Last night at Holy Mass we had a traditional blessing of wine on the Feast of St. John. The form is as follows:
THE BLESSING OF WINE (Feast of St. John the Evangelist)
Before Mass, the priest garbed in Mass vestments, without the maniple, stands at the Epistle side of the altar and blesses the wine.
P. Our help is in the name + of the Lord.
R. Who hath made heaven and earth.
P. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.P. The beginning of the Gospel according to St. John.
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and with¬out Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony to the light that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light that was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave to them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in His name, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (Here all kneel). AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
R. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray
Through the words of the Holy Gospel and through the merits of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, deign, O Lord, to bless + and hallow + this chalice of wine, and preserve from all evil those, who with faith shall drink of this cup, as Thou didst preserve from death Thy blessed Apostle John, who, having partaken of the poisonous potion, escaped all harm. Grant, O merciful Father, that likewise the poison of sin may prove powerless to hurt us, that sin, the dreadful enemy of mankind, may hold no power over us, and poison not our bodies nor destroy our souls. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
The benediction is pronounced, then the wine is sprinkled with holy water and incensed.
The blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son + and the Holy Ghost descend upon those partaking of this wine and remain with them forevermore.
R. Amen.
P. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.P. The continuation of the Gospel according to St. John.
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.At that time a marriage took place at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now Jesus too was invited to the marriage, and also His disciples. And the wine having run short, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her; What wouldst thou have Me do, woman? My hour has not yet come. Now six stone water jars were placed there, after the Jewish manner of purification, each holding two or three measures, Jesus said to them. Fill the jars with water. And they filled them to the brim. And Jesus said to them, draw out now, and take to the chief steward. And they took it to him. Now when the chief steward had tasted the water after it had become wine, not knowing whence it was (though the attendants who had drawn the water knew), the chief steward called the bridegroom, and said to him: Every man at first sets forth the good wine, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is poorer. But thou hast kept the good wine until now. This first of His signs Jesus worked at Cana of Galilee; and He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
R. Thanks be to God.
The priest distributes the wine, to the faithful, after the second ablution and before covering the chalice.
Here’s what I had blessed:
- Beaujolais Nouveau (Geoges Duboeuf, France, 2006)
- Cotes du Luberon (Verget du Sud, France, 2002)
- Merlot (3 blind moose, California, 2004)
- Beaujolais Villages (Louis Jadot, France, 2005)