Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: Vatican Approves Rite for Blessing Children in the Womb

This Rite provides a beautiful Liturgical means to proclaim the truth about the dignity and sanctity of every human life.The blessing was prepared to support parents awaiting the birth of their child, to encourage parish prayers for and recognition of the precious gift of the child in the womb, and to foster respect for human life within society.

P>CHESAPEAKE,VA (Catholic Online) - There is a Latin maxim that addresses the centrality of liturgical worship in the life, identity and mission of the Church; "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi". The phrase in Latin literally means the law of prayer ("the way we worship"), and the law of belief ("what we believe"). It is sometimes written as, "lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi", further deepening the implications of this truth - how we worship reflects what we believe - and determines how we will live our lives.

The Church has long understood that part of her role as mother and teacher is to watch over worship, for the sake of the faithful and in obedience to the God whom she serves. How we worship not only reveals and guards what we believe but guides us in how we live our Christian faith and fulfill our Christian mission in the world.

Liturgical Worship and liturgical Rites are not an "add on" for a Catholic Christian. Liturgy is the foundation of Catholic identity; expressing our highest purpose. Worship reveals what we truly believe and how we view ourselves in relationship to God, one another and our place in the culture into which we are sent to carry forward the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ.

How the Church worships is a prophetic witness to the truth of what she professes. Good worship becomes a dynamic means of drawing the entire human community into the fullness of life in Jesus Christ. It also prophetically proclaims the truth to a world wrestling with error. We live in what is properly called a "culture of death". However, we are called to transform it from within into a "culture of life". 

When the Bishops of the United States met on November 11, 2008, they approved a liturgical service in English and Spanish for the blessing children in the first home of the whole human race, their mother's womb. Heroically Pro-life Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz was the primary mover behind the adoption of this beautiful blessing. This Rite provides a beautiful Liturgical means to proclaim the truth about the dignity and sanctity of every human life.

After its approval, he called the new blessing "a tangible way to witness pastorally and sacramentally to the life of the unborn child." As with all such liturgical rites and blessings, it was then submitted to the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

The Good news is that this Rite for the Blessing of Children in the womb was approved by the Holy See on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord this year, 2012. It will be available for use by Mothers Day.  The official announcement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Follows:

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Vatican Approves English and Spanish Texts for 'Blessing of a Child in the Womb'

WASHINGTON-The Vatican has approved the publication of the "Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb," which will be printed in English and Spanish in a combined booklet and should be available for parishes by Mothers' Day. The U.S. bishops who collaborated on the development of the blessing welcomed the announcement of the recognitio, or approval, by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome.

"I'm impressed with the beauty of this blessing for human life in the womb," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). "I can think of no better day to announce this news than on the feast of the Annunciation, when we remember Mary's 'yes' to God and the incarnation of that child in her the womb that saved the world."

"We wanted to make this announcement as soon as possible so that parishes might begin to look at how this blessing might be woven into the fabric of parish life," said Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship. "Eventually the new blessing will be included in the Book of Blessings when that text is revised."

The blessing was prepared to support parents awaiting the birth of their child, to encourage parish prayers for and recognition of the precious gift of the child in the womb, and to foster respect for human life within society. It can be offered within the context of the Mass as well as outside of Mass.

The blessing originated when then-Bishop Joseph Kurtz of Knoxville, Tennessee (now archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky) asked the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities to see if a blessing existed for a child in the womb. When none was found, the committee prepared a text and submitted it to the USCCB's Divine Worship committee in March of 2008. It was approved by the full body of bishops in November 2008, and then sent to Rome for editing and final approval.

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