Sunday After Theophany /
Season of House Blessings
-
It is an ancient practice in the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Church for houses to be blessed after Theophany. The priest comes to homes to perform this ritual.
The Theophany at Home
January is the season for house blessings. Jordan water from the Theophany service should be provided for Father to do the blessing, which ideally starts in the family icon corner, or the dining table. The parish priest comes in his role as spiritual father, and is able to be welcomed by the family in their own domestic church, the extension of the parish community. It is not a time to worry about the house being spotless: more important is that the family’s interior life is spotless.
Any unblessed religious object should be placed there, on a white cloth. Radio, television, and internet should be turned off so that everyone can focus on this religious ceremony. The mother takes a lit candle and leads Father through the house, turning on the electric lights as they go. The family joins in singing the Theophany troparion, either at the icon corner or the family table, or in a little procession. Every room is blessed, and all exterior doors are blessed “in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” while Father sprinkles holy water.
It is a common practice to offer a little something to eat and to visit for a while, as this is a chance to have the pastor in the home. But please be considerate of the schedule which Father may have going for other visits to be made.
Why bless the house every year with holy water?
The house is the center for the family, where individuals spend a lot of their time, and the place of the Domestic Church. This is where we pray, work, love, build our lives. It is THE place to claim for the Kingdom of God, where the Lord wants to be fully present.
Every home suffers spiritually during the year – fights, bad dreams, illness, miscommunication. Blessing the house at the start of the New Year is a wonderful way to heal the house, to bring in the blessing of the Holy Trinity as we move from Christmas to the preparation for Lent. We have to be vigilant at driving out the evil one and his minions, at getting rid of bad influences by bringing in sanctified water to purify our hearts, and to distribute God’s holiness through the sprinkling of the holy water into our homes!