It is good that the first time this blessing is done in the family, that the entire text is read together, so that people can understand the origin and meaning of this tradition.

On the occasion of the “Solence of the Epiphany”, there is in the ancient Roman Ritual, the commendable tradition of blessing the house of the faithful with the “Blessing of the Epiphany” or “Blessing for the New Year”.

This is a sign that Christians live in the house and a sign of God’s blessing upon it.

This blessing was traditionally made by the parish priest, but it is possible that the faithful also invoke this blessing from God for their home, because it would be pastorally impossible to territorially serve the entire parish, and most people, including priests, have never heard of this blessing.

It is, of course, an ancient tradition, but it was never banned by the Holy Church, it just fell into oblivion, like many good and healthy customs in our Holy Church. And although it is not very well known in Brazil, this blessed tradition has spread more and more.

You can do the blessing alone or with your family. In this case, while the father of the house invokes God’s blessing, the mother or another person sprinkles the place with holy water, and another inscribes the letters on the outside of passages and doors.

Rite of the House Blessing at Epiphany

(This blessing formula is simple, and requires only holy water and chalk – preferably blessed by a priest or deacon; but it is not essential. There are more complex formulas that call for more prayers and the use of incense. on the internet on websites in English or German, probably in Latin.)

On the doors and entrances write, following the order of the prayer:

+ In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray: Almighty God, incline Your ear. May we be filled with health, goodness, decoration, meekness, obedience to Your law, and thanksgiving to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Help us to love and respect one another and make Your presence known by the way you care for one another. Send Your Holy Angels who will defend us and fill all who live here with Grace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Those present recite the following Psalm, interspersing the stanzas:

Psalm 71(72)

The Messiah’s royal power
They opened their coffers and offered him gifts: gold, incense and mira (Mt 2,11)

• -1 Give your powers to the King, Lord God, *
  your righteousness to the descendant of royalty!
• –2 In justice he governs your people, *
  in fairness he judges your poor.
• –3 From the mountains come peace to all the people, *
  and let righteousness come down from the hills!
• =4 This King will defend the poor, †
  the children of the lowly will save, *
  and will bring down oppressors to the ground!
• –5 As long as the sun shall live, *
  as the moon through generations!
• –6 It will come from on high, like dew on the grass, *
  like the rain that waters the whole earth.
• –7 In your days justice will blossom *
  and great peace, until the moon fades!
• –8 From sea to sea he will extend his dominion, *
  and from the river to the ends of all the earth!
• –9 His enemies will bow down to him, *
  His rivals will lick the dust off the ground.
• –10 The kings of Tarshish and the islands will come *
  and offer them their gifts and gifts;
• – and also the kings of Sheba and Sheba *
  shall bring him offerings and tribute.
• –11 The kings of all the earth will worship him, *
  and all the nations will serve him.

–   Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit .
* As it was in the beginning, now and forever, through the centuries of centuries. Amen .

Dir.: Our help is in the Name of the Lord.

T.: What made heaven and earth.

D.:  The Lord be with you.

T.: And with your spirit.

Let us pray : Lord God of Heaven and Earth, who have revealed your Only Begotten Son to all nations with the sign of a star: Bless this house and all that dwell in it. Fill them with the light of Christ, and may our love for others reflect your love. By Christ our Lord Himself.

A.: Amen.

Now, the inscription is done with chalk on the outside of each door or doorway of the house, sprinkling the place with holy water. As you walk around the house, from door to door, you can pray prayers such as: “Our Father, Ave Maria, Gloria”, etc., or singing Christmas carols. The person making the registration can say each time:

The three Magi: Caspar (mark the letter ‘C’), Melchior (mark the letter ‘M’) and Balthazar (mark the letter ‘B’), followed the star of the Son of God who was he became a man two thousand ago (mark the first two digits: 20 to the left of the letters) and twenty-two years ago (mark the last two digits: 22 to the right of the letters). May Christ + bless our home + and stay with us through the new year +

Or everything is said in the first inscription and in the others, just:  May Christ  + bless our house  + and stay with us through the new year  +

After all places are blessed, the manager concludes:

Let us pray:  O God, who today revealed your Son to the nations, guiding them by the star, grant that your servants, who already know you by faith, one day contemplate you face to face in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

T.: Amen.

CHALK BLESSING

Q.: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: What made heaven and earth .

Q.: The Lord be with you .

T.: And with your spirit .

Q.:  Bless, + O Lord God, this creature, chalk, in order that it may be wholesome to mankind. And grant those who, invoking Your Most Holy Name, inscribing with him on the doors of their houses the names of their saints, Gaspar, Melchior and Baltassar, may, through their merits and intercession, enjoy health of body and protection of soul; through Christ our Lord.

T.: Amen.
(Sprinkle with holy water)

In Latin:

V/. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

R/. Who made heaven and earth

V/. The Lord be with you.

R/. And with your spirit.

V/. Say well, O Lord God, this chalk creature, that it may be beneficial to the human race; and grant that by the invocation of your most holy name, whoever shall have taken from it, or in it in the gates of his house, may have written the names of your saints Gaspar, Melchior, and Baltassar, by their intercession receive the health of body and soul, and the protection of their merits. Through Christ our Lord.

