And, of course, there was the blessing of throats! More than six hundred of them, keeping St. Blaise very busy with his heavenly intercession. Every year on this day I love to see the really young ones coming to the rail for their blessing. Because they're accustomed to staying in their places every other day at the time of Holy Communion, there's a combination of excitement and hesitation on their little faces as they come forward. But it's a blessing they want, and most of them make sure they keep their heads up so those St. Blaise candles can hit the mark!
"By the intercession of Saint Blaise be healed of all ailments of the throat, and all other ailments, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
4 comments:
Father,
Do you ever celebrate in the Usus Antiquior?
I did, some years ago, when it was the "Indult" Mass. Unfortunately, it was invaded by sedevacantists and other individuals (who considered themselves "traditionalists") who caused great trouble for us. I made the decision to celebrate the Mass in Latin according to the Missal of Paul VI, but in a very traditional way (eastward facing, a schola to provide the minor propers, etc.) and we have been very happy to have that as our celebration on Sunday evenings, and also for the students on Friday mornings. We use the Anglican Use liturgy for all our other Masses.
Why don't the young ones come for a blessing at communion time, is it just because of how many there are??
At all the other parish Masses, they do come with their parents for a blessing, but at the school Masses it's a matter of practicality -- actually, a matter of time. We have to fit the Mass into a class period, because it's part of the day's schedule. To add another couple of hundred blessings would run things a bit too long.
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