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Benediction

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A short invocation for divine help, blessing, and guidance, usually at the end of a religious service.

Detailed Definition
A benediction is a formal blessing, often poetic in its language, that invokes God's favor upon a congregation. In a literary context, benediction signifies closure, peace, and the bestowal of grace. Poems themselves can function as benedictions, offering a blessing to the reader, the subject, or the world. The act of giving or receiving a benediction is a powerful symbol of reconciliation, hope, and the channeling of divine benevolence into the human realm, making it a resonant closing motif in both sacred and secular verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In liturgical poetry, benediction closes with grace: “Go in peace, the road is blessed beneath your feet”; Rilke’s “Book of Hours” ends stanzas with implied benedictions: “May your solitude be a garden”; In African American spirituals, benediction merges with hope: “Soon I’ll be done with the troubles of this world—God’s benediction awaits”; Contemporary poets offer secular benedictions: “May your hands find work that feeds your soul.”
Additional Notes
Benedictions conclude worship services across faiths (e.g., Numbers 6:24–26 in Judaism, 2 Corinthians 13:14 in Christianity), invoking divine grace, peace, and protection; their formulaic yet intimate tone makes them models for poetic closure—offering blessing as both farewell and ongoing spiritual presence in lyrical or liturgical verse.
Also Known As
Blessing benison benediction formula ben'cites
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