings are performed very often and concern different objects, people and structures. A rosary can be blessed, as can a new car, a new job, a new house, etc. That said, we are not sure that those who request and receive it are aware of what it is and what it implies.

Pastoral experience teaches us that many people who ask their priest for this practice are not convinced. Or aware of what they are asking for and the real meaning of the blessing, its purpose. And the necessary attitude it requires on our part 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 refuse us the blessing. Logically, it is not surprising that many requests for blessings are made for reasons of superstition. Like a magic rite for good luck.

Types of blessings

The blessings that we commonly know are called invocative blessings. This is because they always consist of invoking God on people, things, objects, places and structures. Alongside these, there are the constitutive blessings, better known as consecrations. These are so called because they constitute the person to be consecrated in a special way by God. Constitutive blessings are those of the consecration of virgins, or of religious profession through the famous vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Those that are of greater importance for our argument are therefore the former. That is to say invocatory blessings, also called sacramentals. According to the blessing in the Holy Bible in the biblical world, blessing is present at every moment and constitutes a moment of profound communion of God with man and of man with God and all other persons. 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 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 invocation for God to give). Finally, when the subject of the verb is a person and the recipient is another person (man blesses man), the context must be considered.

It can mean to give (Isaac blesses Jacob with the gift of the birthright). But it can also mean to thank (Jacob blesses Pharaoh). It follows that every blessing consists of God's providential and benevolent regard for man. God loves man and assists him in all circumstances, while he commits himself to doing his will in everything and for everything. Everything on earth and in cosmic reality moves for the benefit of man. And its sole functionality is to show itself for the benefit of humanity alone. Consequently, in God's vision, everything is blessed because it is functional for man and not in itself.

However, all this did not bring Adam luck and prosperity. This was because, far from being faithful to his familiarity with his creator, he preferred to be sullied by the famous sin of the forbidden fruit. By sinning, he refused the blessing gaze of God and communion with his fellow creatures. And so he now finds himself in situations of adversity with both. For Adam, then, divine blessing in itself did not bear beneficial fruit, having chosen to reject it through sin.

Today's blessing

The above passage finds its relevance in the blessings we ask the priest for every day. And it allows us to understand the theme of these blessings according to the following concept. When we ask for a blessing:

• We have faith that God loves all his creation and provides for it continually.
• We therefore give thanks to God and glory to him for every gift of creation.
  
• We recognize that man is always at the center of creation.
• Objects are therefore blessed in relation to man and his activity: by blessing a specific thing, the priest calls on God to look upon this specific object with love because it will be beneficial to man and he will use it correctly;
  
• It follows that man will be disposed to carry out God's will with regard to the object itself, that man will be disposed to do God's will with regard to the object itself.
  

Thus, when you bless a car, you are not casting a magic spell on it or following a traditional and meaningless custom. Rather, you are calling on the Lord to look with love on the people who will use it, to protect them as they travel and to be their traveling companion. As the ritual of blessing says, those who drive the car will show 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 dangers and possible accidents.

The riches of bliss

Bliss is often associated with the most superficial forms of religion, such as the recitation of mysterious formulas. Practices that make no sense and that endure all the more in the absence of faith. On the other hand, even Christian tradition has preserved the most meaningless biblical customs. Putting the most important ones in terms of grace and thanksgiving. Hence this lack of differentiation in the terminology of blessing, even in the reality itself that these terms describe.

That said, the last visible gesture of Christ on earth, the sign that 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 to show in full light the extraordinary nature of God's generosity and the religious sentiment of human wonder engendered by this generosity. Blessing is a gift that concerns life itself and its mystery; it is a gift expressed in the word and its mystery.

Blessing therefore signifies a creative and life-giving gift, either at the stage where it does not yet exist. And it is not then a matter of a prayer of supplication, either at the stage where it already exists, and it is then a matter of expressions of gratitude. But whereas supplication, which is linked to blessing, already praises God's generosity in advance, thanksgiving involves seeing this gift at the moment of its manifestation.