What Happens When a Priest Blesses Us?
The priestly blessing connects a thousand-year-old biblical prayer with our life of faith. What we ask of God in it, and why the Church gives this blessing.
At the end of Holy Mass, the priest raises his hand and says: “May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” We cross ourselves and respond with “Amen”. Then follows the dismissal: “Go in peace.”
The priestly blessing is one of the most familiar actions of our Catholic faith. But can a priest truly convey God's blessing to us? And what significance does this blessing have for our lives?
What Meaning and Effect Does the Priestly Blessing Have?
The Aaronic Blessing: Where Does God's Blessing Come From?
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Num 6:24–26).
These words are among the oldest blessing prayers in the Bible. God speaks to Moses and commands him to pass these words of blessing on to Aaron and his sons. They are to bless the people of Israel with them. God attaches a promise to this: “So they shall put my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them” (Num 6:27).
In Sacred Scripture, God's name stands for His presence. By placing His name upon the people, Aaron and his sons put Israel under God's protection. The actual promise of blessing comes from God Himself. Aaron speaks the words, but it is God who blesses.
We already encounter this divine action in the creation account. God blesses the creatures of the water and the birds (Gen 1:22). Then He turns to man, blesses him, and gives him the command to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28). Here, blessing is closely tied to the life that God has created.
Abraham later receives the promise of numerous descendants and a land of his own. At the same time, through him, blessing is also to come to other nations (Gen 12:1–3). God's promise thus extends far beyond Abraham and his family.
The Latin word benedicere literally means “to say good things”. In Sacred Scripture, however, blessing means far more than wishing someone well. God's own word possesses creative power. In the creation account, He speaks, and what He says comes to be. So when God blesses, He Himself can bring about the good that He promises.
What Does an Ecclesiastical Blessing Accomplish?
With an ecclesiastical blessing, the Church asks for God's help on our behalf. She prays for the strengthening of our faith, for protection from evil, and for everything that serves our eternal salvation.
The various blessings show how closely this prayer is connected with our lives. For a sick relative, we ask for God's assistance in suffering. At a house blessing, we entrust our home and all who live in it to His protection. On February 3rd, through the Blessing of St. Blaise, the Church asks, through the intercession of St. Blaise, for protection from illnesses of the throat and from all evil. Even the Advent wreath is blessed, so that it may remind us during Advent of the coming of Christ.
Such blessings belong to the sacramentals. By this, the Catholic Church understands sacred signs through which she asks for God's help. The use of holy water also belongs to this category.
Sacramentals differ from the seven sacraments in how they work. In the sacraments, Christ bestows the grace proper to them through the validly performed sacramental act, provided we place no obstacle to their reception. Theology calls this ex opere operato. With sacramentals, however, it is the prayer of the Church that stands at the center. It prepares us to receive God's grace and to cooperate with it.
So what may we expect from a blessing? Certainly not a guarantee of a life without illness or suffering. A blessed person can still fall gravely ill, lose a loved one, or fall into great distress. God's help can show itself precisely in such situations: in the strength to bear suffering, in the hope that sustains us, and in the faith that keeps us united with Him even in difficult times.
With the blessing, we place our lives in God's hands. We ask Him for His help and leave it to His wisdom in what way He grants it to us.
Must We Believe in the Blessing for It to Work?
No. Even the unbaptized or people with weak faith can receive an ecclesiastical blessing. For example, the Church blesses catechumens who are preparing for baptism. However, what spiritual fruits grow from a blessing also depends on our own readiness to accept God's grace.
The prayer of the Church does not presuppose an already firm faith. Especially for someone who is only slowly drawing near to God, a blessing can take on special meaning. He experiences that the Church is praying for him and entrusting him to God's care.
Our inner disposition nevertheless remains important. God's grace is a free gift that we can accept or reject. It can neither be forced nor earned through particularly strong faith.
With our "Amen" to the priestly blessing, we join in the prayer of the Church. We agree with her petition and entrust our lives to God.
Why is the priestly blessing something special?
What distinguishes the blessing of a priest from the blessing of a layperson?
The decisive difference lies in the ecclesial mandate. Through baptism we share in the common priesthood of all believers and can ask God for His blessing on others. Through his ordination, the priest also possesses the authority to impart certain blessings as an ordained minister in the name of the Church.
A familiar example is the blessing of parents. Before bedtime, they trace a cross on their children's foreheads, thereby entrusting them to God's protection. This blessing belongs to Christian family life and does not require priestly ordination.
