11/01/2022
FOR STO NINO SUNDAY- January 16, 2022
BLESSING OF CHILDREN
In the following or similar words, the minister prepares the children (child) and all present for the blessing.
When he came into the world, our Lord, the Son of God, became a child and grew in wisdom, age, and grace in the eyes of God and of all who knew him. Jesus welcomed children, believed in their dignity, and held them up as a model for all who are seeking the kingdom of God.
But children do need the help of grown-ups if they are to develop their individual gifts, and their moral, mental, and physical powers, and so reach human and Christian maturity.
Let us therefore ask for God's blessing, so that we will devote ourselves to the Christian upbringing of these children (this child) and so that they (he/she) will accept willingly the guidance they (he/she) need (needs).
PRAYER OF BLESSING
150 A minister who is a priest or deacon may, as circumstances suggest, hold his hands outstretched over the children (child), as he says the prayer of blessing.
Lord, our God, out of the speech of little children you have fashioned a hymn of praise. Look with kindness on these children (this child) whom the faith of the Church commends to your tender care. Your Son, born of the Virgin Mary, gladly welcomed little children. He took them in his arms, blessed them, and held them up as an example for all.
We pray that you, Father, will also send your blessing on them (him/her), so that they (he/she) may grow in Christian maturity and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's witnesses (witness) in the world, spreading and defending the faith.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
From: Bp. Afable, DD
