Beautifully put. I’m so glad I happened to come upon your substack while browsing my way around Christian twitter as a non-twitter-user. I had the opportunity to see an ordination mass for the first time recently via Zoom (one benefit of the streamed-church era), and was so struck by the individual blessings at the end. I also happened to JUST have read this last night from B16’s “The Spirit of the Liturgy” which dovetails with your point about the royal priesthood of all believers:
“We make the sign of the Cross on ourselves and thus enter the power of the blessing of Jesus Christ. We make the sign over people to whom we wish a blessing; and we also make it over things that are part of our life and that we want, as it were, to receive anew from the hand of Jesus Christ. Through the Cross, we can become sources of blessing for one another. I shall never forget the devotion and heartfelt care with which my father and mother made the sign of the Cross on the forehead, mouth, and breast of us children when we went away from home, especially when the parting was a long one. This blessing was like an escort that we knew would guide us on our way. It made visible the prayer of our parents, which went with us, and it gave us the assurance that this prayer was supported by the blessing of the Savior. The blessing was also a challenge to us not to go outside the sphere of this blessing. Blessing is a priestly gesture, and so in this sign of the Cross we felt the priesthood of parents, its special dignity and power. I believe that this blessing, which is a perfect expression of the common priesthood of the baptized, should come back in a much stronger way into our daily life and permeate it with the power of the love that comes from the Lord.”
Congratulations on your ordination & may God bless you and bless your congregants through you.
Beautifully put. I’m so glad I happened to come upon your substack while browsing my way around Christian twitter as a non-twitter-user. I had the opportunity to see an ordination mass for the first time recently via Zoom (one benefit of the streamed-church era), and was so struck by the individual blessings at the end. I also happened to JUST have read this last night from B16’s “The Spirit of the Liturgy” which dovetails with your point about the royal priesthood of all believers:
“We make the sign of the Cross on ourselves and thus enter the power of the blessing of Jesus Christ. We make the sign over people to whom we wish a blessing; and we also make it over things that are part of our life and that we want, as it were, to receive anew from the hand of Jesus Christ. Through the Cross, we can become sources of blessing for one another. I shall never forget the devotion and heartfelt care with which my father and mother made the sign of the Cross on the forehead, mouth, and breast of us children when we went away from home, especially when the parting was a long one. This blessing was like an escort that we knew would guide us on our way. It made visible the prayer of our parents, which went with us, and it gave us the assurance that this prayer was supported by the blessing of the Savior. The blessing was also a challenge to us not to go outside the sphere of this blessing. Blessing is a priestly gesture, and so in this sign of the Cross we felt the priesthood of parents, its special dignity and power. I believe that this blessing, which is a perfect expression of the common priesthood of the baptized, should come back in a much stronger way into our daily life and permeate it with the power of the love that comes from the Lord.”
Congratulations on your ordination & may God bless you and bless your congregants through you.