Christmas reminds us of God’s unchanging, immeasurable love for us. Likewise, today’s declaration, “Fiducia supplicans,” reminds us that the Spirit is always drawing us closer to the Lord. Many people respond to that call by asking the Church’s ordained ministers to offer a prayer to God for them with a blessing. These spontaneous, private prayers and blessings are given routinely. They are nothing new. The declaration reaffirms an appropriate pastoral response to people who express a request for these prayers. “Pope Francis urges us to contemplate, with an attitude of faith and fatherly mercy, the fact that ‘when one asks for a blessing, one is expressing a petition for God’s assistance, a plea to live better, and confidence in a Father who can help us live better.’” (21) The declaration does not provide, nor does it allow, liturgical blessings (which are public, regulated, and f