Paschal Blessings of the Ritual

by Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG

In times past, the Lenten practice of the Western Church included not just abstinence from meat but also from all animal products, such as eggs and dairy, and this on all the days of Lent, including Sundays, meaning there would be 40 days of fasting and 46 days of abstinence in preparation for Easter.  Even in A.D. 1962, the 40 days of Lent were days of fasting with either full or partial abstinence from meat.¹  It should not be surprising, then, that the Christian instinct of our ancestors sought to sanctify the taking-up again of these foods at the conclusion of Lent.  This led to the practice in some places of bringing baskets of these foods to the church to be blessed on Holy Saturday.²  Additionally, there is a section in the Roman Ritual which lists blessings of food which are especially fitting to be used during Paschaltime.³  In the course of this article, I would like to present these blessings, along with others which are fitting, and provide brief reflections on them.

The first blessing listed is the blessing of lamb meat:⁴

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O God, Who by Thy servant Moses commanded Thy people in their deliverance from Egypt to kill a lamb as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, and prescribed that its blood be used to sign the two door-posts of their homes; may it please Thee to bless + and sanctify + this creature-flesh which we, Thy servants, desire to eat in praise of Thee.  We ask this in virtue of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

The blessing of lamb meat begins by recalling the command God gave to Moses concerning the killing of the Passover, or Paschal, lamb and the signing of the door-posts with the blood to protect the inhabitants from the final plague, the death of the first-born, which was soon to strike Egypt (Exo 11).  In this recalling, the blessing indicates that the killing of the Passover lamb was done as a type or foreshadowing of the Sacrifice of Christ, Whose Blood protects the Christian Faithful from their enemies.  That killing of the Passover lamb is type or foreshadowing of the Sacrifice of Christ has scriptural foundations.  In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, which is read on Easter Sunday, St. Paul wrote that “Christ our pasch [Passover lamb] is sacrificed.  Therefore, let us feast…” (5:7-8).  In the conclusion, the prayer asks that all this be done in “virtue of the resurrection” of Christ, which is celebrated in a special way during the Easter season.  The eating of lamb during the old Passover no doubt motivated the Christian faithful to associate the eating of lamb with the new, Christian Pasch (i.e. the Christian Easter; in many languages, the word for “Easter” is derived from the word “Passover”).

The next blessing is that of eggs:⁵

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord, let the grace of Thy blessing + come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for Thy faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever.
℟. Amen.

They are sprinkled with holy water.

This blessing directs that the faithful are to eat these eggs, from which they historically would have been abstaining since Ash Wednesday, in thanksgiving for the resurrection of Christ.  Just as an egg symbolizes new life, here, more specifically, they symbolize the risen life of Christ.  Regarding Easter eggs in particular, the old Catholic Encyclopedia says the following: “Because the use of eggs was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolize the Easter joy.  This custom is found not only in the Latin but also in the Oriental Churches.  The symbolic meaning of a new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was probably an invention of later times.”⁶

Next is a blessing of bread:⁷

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, bread of angels, true bread of everlasting life, be pleased to bless + this bread, as Thou once blessed the five loaves in the wilderness, so that all who eat of it may derive health in body and soul.  We ask this of Thee Who live and reign forever and ever.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

This blessing stands out in that it is directed to Christ and not the Father.  The blessing calls Christ the bread of angels, a reference to Psalm 77 (Vulgate), verse 25, where it is said that during the forty years of wandering in the desert, the Hebrews ate the “bread of angels” (see also Wis 16:20-21).   This “bread of angels” is the manna which God caused to appear miraculously for the sake of feeding the multitude.  Christ, however, is the true manna which came down from heaven and thus is the true bread of angels.  It is in the Gospel of John, chapter 6, where it is recorded that Our Lord called Himself the true bread from heaven, the bread of life (the phrasing in the blessing mirrors that used in the Unde et mémores of the Roman Canon after the Consecration), and also where the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness with the five loaves is recounted, a feeding which took place when the Jewish Passover, the type or foreshadowing of the Christian Easter, was soon to be celebrated.  It is also interesting to note that, as it is the Gospel pericope for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, the event preceding and prompting the Bread of Life Discourse, is liturgically read year-by-year when the Christian Pasch is near.

Next is another blessing of bread:⁸

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O holy Lord and Father, almighty everlasting God, be pleased to bless + this bread, imparting to it Thine hallowed favor from on high.  May it be for all who eat of it a healthful food for body and soul, as well as a safeguard against every disease and all the assaults of the enemy.  We ask this of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, the bread of life who came down from heaven and gives life and salvation to the world; Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, forever and ever.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

Unlike the previous blessing, here God the Father is addressed.  At the conclusion, Our Lord is called, in language similar to the previous blessing, “the bread of life who came down from heaven,” a reference to the Gospel of John, chapter 6, the bread of life discourse, which occurred, as was said above, when the Jewish Passover, the foreshadowing of the Christian Easter, was soon to occur.

