why we "bless" people when they sneeze

Have you ever wondered why people say, "God bless you" after someone sneezes. The fabulous Mrs. Bunn and I got in a minor disagreement over saying "God bless you." She thinks it's a bit pointless saying that it just seems silly to bless someone over a sneeze. She thinks if you're going to bless someone, you should bless them more significantly. Me, I say let's bless people at every opportunity we get, why not bless someone after a sneeze.

Jenny's point is that it's become meaningless because we really don't mean anything significant when we say, "God bless you." She's probably right. But it did get me to thinking about why we say it. So I did little research.

If you're like me, you've heard that your heart actually stops when you sneeze. So we say, "Bless you" as a way to say, "Oh God, can you please restart that person's heart?" Seems silly, I know. Truth is, our hearts don't stop when we sneeze. Here's what I've discovered:

The custom of saying "God bless you" after a sneeze was begun literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) became Pope right around the beginning of the plague. Gregory called for litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's help and intercession. Columns marched through the streets chanting, "Kyrie Eleison" (Greek for "Lord have mercy"). When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in hopes that they would not subsequently develop the plague.

So there you have it. Saying "God bless you" is basically a tradition. Perhaps it's not all that meaningful. But it's gotta be better than saying, "You're soooo good lookin'."