Epiphany Blessings

I was trying to find resources online for the Blessing of the House.

The USBishops have a prayer that's so-so.

Catholic Culture offers something with a little more substance.

Yet neither ritual describes the one I cherish in memory:

In our home growing up, we would process from room to room, sprinkling each one and reciting a blessing, singing "We three kings" in the interim. We would conclude at the door, sprinkle it, and then make the inscription. Someone would hold the candle, someone the water, someone the book. All the lights were kept dim until we'd finished, weaving a spell over the whole proceeding.

Each blessing was uniquely suited to each room. The bathroom blessing prayed for good health, the kitchen blessing asked that ill seasonings would never be present, and the bedroom prayer was really a blessing of the marriage bed.

It was a delightful annual rite of welcoming the new year and reminding us of our own journey to and with Christ. I hope to keep this tradition in my own home.