The last blessing in this section is the blessing of new produce (novorum fructuum/new fruit):⁹

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord, bless + this new produce, N., and grant that those who eat of it in praise of Thy Holy Name may be nourished in body and soul; through Christ Our Lord.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

While there is no explicit reference to Our Lord’s resurrection in this blessing, it is fitting that the new fruits of this time of year be blessed as they can be seen as representing new life coming from the dead earth just as Our Lord arose alive from the grave after His death.  It is also interesting to note that the priest is expected to know the name of the particular type of fruit he is blessing in Latin.

In addition to these blessings, there is also, in another part of the Ritual, a blessing for cheese or butter and also one for lard.  As these, being dairy products (milk-meats), would also have been abstained from during Lent, it would not be improper to present these blessings here as well.  First, the blessing of cheese or butter:¹⁰

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord God almighty, if it please Thee, bless + and sanctify + this creature, cheese (or butter), which Thou has deigned to bring forth [producere] from the fat of animals.  Grant that those of Thy faithful who eat it may be sated with a blessing from on high, with Thy grace and all good things; through Christ Our Lord.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

It is interesting to note that, while the production of cheese and butter is due to human industry, the prayer attributes this to God Who is First Cause of all things.

The blessing for lard is as follows:¹¹

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord, bless + this creature, lard, and let it be a healthful food for mankind.  Grant that everyone who eats it with thanksgiving to Thy Holy Name may find it a help in body and in soul; through Christ our Lord.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

Any remaining food which does not have a special blessing can be blessed by using the blessing for any victual (benedictio ad quodcumque comestiable):¹²

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord, bless + this creature, N., and let it be a healthful food for mankind.  Grant that everyone who eats it with thanksgiving to Thy holy Name may find it a help in body and in soul; through Christ our Lord.
℟. Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

Lastly, for the sake of completeness, there is a special blessing of homes which is to be used on Holy Saturday and during the rest of the Paschal season.  The rubrics of this blessing specify the water which is to be used during the ceremony is the lustral water blessed during the Easter Vigil:¹³

As the priest enters the home, he says:

℣. Peace be to this house.
℟. And to all who dwell within it.

The priest then sprinkles the dwelling’s main room and the occupants, saying the antiphon:

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all to whom this water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia.  Ps. 117.1 Give praise to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.  ℣. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forever and ever.  Amen.  I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all to whom this water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia.

Next, the priest says:

℣. Lord, show us Thy mercy, alleluia.
℟. And grant us Thy salvation, alleluia.
℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.
℟. And let my cry be heard by Thee.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
Hear us, O holy Lord and Father, almighty everlasting God; and as Thou guarded the homes of the Israelites from the avenging angel on their flight from Egypt, if their homes were signed with the blood of a lamb–which prefiguring our Passover [Easter] in which Christ was sacrificed–so likewise in Thy goodness send Thine holy angel to watch over and protect all who live in this home, to be with them and give them comfort and encouragement; through Christ our Lord.
℟. Amen.

The initial greeting said when the priest enters the house is that which Our Lord instructed His apostles to do in such a situation (Luk 10:5).  The ceremony of sprinkling the house with the lustral water, as well as the versicles and responses which follow, mirrors the ceremony done before the principal Mass during the Paschal season in place of the Asperges.  The oration references, as did the blessing of the lamb meat, the command God gave to Moses concerning the killing of the Passover lamb and the signing of the door-posts, which were a type or foreshadowing of Our Lord’s sacrifice.

May what has been presented above open up the Paschal riches of the Ritual and the spirit which should accompany our feasting during the upcoming Easter season.  And, if your parish does not already offer these blessings, perhaps it is not too late to organize them, even if they have lost some of their impact due to the changes in the Lenten discipline.

Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG was ordained in the fall of 2019 and was invested as an Ecclesiastical Knight of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George in the summer of 2025.  He currently resides at the FSSP Canonical House of St. Casimir in Nashua, NH, and ministers at St. Stanislaus parish.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. For a more detailed explanation of how the Lenten discipline has changed over time, please consult Matthew Plese’s The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting & Abstinence, 2nd ed.
2. See, for example, the Catholic Encyclopedia entry “Poles in the United States.”  It should be noted that for a number of centuries, before the 1950s, the Easter Vigil was celebrated Saturday morning.
3. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11.
4. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 1; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, A).
5. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 2; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, B).
6. The old Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “Easter.”
7. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 3; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, C).
8. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 4; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, D).
9. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 5; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, E).
10. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 6, 6, 7; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VIII, 6).
11. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 6, 6, 7; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VIII, 7).
12. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 9; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 13).