WHAT DID THE POPE REALLY SAY?

Great wisdom from Father M Dennis McCarron in Virginia...

Lots of sputtering about blessings, given or withheld with the latest media spin on our Holy Father’s words on the issue. This is a response I sent to one of those concerns by a dear friend of mine. She said it was helpful, so I hope the reader feels the same:

On blessings:

Re the Holy Father and his Dicastery.

It's the spin the press wants.

It is NOT the point of the Holy Father's words.

Remember at every Mass the priest blesses sinners: couples living together, those using contraception, adulterers, etc etc. AND that's the point of the blessing: God deigns to bless everyone. What we DO with the Grace the blessing imparts is up to us.

The HF is simply saying that a priest can bless anyone/everyone. He also notes that a priest can consecrate ONLY males with females for the blessing of marriage. There is a distinction (always has been) in the point and power/authority of blessings. Some can be given by the non ordained if given in an individual's name, like a dad giving HIS blessing to a marriage.

But when done in the name of the whole Body, ordination is a prerequisite.

Now the Church is stating the obvious (as it often does) that in the Name of the Church, a priest can bless a gay couple, as in asking God to help and guide them. He CANNOT bless a gay couple in the manner of uniting them as one in a covenant relationship forever.

The "matter" is not present for the "form" to be used or be effective. (If i consecrate pretzels and beer at a campus Mass the "matter" required, bread and wine is not present, and the "form" is not effective. The lack of the proper matter indicates that it is being done outside the mind of the Church and cannot be effective outside the Body's intent.)

Remember in the sacrament of marriage a Priest/deacon acts as a witness. The COUPLE ENACT THE SACRAMENT. the ordained simply testifies to the effectiveness of their act as according to the faith of the church

Same with marriage. The "matter" is the male/female couple. Not present, not effective, not in the mind of the Church. BUT JUST AS I BLESS MANY THINGS at a given Mass (water) and ask God to help the persons, the objects etc to become a sign of grace, it is NOT the same as a consecratory blessing( eg. Of the bread and wine). Our Holy Father isn't saying anything really new.

If we can bless a NASCAR race, we can bless people in need or those seeking God's love.

Blessings do not impart approval. They impart grace to lead to approval.

Like blessing branches to make them a wreath