"Bless you" out-dated?

For this edition of my blog I thought I might bring a little less controversy and ask a question that I have long pondered upon; Why do we reply to a sneeze with "God bless you"? Many would consider the phrase to be common courtesy. But do we really know why we say it? The custom of saying "God bless you" after a sneeze was begun literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague (his successor succumbed to it). Gregory (who also invented the ever-popular Gregorian chant) 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 the hope that they would not subsequently develop the plague. All that prayer apparently worked, judging by how quickly the plague of 590 AD diminished. Thus resulting in the century-old saying of "God bless you". Now we know that a phrase can't act to ward off a sickness, so shouldn't the saying have no meaning to it? In other cases there has been suggestion that the phrase would shield you against evil spirits. We now know that this is an absurd practice. So in the modern-day, present period I find that the phrase has literally no meaning. And we know today, of course, that when you sneeze, your heart doesn't stop, nor will your eyes pop out if you can keep them open , nor does your soul get expelled. What does get expelled are hundreds upon thousands of microscopic germs. Something that most people don't like to be exposed to. My point is not that I am offended by germs (being that sneezing is only natural), but that bringing attention to sneezing is, in fact, rude. So my only suggestion is that the next time someone sneezes you can offer your courtesy by offering a tissue. Maybe then an uncomfortable situation can be avoided.

Keep reading and thank you,
Clint :-)