Review: The Blessing Cup

In addition to evening prayers, when we we tuck the kids into bed at night we bless the people in our lives and ask for certain people to be watched over for certain reasons.  I like the idea of blessings, so I was interested in reading "The Blessing Cup: prayer rituals for families and groups" by Rock Travnikar.

The beginning of the book talks about blessings, and encourages the use of a special cup that can be left on display that is used during a blessing ritual.  When I read that, I started to think that I needed to purchase a special cup for this purpose, and then I remembered a beautiful, handmade cup in my cupboard.  This cup has careful roses on the handle, and while I have owned it for years, I haven't used it much because I was always afraid of breaking the roses. I realized this would be the perfect cup to use for this purpose!  Even better, I actually own a pair of them, so if one does get broken, we'll still have a backup.  (Important in a house of kids who aren't always the most careful.)

The rest of the book has a variety of prayer rituals for pretty much any occasion. There are sections for new babies, holy days and even the loss of a pet.  If it could happen in your life, chances are there is a blessing in this book that would fit.

I liked how the rituals were set up. There are prayers for a leader to recite, opportunties for everyone to participate, and call and response sections. Each one was tied to sharing the blessing cup among everyone.

We are going to incorporate some of these rituals into our daily life. I know the kids will appreciate them, and we could always use a little more blessing!

*Disclosure: This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. I received a copy of the book to faciliate my review. No additional compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Blessing Cup: Prayer Rituals for Families and Groups.*