The Priestly Blessing is an Epiphany for those with faith!

 A Meditation on 

the Priestly Blessing

I have always believed in the special graces received when one is privileged to receive the Blessings of a priest. In the beginning of my spiritual journey, (early 1980),  I was given a flyer titled simply “Jesus speaks of his Blessings to Theresa Neumann, Stigmatist of Konnereuth”,  at that time she was not well known in America. Some of the photos of her I saw in a book that I came across later were very graphic, and for a beginner in the spiritual life unsettling.  I decided not to use any of the graphic photos here because it is not the purpose of this post to dwell on the sensational mystical phenomenon.  

Rather, I hope for us to meditate on The Priestly Blessing as another Epiphany, a manifestation of Christ for those who see like the Magi with the eyes of faith. The Magi were inspired by signs in the heavens to follow the star that announced a newborn King. Once they arrived it was faith that revealed the God Man behind the infant lying in the manger. It is our faith that will reveal the Divinity behind “The Blessing” given by the priest today. Seeing the Priest as an alter Christus when he bestows “The Blessings”, After Mass, during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and when the faithful request a blessing from him.

Having said all that, I was happy to finally learn that the cause for beatification Teresa Neumann was introduced. A petition asking for her beatification was signed by 40,000 people, and in 2005, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Bishop of Regensburg, formally opened the Vatican proceedings for her beatification.   I shy away from apparitions that do not have the full approval of the church and  now I could share with others this Meditation on the Priestly Blessing. That really enriched my own spiritual life.

 

When I came across these words of Jesus to the Stigmatist Teresa Neumann after reading it I was in awe of the priest and the graces he confers with his blessing.   I always tried not to miss an opportunity  to ask for “The Blessing” when I was in the presence of a priest.  A Blessing as an act of charity for myself, for the priest and those in the room with me.  An act of charity to remind the priest of the dignity of his state. I think after you read the words Jesus is said to have spoken to Teresa Neumann you also will have a greater appreciation of the Priestly Blessing and request it more often from your priests. And, if you’re a priest I hope you will freely give your blessing as an act of charity and mercy for your people.

How many poor priests do not realize the power they have in their identification with Christ. If they really believed the power behind the words: “May the Blessing of almighty God descend upon you and remain with you forever! They would not stop offering “The Blessing” to help the souls God has placed in their charge. 'The Blessing' have great powers over the spirit of darkness, THEY dispel and limit the attacks of the evil spirit around them in their parish and in the world! 

We commonly call "The Blessing" his blessing. We most often ask when we desire a blessing from the priest: “Father Will you give me your blessing?” It is Christ’s Blessing, Jesus  is blessing us  through the priest. An EPIPHANY for those who see with the eyes of faith. This Epiphany also takes places during Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament and when we attend Mass and receive Holy Communion.  It is Christ who offers and Christ who we receive and at the end Christ who gives "THE BLESSING" The graces bestowed on us are given according to the devotion of the receiver So it is with the each “Blessing.” we are privileged to receive by the priest. 

How many priests today send Blessings to their parishioners after they say their Divine Office or before going to sleep at night? How many priests even say the Divine Office?  I sat next to a bishop on an airplane once and I was filled with joy as I observed him bless the city we were departing from and again he also blessed the city that we arrived in before we landed. How many priests bestow these graces upon the world? How blessed a person is who belongs to a parish whose pastor realizes his dignity as an alter Christus and lives it. God please grant us many Holy Priests give them this light to lead deeper spiritual lives. May the following meditation aide us to rediscover the Power the Priest has when he confers The Blessing!

Jesus Speaks of His Blessing

(To Teresa Neuman Stigmatist)

"My dear Child, I wish to teach you to receive My Blessing with fervor. Realize that something vast takes place when you receive the Blessing of my Priest. The Blessing is an outpouring of My Divine holiness. Open your soul and let it become holy through the Blessing. The Blessing is a heavenly dew for the soul, through which all that is done can be made fruitful….Through the power to bless, I have given the priest the power to open the treasury of My Heart and to pour out from It the 'rain' of graces on souls. When the priest blesses, I bless. Then a vast stream of graces from My Sacred Heart flows into a soul to its fullest capacity. By recollection, keep your heart open, in order not to lose the benefit of the Blessing. Through My Blessing, you receive the grace to love, strength to endure suffering, and assistance for body and soul."

 

It is a great privilege when you

are permitted to receive 
the Blessing!"

