The Epiphany House Blessing lets us and others enter our homes with a joyful expectation of hospitality, blessings, rest, and joy.
It is another Christmas celebration of our Catholic Faith.
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. // Matthew 2:11
The Epiphany Blessing
The blessing is centuries old. The feast of the Epiphany focuses on an important event in Christ’s life: the arrival of the Magi, three wise men from the East. They are called Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. These wise men followed a star. They were intent on finding the Christ child . The gospels give different accounts of their visit.
Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Herod sought the Christ Child’s life and wanted the wise men to lead him there. However the wise men knew Herod sought the child’s life and did not tell him where to find the Child in Bethlehem.
A furious Herod orders the execution of all male children two and below. The Catholic Church honors these children with the Feast of the Holy Innocents.
Chalk it Up//Epiphany Blessing Formula
Priests used to bless homes in this manner, but anyone can do the blessing if they have blessed chalk and epiphany water.
The formula for the blessing is simple. You write the following above the entrance to your home and other doorways with: 20 + C + M + B + 24.
The letters have two meanings. First, they represent the initials of the Magi — Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar
They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross, and the “20” at the beginning and the “24” at the end marks the year.
