Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Guest Writers

Have you blessed anyone today? Christian Brother Brian Grenier sheds light on the age-old practice

byGuest Contributor
4 February 2019 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
AA

Daily blessings: “... We could with enrichment to ourselves, both as parish communities and as families, take a fresh look at the place of blessings in our lives.”

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Daily blessings: “… We could with enrichment to ourselves, both as parish communities and as families, take a fresh look at the place of blessings in our lives.”

“BLESS yourself before you go”, my mother often said to me as I left for St Anthony’s School in the Brisbane suburb of Kedron.

It was a perfectly natural thing to do; for, as Catholic primary-level pupils in those days, we lived in a world of blessings.

Before school business began we chanted a long, drawn-out greeting to our teacher: “Good morning, Sister, and may God bless you”.

Then, with an unselfconscious blend of piety and patriotism, we proceeded to invoke in song God’s blessing on “our lovely morning land, Australia”.

We waylaid visiting priests and asked them to bless our newly-acquired medals, scapulars, rosary beads and indeed ourselves.

Some people of my acquaintance, whose memory of these far-off days is touched with nostalgia, claim that we live today in a “piety void”.

Whether they are right or wrong, we could with enrichment to ourselves, both as parish communities and as families, take a fresh look at the place of blessings in our lives.

In the Old Testament there are more than 400 references to blessings, beginning with God’s blessing of the sea creatures and birds on the fifth day of creation (Genesis 1:22) and of Adam and Eve on the sixth (Genesis 1:28).

Drawing on this rich inheritance, Jesus blessed God (Matthew 11:25), little children (Matthew 19:13-15), the loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:9) and the bread and wine at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-27) – to choose only a few examples.

He even told us that we should bless people who treat us with contempt: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).

Related Stories

The Mass as sacrifice

Without the Eucharist, ‘we would lack faith to face’ daily problems, Archbishop says

Q&A – Can you receive Holy Communion if you are divorced?

In similar vein Peter writes in his first epistle: “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called – that you might inherit a blessing’” (1 Peter 3:9).

The last action of Jesus before he ascended to his Father was to bless his followers: “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51).

In this, as in so many ways, Jesus has given us an example to follow.

It is not surprising, therefore, that his Church continues in our day to bless in his name and in the power of his Spirit.

Day by day in her official prayer, the Divine Office, the Church invites the Christian faithful to acknowledge God’s abundant blessings in two very beautiful prayers – the Benedictus of Zechariah at Lauds and the Magnificat of Mary at Vespers.

In them we offer joyful praise and thanks to God, the giver of all good gifts.

On the day of his ordination the priest hears the presiding bishop say to him: “Whatever you bless will be blessed”.

However, lay people also may give blessings.

At baptisms of children parents are sometimes invited to sign the forehead of their child with a cross using the oil of chrism.

The same privilege is extended to godparents; and I would like to think that siblings might be similarly involved in the sacred ritual.

In some families the practice of blessing continues as children grow up.

It is a simple and meaningful thing to bless them (in whatever form this might take) every evening before they go to bed – also when they are ill, or whenever there is cause for celebration.

Nor should we limit our attention in this matter to the younger members of the household.

At the least we can see to it that the custom of saying grace at meals, asking God to bless us and the food we eat, is observed in our homes.

This gives even the most ordinary meal a certain Eucharistic character.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you.

“May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

“May the Lord show you his face and bring you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Pilgrims focus on the ‘vertical’ towards God and not the ‘horizontal’ here on Earth

Next Post

Rising waters bring hardship to Townsville but also bring out the best in the human spirit

Guest Contributor

Related Posts

Share God’s love, don’t just lament lack of faith, Pope Francis says
Question Time

The Mass as sacrifice

2 March 2022
Without the Eucharist, ‘we would lack faith to face’ daily problems, Archbishop says
World

Without the Eucharist, ‘we would lack faith to face’ daily problems, Archbishop says

21 October 2021
Holy Communion: The Church has no issue with a divorced person receiving Holy Communion if they are in a state of grace.
Faith

Q&A – Can you receive Holy Communion if you are divorced?

22 September 2021
Next Post

Rising waters bring hardship to Townsville but also bring out the best in the human spirit

Crossing a 'void' for the poor, a Christian Brother's journey to the heart of the village

‘God’s in the midst of all this, working through all the people volunteering to help,’ Bishop Tim Harris says as major flooding hits North Queensland

Popular News

  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks
Faith

Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

by Joe Higgins
17 May 2022
0

SAINT Kateri Tekakwitha was united with the suffering of Christ from an early age. She was born...

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

17 May 2022
Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

16 May 2022
Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

16 May 2022
The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

16 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping