House Blessing: It is the custom among many Ukrainian and Eastern Christians to have their homes blessed with the holy water sanctified on the feast of Theophany (the feast which commemorates the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River).
The Purpose: The annual blessing of homes is a custom of special beauty and significance. We again ask Christ to bless and enter into our homes and our lives. We ask Him to be with us, as we desire to be with Him. We ask that by the sprinkling of blessed water, the Holy Spirit renew us, our families and our lives in our homes. As Christ brought salvation to the house of Zacchaeus; we ask the same for all those who dwell in our homes.
Theologically speaking, the blessing of home constitutes an invocative blessing, meaning that by prayer and by the sprinkling of the Holy Water the priest invokes God’s protection upon the home and those living in it. One of the prayers used in the blessing of homes declares: “Now,You, O Lord, protect also all those who dwell in this house from all harm and injury; grant them Jordan’s blessing, purifications, which are for their salvation and life eternal.”
As our souls, so also our homes become tainted by the sins of those living in them and, consequently, lose God’s protective power. Every year then, at the Feast of Theophany, they should be blessed again to secure for them God’s blessings and protection.
If you would like your home blessed, please write your name and daytime contact telephone number on a sheet of paper and drop it in the Sunday collection or call Fr. Popovici for an appointment. House blessings can be done through February 15, 2020.