What are Solemn Blessings and How should we receive them?

While at Mass it dawned on me that no one had ever taught me what I am supposed to do when the priest is giving me and the rest of the congregation the final blessing. Aside from the two actions to bow my head and to pray, what else must I do to receive the full effect of the final blessing at Mass?

I did some research and this is what I found out...

What are the different kinds of blessings?

Blessings are categorized into two types: invocative and constitutive. The Church’s Book of Blessings notes who can perform which individual blessings. Sometimes this will be the bishop, sometimes a priest, sometimes a deacon, and even sometimes a layperson.

Invocative blessing: When any baptized catholic lay or ordained implores the divine favor of God to grant some spiritual or temporal good.

Constitutive blessing: Invoked by a bishop, priest or deacon, signifies the permanent sanctification, consecration and dedication of a person or thing for some sacred purpose. Here the person or object takes on a sacred character and would not be returned to non-sacred or profane use. 

Note: Laity are authorized to perform the blessing of an Advent wreath, a Christmas, tree, manger or Nativity scene. Lay people may also bless throats on St. Blaise’s Day (Feb. 3). They also are authorized to help with the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday, though the blessing of the ashes is reserved to a priest or deacon. "Every baptized person is called to be a 'blessing' and to bless. Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more its administration is reserved to the ordained ministry of a bishop, priest, and deacon" (CCC 1669). 

Solemn blessing:  the priest's blessing imparted with the weight of the Church and therefore it has great value in the eyes of God. A solemn blessing may be either invocative or constitutive. It is a special blessing that a Catholic priest confers at certain times such as after Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, or the administration of sacraments. The priest may extend their hands over the people while saying the blessing. The people may respond with "Amen" between phrases. For example, during a solemn blessing at the end of Mass - "If a prayer over the people or a solemn formula for the blessing is used, the deacon says, Inclinate vos ad benedictionem (Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing)" (GIRM 185).

God himself gave the words of a solemn, invocative, priestly blessing to the Levites, In Numbers 6:22-27 

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’ So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

What do blessings do for us?

Unlike sacraments, the grace or the good spiritual effect is not guaranteed to be given to the one who is being blessed. Blessings and other sacramentals lack the principle of ex opere operato (from the work having worked) which means that there will be grace given so long as the sacrament is administered in a valid manner with the correct form, matter and minister. Whether the grace of a sacrament is received by the recipient or the degree to which it is received depends on the other principle, ex opere operantis (from the work of the doer) which means that the recipient must have proper disposition of mind and heart to receive the grace or spiritual effect proper to that sacrament he or she has received. 

How should we receive a blessing?

To receive the full spiritual effect of a blessing one needs a certain mental and spiritual disposition. Specifically there must be present the virtue of humility, faith and obedience  which are expressed through the visible ritual action of bowing one’s head, making a sign of the cross and verbally responding with the words ‘amen’ ( I believe) and then, finally, there must be the willingness of God to bring about the blessing’s good effect. 

When the deacon at the end of Mass says loudly to the congregation, “Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.” It comes across as an authoritative and paternal command. This reminds us that we are children of God who ought to have a spirit of obedience in our mind and hearts. He doesn’t say bow your head to receive the blessing, rather it is a command to pray for it. To pray, in this context, means to ask. By asking God for something we are acknowledging our humble dependence upon him. By trusting that God will grant us his favors, we are expressing our faith in him and in his goodness.

So, based on what happens at the end of every Mass, we can see that the disposition for receiving a solemn, invocative blessing calls for obedience, humility and faith. Through this proper disposition we are asking for God’s blessing while at the same time his mediator, the priest, bestows it upon us through certain words spoken over us. If it is God’s will we will be changed by its effects.

So what exactly are the effects of blessings?

The particular effects that a blessing involves will depend on the words used in the blessing — i.e., what does the blessing ask God to do? According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “Solemn blessings produce the following specific effects: (1) Excitation of pious emotions and affections of the heart and, by means of these, remission of venial sin and of the temporal punishment due to it; (2) freedom from power of evil spirits; (3) preservation and restoration of bodily health. (4) various other benefits, temporal or spiritual. All these effects are not necessarily inherent in any one blessing; some are caused by one formula, and others by another, according to the intentions of the Church.