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mariB
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 9:25am | IP Logged
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I wanted to share this with everyone. As I was cleaning my house the Lord called me to remember a practice that our family does every evening. We bless our children as was instructed by a very holy priest I met about ten years ago.
When you kiss your children goodnight you or the children's father (with or without holy water) can make the sign of the cross on each child's forehead with your thumb and say either
"God bless you my child" or
"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you. May he look upon you with kindness and be gracious to you."
This may help a little bit with the thread "What went wrong..."
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marib-Mother to 22ds,21ds,18ds,15dd,11dd and wife to an amazing man for 23 years
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Lisa R
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 9:33am | IP Logged
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We do this every night, too! Such a sweet way to send the kids off to bed. Our 2 year old also loves blessing us back! 
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God Bless!
Lisa, married to my best friend, Ray and loving my blessings Joshua (17)and Jacob(15), Hannah(7) and Rachel (5)!Holy Family Academy
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aussieannie
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 10:49pm | IP Logged
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Yes, my father taught me this devotion and it is powerful! It is a wonderful thing to mention as it is a simple way to 'pray' for our children.
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Under Her Starry Mantle
Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
Blessed with 3 boys & 3 girls!
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extremeknitter
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| Posted: June 16 2007 at 3:12pm | IP Logged
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We do this and our kids bless us back, too. My 20 year old son STILL asks for my blessing when he wants to go out with his friends (both in the form of a traced cross on the forehead and my consent/blessing on his plans.) This came in very handy one night when it was flooding and my son thought he was invincible... he ended up not going out in the bad weather because he did not have my blessing!
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~knitter
mom to 6 terrific kids (ages 21 down to 1) and 10 little saints
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glinNC
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| Posted: June 16 2007 at 8:43pm | IP Logged
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I've been blessing my children, too, only we say "May God watch over you and keep you safe." I don't know where I got that from, but they love their nightly blessing from me along with their Mary statue facing them (and not accidentally turned towards the wall!)before they can go to sleep! 
May God bless all of you and keep you safe,
Ginny
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CAgirl4God
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| Posted: June 17 2007 at 12:44am | IP Logged
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my dh does this ever night, too. when he isn't home I do it.
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Jamie, married to John
JC, Nugget, Christina & Judy
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StacyLynn
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| Posted: June 17 2007 at 4:37pm | IP Logged
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We do this nightly also, when the little ones had bad dreams we would say;
"May your guardian angel watch over you, keep you safe and have sweet dreams all night long"
It is such a comfort for them.
StacyLynn
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: April 08 2010 at 11:32pm | IP Logged
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Bumping....for fun!
I did this for my first few years of motherhood, and then sort of stopped for a couple years. I remember this thread helped me to make it a habit again!
It was so cute tonight, when our 2 year old put her dollies to bed and gave them all a little blessing on the forehead! 
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Michaela
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| Posted: April 09 2010 at 1:46am | IP Logged
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We also do this every night.
SuzanneG wrote:
| It was so cute tonight, when our 2 year old put her dollies to bed and gave them all a little blessing on the forehead! |
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Today must have been the day for cute blessings. 
This afternoon, Teresa, my 3yo, brought a smile to my face after a really rough day.
The baby was laying on my lap and Teresa stuck her finger in her mouth then made what I thought was a cross on his forehead. She then repeated it...finger in the mouth and a little cross on his cheek. I asked her what she was doing. I was a little confused with the need for her finger to go into her mouth.
With a tone that sounded like she was saying well duh, she replied..."I'm blessing Anthony." (duh)
Something so sweet and innocent brightened my day.
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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Pilgrim
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| Posted: April 09 2010 at 7:46am | IP Logged
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A neat thread. We do this too, my Mom has done this for years with us, esp. everytime we left the house (along with saying "May God and His angels and Saints watch over you and keep you safe while we are apart from each other" and "watch for deer, Dear!") I love both!
Now we bless each child at the end of Evening Prayers, 2 yo now expects it, coming up in his cute little voice, saying "Bless you?" in his own little words. To cute, it melts my Mamas hjeart. He also is now starting to bless everyone. And 9 yo dd blesses everyone too, even if I have, she is very affectionate, and the blessing means a lot to her. She does the blessing throughout the day and with her last hug at bedtime too.
I love the tradition of blessing each other, it's another extension of the Faith in our everyday lives, it is a reminder of God's ever presence with us, and that God and His angels and saints ARE watching over us.
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Christine
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| Posted: April 09 2010 at 10:21am | IP Logged
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We do this, too. My dad blessed us each night when I was young and my husband happily blesses the children and me now.
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Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: April 09 2010 at 2:54pm | IP Logged
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As dd mentioned above, we've blessed one another whenever leaving the home for many years. Awhile ago I made a conscious decision to increase the blessings, as a way of remaining connected, especially as dc get closer and closer to leaving the nest! In the past few years we've extended it to blessing dc at bedtime, with the words, "May you have sweet, holy dreams" and as a morning greeting, while asking, "How did you sleep?" This seems especially important with older sons who sometimes become less comfortable with hugs & kisses they welcomed as little boys.
Pilgrim's family blessing is very sweet and tender to behold...the children are all SO precious as they await their blessing and then pass the blessing on to other family members. Pilgrim and dh actually use the same crucifix that was blessed as part of their wedding ceremony, making their family blessings all the more special and meaningful! I look forward to watching precious grandchildren carrying on this dear tradition with great-grandchildren oneday...Lord willing!
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Blessing Your Children
