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Here are two blessings for those approaching ordination into the priesthood…

Standing on the threshold

Blessed are you
standing on the threshold
between what has been
and what is still unfolding.

Blessed are you
who have carried
both certainty and trembling,
wondering if you were ready
for the weight
and the grace of this calling.

May you remember
that you were never called
to carry this alone.

May the One who first beckoned you
continue to meet you
in bread and prayer,
in silence and companionship,
in joy and in weariness.

May your hands
be gentle enough to heal,
steady enough to bless,
open enough to receive.

May your words
speak truth without hardness,
mercy without fear,
and hope that has been tested by love.

And when the road grows difficult,
when the needs are many
and your strength feels small,

may you trust
that God does not ask you
to be everything –

only to remain faithful,
to remain compassionate,
to remain near.

And may Christ,
who called friends and strangers alike,
walk beside you still;

and may the Spirit
shape your life
into a shelter of grace,
a table of welcome,
a sign of God’s deep and abiding love. Amen.

This second blessing has one eye on the ordinal…

Both open and empty

Blessed are you
who are called
to be a messenger,
watcher,
and steward of the Lord.

Blessed are you
who stand this day
with hands both open and empty,
bringing little
but your willingness
to be shaped by grace.

May you be given
the wisdom to teach faithfully,
not only with words
but with the witness of your life.

May you have courage
to proclaim the gospel
when it is welcomed
and when it is resisted.

May you be gentle
with the wounded,
patient with the searching,
and steadfast beside those
who suffer or despair.

May you guard well
the people entrusted to you,
not with control
but with compassion;

not seeking honour for yourself,
but becoming, quietly,
a servant among God’s people.

May the bread you break
continually break open your heart.

May the prayers you offer
draw you ever deeper
into the life of God.

May the absolution you speak
teach you mercy.

May the blessing you give
become the blessing you live.

And when you grow weary,
as all shepherds do,

may Christ the great High Priest
renew you beside still waters,
restore your soul,
and remind you again
that the Church was never yours to carry alone.

And may the Spirit
make your life
a dwelling place of hope,
a faithful sign of the kingdom,
and a sacrament
of God’s enduring love. Amen.

Ian Banks, May 2026