The word blessing takes its root in the latin verb: benedicere, to speak well of (bene well, dicere to speak). Therefore to bless someone is to speak well of him or her. But this implies a special form of "speaking well." To bless someone is, through some word, gesture, or ritual, to make him or her aware of three things: i) the goodness of the original creation where, after making the earth and humans, God said that it was "good, very good"; ii) that God experiences the same delight and pleasure in him or her that he experienced with Jesus at his baptism when he said: "This is my beloved child in whom I take delight"; and iii) that we, who are giving the blessing, recognize that goodness and take that delight in him or her.

Ronald Rolheiser, Against an Infinite Horizon