Saturday, December 29, 2007

Get Ready For the Epiphany Blessing

Wisemen
Last year I was not familiar with this beautiful custom of blessing our homes until that day, so I wasn't ready for it. (I didn't have any chalk in the house)

This year, I am posting it early enough for you to get chalk if you don't have any in the house.

My post from last year can be found Epiphany Blessing

I'd also like to post the actual blessing here:

20 C + M + B 08
May Christ bless this House…
All who dwell and pray in it…
And All Whom they Welcome in His Name
....................

BLESSING OF A HOME AT EPIPHANY

Let us pray, In the name of + The Father, and The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Amen.

V. On entering the house, the Magi found the Child Jesus with Mary his mother.
R. They did Him homage and presented to Jesus symbolic gifts: gold to the great King, incense to the true God, and myrrh as a foreshadowing of his suffering and death.

Let us pray, God, our Father, by the guidance of a star, You revealed Your only Son as the Savior of all nations. Grant that we who already know You by faith, may be brought to the contemplation of Your glory in our heavenly home. We ask this through Christ your Son, Our Lord. Amen.

All may recite the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary (The MAGNIFICAT) by which Mary praised God at the time of her Visitation to the house of Elizabeth found in St. Luke's Gospel Chapter 1, verses 46-55.

V. Be enlightened, O Jerusalem, and shine forth …for Your light has come!
R. And upon you is risen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary.
V. All nations shall walk in Your light and kings in the splendor of Your birth.
R. And upon You is risen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary.
Now, a Reading of the Gospel for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord
from St. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.
V. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, has appeared and been revealed to the nations.
R. The prophets foretold His coming, and the angels and shepherds adored Him.
V. The Magi rejoiced to find Him and they lay their treasures before Him.
R. All you nations and peoples, …come and adore Him!

All recite The OUR FATHER as all the rooms of the house are sprinkled with holy water …and also if possible with blessed salt.

Let us pray, Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through Your goodness we have received all benefits. Come, visit and bless + this house so that it may be a shelter of health, chastity, self-conquest, humility, goodness, mildness, obedience to the Commandments, - and thanksgiving to God, + The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

May the love and blessings of God, + The Father, and The Son, and The Holy Spirit, descend upon this house, all those who reside within it, and upon all those whom they welcome in the Sacred Name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and may God's grace and peace remain with all of them forever. Amen.

NOTE: The initials of the names ascribed by tradition to the Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), and the numerals of the current year are to be written with the blessed chalk above all the entry doors of the house in the following manner:
20 C + M + B 08

(Some interpret the letters to stand for Christus Mansioni Benedicat! May Christ bless this house! )

Mahalo to my friend Becca for sharing this with me last year.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fabulous!

Unknown said...

"20 C + M + B 07
May Christ bless this House…
All who dwell and pray in it…
And All Whom they Welcome in His Name"

I have a beautiful sticker on our apartment door that says that first line on it.

20 C + M + B 07

Hugs,
Heather

Tracy said...

I was not aware of this at all Esther, you are so good to post these things so that I can learn so much more, this is wonderful!! Thank you!

PBXVI said...

Cool! Our priest did this blessing last year on our house and my Grandma's. We still can see the chalk written there. Shouldn't it be 20 C + M + B 08 instead of the last two numbers 07? Thanks for the reminder!

EC Gefroh said...

Yes!! Mahalo PB :-)
Thanks Tracy. I learn something new every day so I share :-)
I remember that Heather. How nice!
Jackie :-)

Anna B. said...

Thank you, So this is done on every door way or just the front entrance door of the home?

Anna B. :-)

Soutenus said...

I am enjoying your blog so very much. Thank you for all you share with the blogger community and those that find us on google searches!! Thanks for visiting my site, also! I found you by way of Catholic Warrior!
God bless!

gemoftheocean said...

New one on me! I've had a house blessed before, but didn't know there was a special deal for Epiphany.

Karen

EC Gefroh said...

Anna I believe it is over the front door of the home.

Soutenus: Thank you!! Now I remember seeing your comments on PB's blog :-)

Karen, I guess it's more of a custom in Europe.

Rosemary said...

This sounds lovely!

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Thank you for this lovely tradition. We always had our house blessed when I was a child by each new priest who visited us (that's when priests had time to visit their parishioners at their new assignments. Although that may have been something only done in the Diocese of Denver those many years ago). I digress!! At any rate we have had our house blessed with each move. Had not considered that it be blessed each year. Tremendous idea!!!!!

EC Gefroh said...

Rosemary: Glad you liked it.

GrandmaK: What a nice idea to have a home blessed by new priests who visit! My DH grew up in that Diocese. I will have to ask him about that.

Mimi said...

It is Orthodox Tradition to have the priest come and bless the house after Theophany (Epiphany) using the newly blessed Holy Water.

It's Orthodox tradition to have your major yearly housecleaning then too ;) Or maybe that's just me.

Lisa said...

Wonderful! Thanks for posting! We do this every year, if we can get ahold of some blessed chalk!

EC Gefroh said...

Mimi, I really like that tradition!

Lisa, my husband brought home from work and I had Fr. bless it today :-)