6th January 2025
A House Blessing for Epiphany
On the feast of the Epiphany we tell the story of the Magi – Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar – who visited the home of Mary and Joseph and the child Jesus. They offered gifts and knelt in worship because they knew that this child was both a king and the Son of God.
Each year as we remember the visit of the Magi to Jesus’s home, so we ask Jesus to bless our homes.
Take a piece of chalk and write on or above your door the following:-
20 + C + M + B + 25
Now you have the date of the new year. The + represents blessings and the letters stand for the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning “May Christ bless the house.”
The letters can also represent the names of the wise men, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar.
All: Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
May this home be glowing with warmth
in the chill of winter
And a cooling shade
in the heat of the summer sun,
May it be a place
where one awakes with eagerness,
And a haven from stress,
when the work of the day is done.
May God, our Mother,
safely cradle this house in her strong arms,
And breathe the comfort of her love
through every room.
May God, our Father, fire the minds
of those who dwell here with hopeful dreams
And give them the strength
to make those dreams come true.
May God, our Companion,
fill this home with laughter
And weave a satisfying peace
in times of solitude.
May the cupboards be forever full,
And the table spread with welcome cheer.
May friends come often through the door,
But yet the need for privacy
be respected here.
May the wild beauty of God,
May the indwelling peace of God
May the surprising mystery of God
Inhabit this home.
Amen.
(Prayer by Jean Gaskin, published in Human Rites: Worship Resources for an Age of Change compiled by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild, London: Mowbray, 1995, p.91
The Green Tau 