"My holy Blessing contains all help for the necessities of mankind. Through the Blessing you are given the strength and desire to seek good, to shun evil, and to enjoy the protection of My children against the powers of darkness. It is a great privilege when you are permitted to receive the Blessing. You cannot comprehend how much mercy I extend through it to you. Therefore, never receive the Blessing in a  matter-of-fact or thoughtless way. As poor as you are before receiving the Blessing, you are rich after receiving it." 

"I regret that the Blessing of the Church is so little prized and so seldom received"

"I regret that the Blessing of the Church is so little prized and so seldom received. Your good will is strengthened through the Blessing, your undertakings receive My special Providence, your weakness is overcome by my power, your thoughts and intentions are spiritualized, and all bad influences neutralized…I have given My Blessing vast power. It proceeds from the unending love of My Sacred Heart. The greater the zeal with which the Blessing is given and received, the greater its efficacy,"

"It is all the Same Whether One 
or Many Receive the Blessing"

"Whether a child is blessed or the whole world simultaneously, the Blessing is far greater than a thousand worlds. Reflect that God is immense - infinitely immense. How small are all things in comparison to Him! It is all the same whether one or many receive the Blessing. This does not matter, for I give to each according to the measure of his or her confidence (or faith). Since I am infinitely rich in all good, you are permitted to receive without measure. You cannot hope too much from my Blessing; all will exceed your fondest expectations."

 "My child protect & help

all who give Blessings "

"Esteem highly what has been blessed; then you will please Me, your God. As often as you are blessed, you are united closer to Me, sanctified anew, healed with, and protected with the love of My Sacred Heart. Often I keep hidden the workings of My Blessing so that it is known only in eternity. Often it appears that Blessings have no results. But wonderful are the workings of the Blessing - even the seemingly fruitless results are a blessing in disguise through the holy Blessing. These are often mysteries of My Providence, which I do not wish to manifest." 

"My Blessings often produce 
effects unknown to the soul"

"Therefore, have great confidence in this outpouring of My Sacred Heart, and reflect earnestly on this favor to you (that the apparent results are hidden from you)…Receive the holy Blessing sincerely, for the graces of the Blessing find entrance only into a humble heart. Receive it with a good will and with the intention to become better; then will the Blessing penetrate to the depths of your heart and will produce its effects."

"Be a child of the Blessing; then you yourself will be 
A Blessing for Others!"

Short Bio Teresa Neumann

Teresa Neuman has attained today a place in popular piety. Born on Good Friday in 1892, an act of Divine Providence showing forth the future mission the Lord would give to her. She died on September 18, 1962. The decade in which the 3^rd secret of Fatima was asked to be revealed and at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. On September 11, 1962, In a speech to the UN, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko warns that an American attack on Cuba could mean war with the Soviet Union.

During the Third Reich, Therese Neumann was the target of ridicule and defamation, as the Nazis knew about her dissenting views and feared her growing popularity. She was observed by the Gestapo. She was never physically harmed, though her family home, parish church and priest's house all received direct attacks. She encouraged Fritz Gerlich to continue his opposition to Hitler and his national-socialist party. Gerlich was subsequently killed for his opposition.

At the age of 20 she was in an accident and became blind and paralyzed. She received a miraculous healing in 1923 through prayers to St. Therese of Lisieux. Since this time Theresa has not eaten any foods or liquids except for one small consecrated wafer a day. [Her total fast lasted from the age of twenty-five until her passing away, thirty-nine years later] On September 18, 1962, from Cardiac Arrest.   The stigmata, or sacred wounds of Christ, began to appear on her head, heart, hands and feet every Friday while she experienced the passion of Christ.

Paramahansa Yogananda visited her and wrote about her case in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1946. He wrote an entire chapter, Therese Neumann, The Catholic Stigmatist of Bavaria, which reverently gives a vivid first-hand description of one of her Friday Passion trances. He wrote of her: "I realized at once that her strange life is intended by God to reassure all Christians of the historical authenticity of Jesus' life and crucifixion as recorded in the New Testament, and to dramatically display the ever-living bond between the Galilean Master and his devotees."

Theresa, was once asked if America will experience war on its soil, "No, but at the end of this century America will be destroyed economically by a series of natural disasters." Friends, Could this be a consequence of America turning away from God and the Commandments?

Links for more information to Help our priests help us!  

 
Particles of the Blessed Sacrament the Eternal life giving Gold Dust!  

A Call to Eucharistic Reparation Fatima begins and will end with the Eucharist!  

Penance! Penance! Penance! Why are the Shepherds Silent?

A Priest Never Belongs to Himself He is to be Configured to Christ!


THE AMAZING LIFE - STORY OF THERESA NEUMANN pdf book