3 – You should understand this!
Father Streitfelner talks about his own experience with Teresa Neumann, when he went to visit her one day in Waldsassen. This was after World War II.
Resl (as she was called) asked him to bless her. As he blessed her, Resl’s gaze was all around the priest and behind him. After the blessing, he asked her what she was looking at: “Why don’t you look straight ahead while you are being blessed?” She replied, “Reverend, you should know this. Every time a priest blesses, I see the Savior behind him; I see Him raise his hand and give the blessing. And I would rather see the Savior than yourself, you should understand this, Reverend!”
(Like many mystics, Teresa Neumann was very outspoken and had a strong sense of humor!)
The seminarian who had accompanied Father Streitfelner to her home then, made the following observation: “How beautiful it is to be a priest and to be able to give the blessing! With Jesus, in Jesus and through Jesus! When I become a priest, I will give the blessing often!”
One morning, Teresa Neumann said to her spiritual director, Father Josef Naber: “You went to bed very late last night, Father!” He asked her how she knew. She replied, “I felt your blessing!”
4 – A message that gives you a jolt! On May 2, 2009, Our Lady told us: “… You allow sin to surround you more and more. You allow it to dominate you and deprive you of the capacity for discernment. My poor children, look around you and see the signs of the times! Do you think you can do without God’s blessing? Do not allow the darkness to envelop you. From the depths of your heart, cry out to my Son. His Name disperses even the greatest darkness…”
Every day, when she appears to the visionaries, Mary gives her blessing, as a mother blesses her children. Vicka told me that this favor is not only for the visionaries. She said that all those who gather in prayer at the moment of Mary’s daily apparition, to welcome her into their hearts, receive the same graces as those received by the visionaries, even if they are on another continent.
Mary explains: “The priest’s blessing is greater than mine, for the priest has received the anointing in his hands” (of the Sacrament of Holy Orders). The blessing of the Virgin Mary is very important, it complements that of her Son without substituting it. Just before His Passion, Jesus came to his mother to describe what he was going to suffer and asked her to bless Him, as a mother blesses her child. Then she herself asked her Son to bless her. How can we imagine what happened then between them?! What a sublime exchange! Jesus did not want to surrender himself into the hands of sinners without first receiving his mother’s blessing!
The gift of the Blessing and its power goes back to the origins of Revelation. There are thousands of examples to share, but that would take an entire book! Long before Abraham, as early as in Genesis, God blessed His creation, man and woman in particular (PS1).
Jesus’ last gesture on the Mount of Olives was to bless His apostles and this blessing continues for all generations. The Hebrew term in the Bible (Berakhah) is very rich in meaning. The Latin word (benedire), which came later, impoverished this meaning, for it is not a matter of “speaking good”, but of receiving the treasures of the Heart of God in true divine communication. This communication is given directly to the soul, without going through the mind. This is why it is normal not to “feel” it.
Thank you, Moses! I wish to end this report with the magnificent Blessing that God gave Moses to bless his people (Numbers 6:25-27). These words come to us from the very mouth of God! Many priests use this blessing at the end of Mass, and St. Francis of Assisi gave it often:
“Adonai spoke to Moses and said, … This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:
The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you! The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace!
“So they will put my name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
5. The Youth Festival, with the theme “Become my disciples and you will find peace!” (Mt 11:28-30) brought in a huge crowd, mainly youth from Poland and from other Eastern European countries.
You can see some testimonies here: