Relationship with and belief in God are essential to blessing. When we bless, we ask for goodness, and we ask from the source of all goodness, we ask God.
A small ritual wherein the blessing is transferred through the words that we pronounce and the gestures that we make, such as uplifted arms or actual laying-on of hands.
The enhancement of the receiver. To bless is to envision something good for the other. Even Jesus, when he pronounced the Beatitudes, envisioned a goodness that would give comfort and hope to future believers. The power to bless is awesome. It is the vision of divine enhancement, of a people resting in the palm of God’s hand. That is the hallmark of a blessing.
May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim.
The Lord bless you and keep you,
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you,
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
May God give to you of the dew of the heavens and of the fertility of the earth an abundance of grain and new wine.
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are they not more valuable than they?
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
May (God) give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable great power for us who believe.
Be the eye of God dwelling with you
The foot of Christ in guidance with you
The shower of the Spirit pouring on you
Richly and generously.
May you bind yourself today to
The power of God to hold and lead;
His eye to watch; His might to stay;
His ear to hearken to your need;
The wisdom of God to teach;
His hand to guide;
His shield to ward;
The word of God to give you speech;
His Heavenly Host to be your guard.
May God make safe to you each step,
May God make open to you each pass,
May God make clear to you each road,
And may He take you in the clasp
of His own two hands.
This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you will be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.
Though you have not seen (God), you love him;
And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your soul.
May Nicholas and Brendan bless this craft
Many angels dance above its deck
To ward off dangers fore and aft
From wind and wave and sunken wreck
All who sail it may they protect
And may all who cruise this mighty lake
Treat it always with wise respect
Ano foolish risks ever take.
