Blessings
God is the source and beginning of all blessings. He reigns and is glorious to all forever. He alone, being good, created all things good, He desires to reward all creations abundantly with His blessings and gives them even after the fall of man as a sign of His mercy.
Christ revealed the greatest blessing of the Father in the Gospel by blessing the brothers, especially the little ones, by addressing the Father in a prayer of blessing. When God blesses others himself or through other people, the help of the Lord is always promised, His grace is proclaimed, and His faithfulness to the Covenant is glorified. Blessings are directed first and foremost to God, whose greatness and goodness they exalt, but, in the transmission of God’s grace, they also turn to the people whom God cares for through His Providence. They also turn to other creations, the abundance and variety of which God blesses man.
The Church praises the Lord for people and with them in their special circumstances of life and asks for God’s grace, worshiping God in all things, and above all in order to show the glory of God to all people. At the same time, the Church blesses things and places related to human activities, liturgical life and piety, but always keeping in mind the people who use said things and work in said places.
The blessings of the Church are liturgical acts, so their communal celebration is important.
Participating believers are encouraged to join their hearts and lips in the voice of the Church. The blessing of things or places should not be celebrated without the participation of more than one believer.
It is essential that God’s people properly understand the rites and prayers that the Church incorporates into the blessings, so that nothing that undermines the purity of faith as superstitions or impurities of false beliefs enters their celebration.
The following gestures are most commonly used during blessing: arms outstretched, raised, folded or placed, a sign of the cross, sprinkling with holy water, and incense.