McCarthy, A. (2007). Blessing of Hands: a sacramental experience. Pastoral Liturgy, 38 (1), 9-12.
Busy universities are not usually places where one can easily find the sacred but, for a private Catholic university, special celebrations can lead to a sacramental experience.
Such is the case at the University of Notre Dame (Fremantle campus) where the Blessing of Hands offers a sacramental experience to everyone who would like to participate. “Health is an important human value, and so in traditional religious cultures when health is lost there are always ritual means that attempt to restore it”.(1) While modern medicine has gone beyond using ritual means of healing as principal care, there is still a strong value in healing rituals as they express the human value of life and health.
The Blessing of Hands affirms the value of health and the value of the students and staff involved in the healing professions.
Pastoral Liturgy is published by the University of Notre Dame Australia, School of Philosophy and Theology, Fremantle.
Peer-reviewed, Sacramental experience, Liturgy of the Word