Catholics love blessings! Blessings are assurances of God’s presence and protection. The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with stories of God’s favor bestowed in the form of a blessing. The Bible begins with God creating the earth and blessing all living creatures. In the gospels, Jesus is often seen blessing others, especially children.

It’s no wonder that our rituals are filled with blessings. One of the first things we do when we walk into church is to bless ourselves with holy water from the baptismal font. This is only one of several blessings we experience at Mass. During the Mass, the bread and the wine are blessed after they are presented at the altar. At the end of Mass, the entire community is sent forth with a blessing.

We even have an official ritual book known as the Book of Blessings. This book contains a compilation of blessings pertaining to people, objects, and various occasions, as well as blessings and services connected with official parish events. There are blessings for students and teachers, blessings for travelers, blessings for homes and offices, even blessings for boats and fishing gear. This tells us that everything, even fishing equipment comes from God and is sacred. Blessings are a way for us to acknowledge this reality.

Who can bless? Certain blessings are reserved for ordained ministers, but many blessings, such as the blessing of children by their parents or the blessing of a meal, may be performed by laypersons because of the priesthood bestowed on them in baptism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Every baptized person is to be a blessing and to bless.” A blessing is not simply meant to rest upon the person receiving the blessing, but is expected to be shared with others.

As the Book of Blessings reminds us, “Scripture attests that all the beings God has created and keeps in existence by his gracious goodness declare themselves to be blessings from him and should move us to bless him in return.”