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In Rome during the plague of 590, Pope
Gregory I ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession. Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately ("God bless you"), since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague. Although the populace did not
141:
Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn't just words. It's the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person. It always involves God, because when you will the good of another person, you realize only God is capable of bringing that. So we naturally say,
142:"God bless you." You can bless someone when you will their good under the invocation of God. You invoke God on their behalf to support the good that you will for them. This is the nature of blessing. It is what we are to receive from God and then give to another.
450:
Driscoll, Rev. Michael S.; Hilgartner, Rev. Msgr. Richard B.; Kelly, Maureen A.; John Thomas Lane; James Presta; Corinna
Laughlin; Jim Schellman; D. Todd Williamson; Paul Turner; Catherine Combier-Donovan; Diana Macalintal; Sr. Genevieve (2012).
127:(especially during the benediction), the phrase "God bless you" is regularly used among believers with one another, who call upon God to grant the recipient of the phrase favour and protection. In the periodical
194:, describes this variation. Moreover, in the past some people may have thought that the heart stops beating during a sneeze, and that the phrase "God bless you" encourages the heart to continue beating.
282:
has been attested as a leave-taking term since 1740 and can be today heard in the US as an explicit wish or blessing and as an implicit leave-taking term. Some also use the reduced variant of God bless.
563:
understand that the sneeze was the source of transmittal, they may have sensed it was connected to the disease. "God bless you" became a verbal totem invoking divine mercy on the sneezer.
473:, as in the Divine Office, while clergy may close with a true blessing ("May almighty God bless you."), laypersons can only request God's blessing ("May the good Lord bless us.")
163:
intercession. Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately ("God bless you"), since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with
310:
The expression "May God bless you" includes blessing, meaning growth, happiness, and many other good things. It is often said by family and loved ones as a kind of prayer.
438:
reciting the ancient Jewish benediction a parent gives to a child: "May God bless you and keep you and may God's countenance shine upon you and bring you peace."
123:, "Invoking the name of the Lord in this benediction transferred the name, the identity and presence, of God onto his people." While used by clergy in
182:, or that sneezing was the body's effort to force out an invading evil presence. In these cases, "God bless you" or "bless you" is used as a sort of
688:
167:." By AD 750, it became customary to say "God bless you" as a response to one sneezing. However, the Pope Gregory story appears to be apocryphal.
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forms a part of many
Christian benedictions, such as this Lutheran priest offering a benediction at the conclusion of the
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The year 750, is commonly reckoned the era of the custom of saying "God bless you," to one who happens to sneeze, etc.
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could be thrown from their body when they sneezed, that sneezing otherwise opened the body to invasion by the
82:. Many clergy, when blessing their congregants individually or as a group, use the phrase "God bless you".
197:
In some cultures, sneezing is seen as a sign of good fortune or God's beneficence. Writing around 400 BC,
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187:
47:
612:
454:
The
Liturgy Documents, Volume Two: Essential Documents for Parish Sacramental Rites and Other Liturgies
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The
Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services
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Some have offered an explanation suggesting that people once held the folk belief that a person's
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736:"Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry: Edited and Selected by W.B. Yeats"
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Worldviews of the
Peoples of the Arabian Peninsula: A Study of Cultural System
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in various situations, especially to "will the good of another person", as a
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The beginning of this psalm echoes the priestly benediction from
Numbers 6:
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posting by Tom Wilson, M.D./PhD, Pathology, Div. of
Molecular Oncology,
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O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart (12 September 2009).
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The letter ends with the solemn valediction 'God bless you .'
42:) is a common English phrase generally used to wish a person
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Patrick, Bethanne Kelly; Thompson, John
Milliken (2009).
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Jucker, Andreas H.; Taavitsainen, Irma (10 April 2008).
258:
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posting by Robert West, Post-doc/Fellow, 1997-08-05
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267:. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 171.
755:Re: Why does plucking my eyebrows make me sneeze?
201:records a chance sneeze as being seen as a good
19:"Bless You" redirects here. For other uses, see
139:
579:Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
457:. Liturgy Training Publications. p. 439.
661:Why Do We Say "God Bless You" After a Sneeze?
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8:
705:""God Bless You!" – A Blessing in Disguise?"
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70:), and by Christians, since the time of the
186:. The Irish Folk story "Master and Man" by
331:"The Right Way to Give Someone a Blessing"
807:. Oxford University Press; Oxford, 1992.
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639:
637:
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78:, as well as a means of bidding a person
773:"Ancient Sneezing: A Gift from the Gods"
689:Washington University School of Medicine
112:The locution "God bless you" is used in
654:
652:
488:Cherry, Constance M. (17 August 2021).
395:. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 132.
250:
515:Legacy from Christ: What'S My Message?
513:Smart, Robert Davis (29 March 2017).
265:Speech Acts in the History of English
7:
583:. Harvard University Press. p.
542:An Uncommon History of Common Things
734:story by T. Crofton Croker (1898).
359:The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
329:Willard, Dallas (8 January 2014).
58:. The phrase has been used in the
14:
771:Wertheimer, Linda (27 May 2006).
426:. Counterpoint LLC. p. 91.
546:. National Geographic. p.
422:Wachspress, Amy (8 June 2012).
409:May God bless you and keep you.
1:
805:A Dictionary of Superstitions
391:Everett, Isaac (1 May 2009).
159:ordered unceasing prayer for
575:Whiting, Bartl Jere (1977).
424:Memories from Cherry Harvest
294:Alhujelan, Naser S. (2008).
209:exist in various languages.
859:
105:
21:Bless You (disambiguation)
18:
151:reports that during the
613:"An allergic reaction"
205:from god. Alternative
144:
103:
355:Lewis, Roger (1997).
207:responses to sneezing
188:Thomas Crofton Croker
106:Further information:
93:
668:, 27 September 2001.
644:Snopes Urban Legends
393:The Emergent Psalter
363:. Applause. p.
234:Response to sneezing
192:William Butler Yeats
48:response to a sneeze
803:, and Moira Tatem.
229:Christmas Is Coming
184:shield against evil
153:Roman Plague of 590
148:National Geographic
86:Origins and legends
838:Parting traditions
658:Ed Zotti, Editor.
492:. Baker Academic.
335:Christianity Today
133:, the philosopher
130:Christianity Today
104:
741:Project Gutenberg
524:978-1-5127-8094-9
517:. WestBow Press.
499:978-1-4934-3218-9
471:Book of Blessings
125:Christian liturgy
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298:. p. 369.
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135:Dallas Willard
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94:The locution
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54:or writing a
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780:. Retrieved
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717:. Retrieved
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646:– Bless You!
622:17 September
620:. Retrieved
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338:. Retrieved
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180:evil spirits
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117:benedictions
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72:early Church
68:Numbers 6:24
60:Hebrew Bible
52:when parting
50:, and also,
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239:Sacramental
224:Benediction
76:benediction
56:valediction
822:Categories
801:Opie, Iona
681:Madsci.org
245:References
165:the plague
843:Blessings
719:21 August
119:. In the
114:Christian
44:blessings
40:bless you
36:God bless
703:(2014).
219:Blessing
213:See also
199:Xenophon
108:Blessing
80:Godspeed
340:15 June
137:wrote:
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782:13 May
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161:divine
176:Devil
74:as a
66:(cf.
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784:2024
721:2015
624:2023
589:ISBN
552:ISBN
519:ISBN
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459:ISBN
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369:ISBN
342:2022
300:ISBN
269:ISBN
203:omen
172:soul
64:Jews
777:NPR
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