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Summary
- A household can bless its own home by gathering at the front door, reading a few words of Scripture and asking God’s peace on the house and everyone in it, then praying in each room.
- Jesus told the seventy, “And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house” (Luke 10:5).
- The Catholic Catechism teaches that “lay people may preside at certain blessings” and that “Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts” (paragraphs 1669 and 1671).
- In the Orthodox Church the parish priest blesses homes with holy water in the season of Theophany, January 6, or January 19 in churches that keep the old calendar.
- The Catholic, Orthodox and Methodist services for blessing a home all include the Lord’s Prayer.
- Ten further prayers cover protection, safety, coming and going, family, God’s presence, guests, a new home, a full house blessing, a traditional blessing that begins with the Lord’s Prayer, and new neighbors.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version (public domain), quoted from BibleGateway: Luke 10:1, 5; Psalm 121:8; Joshua 24:15; Ephesians 4:26–27; 1 Peter 4:9.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1667–1672, “Sacramentals.” Holy See. vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P58.HTM
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Blessing of the Home and Household on Epiphany.” usccb.org/prayers/blessing-home-and-household-epiphany
- Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America, “House Blessings: Preparation and Instructions.” doepa.org/news/4245/house-blessings-preparation-and-instructions
- St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, “A Reader’s Service for the Blessing of Homes.” stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/orthodoxy/houseblessing
- The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992), “A Service for the Blessing of a Home.” Discipleship Ministries. umcdiscipleship.org/book-of-worship/a-service-for-the-blessing-of-a-home
- Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, “The Theophany Feast at the Patriarchate (2017),” 19 January 2017. en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/?p=29528
- The Patriarchal Parishes in the USA (Russian Orthodox Church), “Waters of Atlantic Ocean Sanctified on Feast of Holy Theophany.” mospatusa.com/news_200126_2
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