Cathal BarryThe divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated in the Church’s liturgy, writes Cathal Barry
The Church teaches that blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both word and gift. When applied to man, the word “blessing” means adoration and surrender to his Creator in thanksgiving, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states.
The Church teaches that from the beginning until the end of time “the whole of God’s work is a blessing”.
“From the liturgical poem of the first creation to the canticles of the heavenly Jerusalem, the inspired authors proclaim the plan of salvation as one vast divine blessing,” the Catechism states.
The Church also teaches that from the very beginning, God blessed all living beings, especially man and woman.
Covenant
“The covenant with Noah and with all living things renewed this blessing of fruitfulness despite man’s sin which had brought a curse on the ground,” according to the Catechism. However, with Abraham, “the divine blessing entered into human history which was moving toward death, to redirect it toward life, toward its source”.
“By the faith of ‘the father of all believers’, who embraced the blessing, the history of salvation is inaugurated,” the document adds.
The Church holds that divine blessings “were made manifest in astonishing and saving events”, including the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the promised land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple and the purifying exile.
The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings, according to the Church, and at the same time respond to them with blessings of praise and thanksgiving.
In the Church’s liturgy, according to the Catechism, the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated.
“The Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation,” the document states. “In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for us, he fills us with his blessings. Through his Word, he pours into our hearts the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit,” it adds.
Therefore, the Church teaches that “the dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a response of faith and love to the spiritual blessings the Father bestows” on the faithful “is evident”.
On the one hand, the Church, united with her Lord and “in the Holy Spirit” (Lk 10:21), blesses the Father “for his inexpressible gift (2 Cor 9:15) in her adoration, praise, and thanksgiving.
The Catechism notes, however, that on the other hand, until the consummation of God’s plan, “the Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the faithful, and upon the whole world, so that through communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life “to the praise of his glorious grace” (Eph 1:6).