benediction

[In Fr. bénédiction; Sp. benedicion; Ital. benedizione; from Lat. bene dictio (1) an extolling, praising; (2) a ble ing; (3) a consecrated or sacred object; benedico to speak well of, to ble ; bene = well, and dico = to say.] A. Ordinary Language: I. Specially: The act of ble ing God; more rarely of thanking man, or any other being, or of conferring advantages upon. II. The state of being ble ed. "Prosperity is the ble ing of the Old Testament: adversity is the ble ing of the New: which carrieth the greater benediction . -Bacon. III. That which constitutes the ble ing. 1. The advantages conferred by one's being the object of ble ing. "Speaking of life and of death, and imploring divine benediction." Long fellow: Courtship of Miles Standish , ix. 2. Thanks; acknowledgment of favours re- ceived. "Could he le expect Than glory and benediction , that is, thanks?" Milton: P. R. , iii. 196. B. Eccles . (in Christian worship ): 1. The form of prayer for ble ing pronounced by the minister at the end of Divine service, usually either that taken from 2 Cor. xiii. 14, or that given at the end of the Com-bě-něf'-ic, a. [Lat. benefic us = kind, bene muni on Service of the Church of England. "Then came the epistle, prayers, antiphonies, and a benediction."-Macaulay: Hist. Eng ., ch. xiv. 2. In the Roman Catholic Church: (1) A solemn function, in which, after the Host has been exposed in a monstrance for the adoration of the faithful, the priest gives the solemn ble ing therewith. (2) The form of instituting an abbot. "What consecration is to a bishop, that benediction is to an abbot."- Ayliffe. [Eng. benedic † běn-ě-dic-tion-ar-ỹ, s . tion; -ary.] A book containing benedictions. in the bene dictionary of Bishop Athelwold."Gammer Gurton's Needle, Note to A, iv. S. 1.