Happy Feast of the Epiphany
January 6, 2020!
Although The Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany (liturgically) yesterday, today is the actual date, so if you didn't do your house blessing yet, it isn't too late!
Hopefully you were able to get your Epiphany Home Blessing Kit from Mass this weekend, but if you didn't get one, just let us know and we will get one for you, or simply come up to church, get a bottle of holy water, and follow the instructions below. Although this is a great tradition for Epiphany, it can be done anytime, especially in the Christmas Season which lasts until
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord or Candlemas
on February 2nd...more on that later!
Our friends at
Holy Heroes
have a great write up about today's
Solemnity
(highest rank of feast in our liturgical calendar):
Catholic Epiphany Home Blessing
There is a beautiful Catholic practice of blessing your home on the Feast of The Epiphany of the Lord. It’s a wonderful way to start the year off as we continue the celebration of Christmas.
Epiphany
is celebrated this year liturgically on Sunday, January 5, 2020, which is the traditional date that ends the “12 Days of Christmas”. There is a specific blessing calling to mind the 3 Magi and how they adored the Baby Jesus.
The Catholic Church offers a profound blessing liturgy that asks for the intercession of the 3 Magi who left their homes to search for the newborn Savior of the world.
Think of it: All year long, every time you pass through the doors of your home, you’ll be reminded that you are under the protection of God in His Angels and His Saints as adopted children!
You will also be reminded to continually follow the example of the 3 Magi and look for ways you can search for Jesus both inside and outside your home.
The
Epiphany Home Blessing
truly brings CHRISTMAS to your home in a way that reminds everyone who enters that the world changed in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.
If a priest or deacon can do the blessing–it’s the best!
But the Church also has a rite for the blessing of the home by a layperson. The Father (or head of household) is the obvious person to lead the blessing.
What do you need? Just three things:
- Holy Water (get it at your parish)
- Chalk
- The Blessing
This year, why not start a new tradition of closing out the Christmas Season with this traditional Catholic blessing of your home? It will protect and inspire your family all year long!
