Blessings

[ThomasPeter]

i was watching EWTN and on teh show Web of Faith the fathers were talking about blessings. they mentioned taht there are somethings that only a bishop, priest, or deacon may bless. they also said there are somethings that a lay person may bless. what are some examples of what can be blessed by these diffrent people? also, what is the effect of a blessing? alot of times on ewtn the priests will end a show with a blessing of the viewers. what do we get from a blessing. i know they are quite common, but i have never really be tought what they truly mean. thank you!
tom
ps- is the blessing "May almight God bless you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirt." the "apostolic" blessing? if not, what is? thanks again!

[cappie]

A blessing is called a Sacramental:

From the Catechism:

1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops' pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism).

1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless.174 Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).175

1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God."

Various forms of sacramentals

1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father "with every spiritual blessing."177 This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.

When things are blessed the person doing the blessing says
I bless this object In The name of the Father etc

When a priest blesses at the end of Mass he says May almighty God Bless You the Father ...Etc

I hope that helps maybe someone can add or make more clear the answer