At the final blessing of Holy Mass, the priest's special mandate becomes clearly apparent. He traces the sign of the cross over the congregation and says: "May almighty God bless you…" When we pray together as laypeople for God's blessing, we use, for example, the words "May almighty God bless us…" and make the sign of the cross on ourselves. Which form is prescribed depends on the particular liturgical celebration.
As an ordained minister, the priest acts in the name of the Church. His act of blessing is part of her public worship. Yet God Himself remains the source of the blessing we receive.
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What is the first blessing (Primiz)?
After his priestly ordination, a newly ordained priest celebrates his first Holy Mass, called the first Mass or "Primiz." In connection with this celebration, he imparts the first blessing, often to each of the faithful personally.
In many parishes, the faithful come forward individually to the newly ordained priest after his first Mass. He lays his hands on them or blesses them with the sign of the cross. This custom expresses joy over the ordination and appreciation for priestly ministry.
The first blessing holds special significance in the life of the newly ordained priest and his parish. However, it is not a sacrament in its own right and works according to the same principles as other ecclesial blessings.
Why does the priest bless with the sign of the cross?
The sign of the cross points to Jesus Christ, Who redeemed the world through His death and Resurrection. With this sign, the priest reminds us of the salvation that Christ won for us on the cross.
Already the early Christians used the sign of the cross quite naturally in everyday life. The Church writer Tertullian reports at the beginning of the 3rd century in his work De corona militis: "At every step and movement, every going in and going out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign" (Tertullian, De corona militis, chap. 3).
The raised hands used in blessing also have a long biblical history. Already Aaron blessed the people of Israel with raised hands (Lev 9:22). In the Gospel of Luke we encounter the same gesture at the Ascension of Christ. Jesus leads His disciples out near Bethany, raises His hands, and blesses them. While He is still blessing them, He is carried up into heaven (Luke 24:50–51).
The last visible act of Christ before His Ascension is His blessing. The disciples then return to Jerusalem full of joy.
In Christ, the promise that God once gave to Abraham is fulfilled. The Apostle Paul explains that the blessing of Abraham comes to the nations through Jesus Christ, and that through faith we receive the promised Spirit (Gal 3:8.14).
The priest's sign of the cross leads us back to the origin of our salvation. Through Christ we have received a share in God's promise. At the final blessing of Holy Mass, this blessing is pronounced over us in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Can even a sinful priest give a valid blessing?
Yes. Even a priest who has himself committed grave sin can, as a lawfully acting minister, impart an ecclesial blessing. His personal holiness is not a prerequisite for this.
The blessing is grounded in the prayer of the Church and in the priest's ecclesial mandate. His personal sins do not render this prayer worthless. After all, the blessing comes from God, Whose grace does not depend on the moral perfection of the priest.
This in no way diminishes the priest's responsibility. His sins can cause serious harm to the priestly ministry and shake the trust of the faithful. Nevertheless, the Church distinguishes between his personal conduct and the office he exercises.
So we do not first need to judge how holy a priest's life is before receiving his blessing. Our trust is directed toward God, from Whom every blessing comes.
The final blessing of the Mass: blessed and sent
“Go in peace.” With these words the priest dismisses the congregation after the final blessing. Our response is: “Thanks be to God.”
The Latin dismissal formula is Ite, missa est. From this phrase comes the name “Mass.” Originally it referred to the dismissal of the assembled faithful. In the Christian understanding, it also carries our mission: we leave the church to live out the faith we have celebrated.
The final blessing comes immediately before this dismissal. Having heard the Word of God and celebrated the Eucharist, the priest asks for God's blessing upon us. With this blessing we go forth.
Perhaps a sick relative is waiting for us at home. Perhaps a difficult decision lies ahead. We do not know what the coming week will bring. In the blessing, we entrust to God even what lies beyond our own control.
On the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, January 1st, we hear in the first reading the Aaronic blessing from the Book of Numbers. In it, God is asked to let His face shine upon us and to give us peace.
This image leads us to the true purpose of the blessing. We ask God for His protection during our earthly life. But our hope reaches further. One day we want to behold His face and live forever in communion with Him.
In the last chapter of Revelation it is said of the redeemed: “They will see his face” (Rev 22:4–5).
This is ultimately what every Christian blessing directs us toward.
About Lukasz Holfeld
Editor / author at Priesterausbildungshilfe.
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