About the Mass Series: Concluding Rite Part 2

‘FINAL BLESSING-SOLEMN BLESSING’.

The Concluding Rite consists of: (a) the priests greeting ( the Lord be with you etc), (b) the blessing, which on certain days or feast days is expanded (c ) the dismissal which sends the congregation back to doing good works while praising and blessing the Lord and(d) recessional hymn.

Before sending his disciples into the world to bear witness to His resurrection before all the nations, we are told in Scripture that ‘Jesus lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he was taken up into heaven’. (Luke 24:50-51).

Before sending the congregation back into the world to announce the Good News to others, the priest likewise lifts up his hands over us, and marks us with the sign of the cross, and invokes the blessing Father, Son and Holy Spirit upon us.

On certain feast days such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and other important liturgical moments, the priest uses a more solemn form of blessing known as the solemn blessing.  First he invites us to ‘bow our heads and pray for God’s blessing’.  Then there are usually three invocations to which the congregation reply AMEN. Then the priest gives the blessing as he blesses us with the sign of the cross.

It is important to note that as he gives the blessing, he is representing Christ in our midst and he is bringing us the blessing on the part of God by marking us with the cross of Christ. In this sense, he does not bless himself. He does not say ‘may almighty God bless US’. The words therefore ‘May almighty God bless YOU are significant’. It also expresses something of the humility of the ordained priestly ministry.