R/. Amen.

This custom, recorded in documents since the 16th century, is certainly of earlier origin. It was first found in the “Sacramentary Gelasianum Vetus” (in the mid-seventh century), to bless the house in the New Year or when there was a change of residence.

This tradition is based on the times of the early Church, where the first Christians wanted to protect and bless their homes, identifying themselves as the People of God, in analogy to what the Hebrews did in captivity in Egypt when they marked the doors of their homes with blood of the Passover Lamb (Ex 12, 12–13) and as they were also pointed out later in the promised land (Deut 6, 9).

With this inscription we invoke the blessing of Our Lord who in His Incarnation in Mary’s womb, by the power of the Holy Spirit, came as the Light of the world to save man from the darkness of sin. So we invoke this blessing for our homes and claim the sovereignty of Christ for the spaces where we live and work.

The Solemnity of the Epiphany takes place on January 6th. In Brazil, if this date does not fall on Sunday, it is transferred to the following Sunday, so that everyone can participate.

In this year 2022, the Epiphany will fall on a Thursday; therefore, I think that this blessing can be done on Thursday (the 6th) or on Sunday (the day it will be commemorated liturgically).

Above the doors and passages of the house, on the outside, the following inscription should be marked with chalk: the two initial numbers (figures) of the year; the abbreviations C+M+B, with each letter interspersed with the sign of the Cross; and then the final two numbers (figures) for the year. It is customary to also place a cross on top of the letter ‘M’, leaving three crosses.

The abbreviations “CMB” mean: ” Christus Mansionem Benedicat “, ie: “Christ Bless this House”.
St. Augustine also explained them as: ” Christus Multorum Benefactor “, which means: ” Christ benefactor of many “.

It also represents the traditional names of the three Magi: Caspar (Gaspar), Melchior (Melquior or Belquior) and Balthazar (Baltazar). Traditionally this inscription must remain until the Solemnity of Pentecost, or if you wish, until next year.

For the year 2022, the registration looks like this:

Epiphany means “Manifestation of the Lord”. With the birth of Jesus, God manifests His desire to all men: His will to have His children by His side again and to put into practice His Plan of Love and Salvation.

The Church celebrates three Epiphanies, that is, three important manifestations of Christ: The first to the Magi of the East (Mt 2, 1-12); then to St. John the Baptist in the Jordan (Mt 3.13-17); and finally to Jesus’ disciples, at the beginning of His public life with the miracle of the Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-12).

The magicians (or sages) represent today the peoples of all nations, races and languages, who accept the call of God, letting themselves be guided by the light of the star until they meet Jesus.

From the biblical passage in Matthew’s Gospel, we only know that they were Magi, that they came from the East and that as a gift they brought the Baby Jesus with gold, incense and myrrh; and that after worshiping Him, they returned to their lands by another path, fleeing from Herod.

According to first-century Church tradition, these magicians were powerful and wise men from nations east of the Mediterranean.

In ancient times, those connoisseurs of medicine, astrology and other sciences were called magicians or sages.

They were probably not kings, but because of their scientific knowledge, they became advisers to kings and exerted a great deal of influence in their countries. The title of “Kings” must surely have been influenced by Psalm 71, which says:

« The kings of Tarshish and the islands will bring you gifts, the kings of Arabia and Sheba will offer you their gifts. All kings will adore him, all nations will serve him. » (Ps 71, 10-11)

And perhaps because the number of those present was three, tradition left us that there were three characters; the names (Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar) were given for the first time by Saint Bede.

Until AD 474 his remains (discovered by the Empress Saint Helena, mother of Constantine) were in Constantinople, the most important Christian capital in the East; then they were transferred to the cathedral in Milan (Italy). In 1164 they were transferred to the city of Cologne (Germany), where they remain until today.

The names assigned to mages are quite significant.

• – Gaspar means: ” He who will inspect “, that is, the one who will verify and confirm the coming of the Messiah.
• – Melchior means: ” My King is Light “, it is the great confirmation of the Kingship of Jesus: the Light of the World.
• – And Balthazar means: ” God manifests the King “.

The Magi offered Jesus gifts typical of their regions: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gifts also have their meaning.

• – With the gold they recognized the Child’s royalty, the gold means that Jesus is King.
• – Incense is what is offered to God on altars as a sign of worship. With incense, humanity recognizes the divinity of the Child who was born. Jesus is True God.
• – Myrrh, a bitter plant, according to the oriental custom, was mixed with other perfumes and used to perfume bodies, clothes and houses. She represents the human side and suffering of the Messiah. Jesus is a True Man, who will suffer to atone for our sins.

Matthew tells us that the mages changed course and returned to their lands by another path. Changing the path means converting, reorienting your life according to Jesus.

Having encountered the Savior of the world and beholding his face, we must also reorient our lives according to Jesus. Thus, conversion is the strong appeal of the celebration of the Epiphany. The good news today is to be able to say that salvation is within everyone’s reach, whoever changes their ways and follows the True Light that is Christ will find it.

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Search sources

Video showing the blessing of the Epiphany, by a priest in a family:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69gwWDCO1ng#t=314
About the Blessing of the Epiphany:
http://de.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Sternsinger