Spiritual Life
The Parental Blessing of Children
Family prayer · The common practice of Catholic households tradition
The daily blessing parents give their children — a sign of the cross traced on the forehead with a short invocation — by which the household's ordinary partings and bedtimes are placed under God's protection.
Instructions
Do it at the same moments each day so the child comes to expect it: at bedtime, at the door before school, at a departure, before an examination or an operation, on a birthday and on the anniversary of baptism. Trace the sign of the cross with the thumb on the child's forehead and say the same words each time, so that the child learns them and can one day say them: "May God bless you and keep you," or simply "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Holy water may be used. Add a longer blessing on the feast of the Holy Family, which the Directory on Popular Piety names as a fitting occasion for the blessing of children as provided in the ritual. The Church's Book of Blessings contains an order for the blessing of children which parents may use at home. Keep the distinction clear: this is a parental blessing, given in virtue of the baptismal priesthood and of the office of a parent, and it does not use the gestures or the formulas reserved to a priest or deacon. Canon 1168 provides that lay persons may administer certain sacramentals in accordance with the liturgical books.
Background
The Directory on Popular Piety recommends the blessing of children, as provided in the ritual, particularly on the feast of the Holy Family, and treats blessings within the family among the practices of Christian households. Familiaris Consortio grounds the practice in the priestly office of Christian parents.
Practice kind
Family
Tradition
The common practice of Catholic households
Duration
About 1 minute
Frequency
Daily — at bedtime and at partings
Content subtype
family