INSIDE MODERN LITURGY

Bless you

The Book of Blessings, published in 1990, seems to be little known and under-used. Nevertheless, as the Congregation for Divine Worship said in its decree of publication, "The celebration of blessings holds a privileged place among all the sacramentals created by the church .... By celebrating a blessing the faithful can sanctify various situations and events in their lives."

Obvious "situations and events" like a blessing for the Christmas tree, for a new cross, or for a sick person are included. But less obvious examples include a blessing for parents of an adopted child, for a crime victim, for a new library (extra blessings if the library subscribes to ML), for the inauguration of a public official, and even for boats and fishing gear.

However, the blessings are not even the best part of the book. The true gem is the "General Introduction." The introduction provides a fine history and theology of blessings. It makes clear that blessings are not a magic conferrals of power or protection. "Blessings are," according to the introduction, "part of the liturgy of the church."

All the elements of good liturgy are required for a blessing: full and active participation of the community, proclamation of the Word, ritual language and gesture, strong, evocative symbols, competent ministers, and so on. The document assumes we are (or soon will be) past the days when a priest throws holy water at a new government building in between speeches or waves his hand over a new rosary in the vestibule between Masses. By celebrating blessings as liturgies — with the active participation of the faithful being the "primary criterion," the document assures that we "will forestall the intrusion into the celebration of anything that might replace genuine faith with superstition and/or shallow credulity."

In this issue of ML, Glenn CJ Byer gives an example of how to use a blessing during the preparation process of an engaged couple (page 6). John Thomas Lane shows how a number of blessings can be used to help form the faith of teenagers and young people during important times in their lives (page 9).

I encourage liturgy committees to spend some time exploring the Book of Blessings in the coming new year. Ten to fifteen minutes at the beginning of each meeting spent reading and discussing sections of the "General Introduction" and offering blessings that the committee members think are particularly interesting would do much to enhance the liturgical life of your parish.

— NW