tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001212361881658125.post875620224226817426..comments2024-03-09T08:49:51.461-05:00Comments on Downtown Monks: ON POPES AND BLESSINGSFr Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02195307683109646666noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001212361881658125.post-53071191502115398782013-03-19T20:25:45.180-04:002013-03-19T20:25:45.180-04:00Only recently when I attended Mass at another pari...Only recently when I attended Mass at another parish did I happen upon the congregation holding up their hands for a communal blessing while the priest-celebrant gave his blessing to birthday and wedding anniversary celebrants. I must confess I felt unqualified for what I consider a divine act, and it was quite a while before I joined them. But when one realizes that all of us possess a soul wherein the divine nature of God dwells, it becomes something special in our eyes. Hence, to offer a blessing unifies the divinity within us and, as Fr. O'Donahue states, "In the light and reverence of a blessing, a person becomes illuminated in a completely new way." Blessings give us pause, albeit for a moment, to feel our connectedness and to renew our faith in the triune God. What a beautiful way for Pope Francis to begin his papacy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001212361881658125.post-1520539715947988062013-03-16T14:57:05.191-04:002013-03-16T14:57:05.191-04:00"On the parched deserts of postmodernity a bl..."On the parched deserts of postmodernity a blessing can be like the discovery of a fresh well." Really? Why are people down on postmodernism? That's where I found Christ to be...alive and well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364906866089387629noreply@blogger.com