Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany, when we celebrate the arrival of the Magi to adore the Christ child, bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, representing, respectively, the kingship, divinity, and death of the Christ. As part of the Epiphany festivities, there is an annual custom in the church of blessing homes, marking this blessing with chalk on the lintel above the main door of the house.

If you wish to do this blessing at your home, gather your family together outside the main door of your house and follow along with this prayer:

Leader: Peace be to this house and to all who enter here.
All: Amen.

Leader: “God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten One to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Savior. Amen.”

All may take turns chalking the door: 20 + C + M + B + 25

Leader: “The three Wise Men, [C] Caspar, [M] Melchior, [B] and Balthasar followed the star to Bethlehem and the child Jesus [20] two thousand, [24] and twenty-four years ago. [+ +] May Christ bless our home [+ +], and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.”

All say the Lord’s Prayer, then sprinkle the door and house with Holy Water. (The initials C, M, and B, can also be interpreted as the Latin phrase “Christus mansionem benedicat” which means “Christ bless this house.”)

The Feast of the Epiphany also begins a period that the Church has traditionally referred to as Epiphanytide, now a sort of minor liturgical season. Epiphanytide runs until February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

A notable aspect of Epiphanytide is the continuation of Christmas decorations in Catholic churches. Unlike the common practice in society of taking down Christmas decorations immediately after December 25th, Catholic Churches leave Christmas decorations up until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the oŬcial end of the Christmas season, but many parishes around the world even keep their festive adornments up until the conclusion of Epiphanytide. This year at OLMC, we will be keeping the majority of our Christmas decorations up until February 2nd as well.

One of the advantages of the season of Epiphanytide is the prolongation of various spiritual Christmas themes. The Christmas cycle remains one of the shortest periods of time in the liturgical year and it is often beneficial to meditate on the beauty of the incarnation and it significance in our lives. However, the new season of Ordinary Time does not forbid us from maintaining this spirit during these days but encourages us to slowly transition our thoughts from Jesus' childhood to his public ministry. This helps prepare our hearts for the upcoming season of Lent when the stark reality of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is brought to the forefront of our minds.

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